
Highest-rated IPAs in Alabama
Highest-rated IPAs in Alabama
Bitter is better for IPA lovers. This hop-forward brew is the most popular craft beer style in the United States, accounting for nearly half of all beer sales in off-premise retail establishments in 2024, according to Circana data.
India pale ales originated in England in the 1800s, with the phrase first appearing in print in 1835. Brewer George Hodgson typically gets the credit for its development. His competitors started calling his hoppier brew India pale ale because of his contract with the British East India Company.
American brewers first began making English IPAs in the late 1800s, but Americans preferred lagers. It wasn't until 1975, when Anchor Brewing Company launched a dry-hopped pale ale, that craft brewers started to latch onto the style. In 1991, Oregon brewer Teri Fahrendorf made an IPA with all-American ingredients, creating the first American IPA.
Like other ales, IPAs contain top-fermenting yeast, which gives them a robust flavor and aroma. IPAs are loaded with hops, responsible for the beer's characteristic bitterness and its notes of citrus, floral, or pine. These beers are known for their higher alcohol content, ranging from 5.5% to 7.5%, although session IPAs are lower in ABV, and double or triple IPAs are higher.
Brewers like IPAs because they allow for bold creativity. West Coast IPAs are known for their high hop levels, with brewers pushing the bounds of bitterness. While true IPA aficionados love that element, many are now leaning toward the more approachable New England-style IPA, which is hazier in appearance and maximizes the fruitier characteristics of hops without the extreme and potentially off-putting bitter taste.
Whatever your IPA preference, there are endless options to choose from. Stacker compiled a list of the best IPAs from Alabama, using data from BeerAdvocate, and sorted them according to their weighted ranking. Beers without images were excluded. Only IPAs that made BeerAdvocate's top 100 beer list by state were included.
#20. Cheatin' Heart
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.4%
- Brewery: Yellowhammer Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#19. IPA
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.1%
- Brewery: Good People Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#18. Monkeynaut IPA
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.25%
- Brewery: Straight To Ale
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#17. The Mandarin Chief
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 11.0%
- Brewery: Back Forty Beer Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#16. Gorillanaut Imperial IPA
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.1%
- Brewery: Straight To Ale
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#15. IPAcalypse Now
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.1%
- Brewery: Singin' River Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#14. Judge Juicy
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Ghost Train Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#13. Oka Uba IPA
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.5%
- Brewery: Cahaba Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#12. A-OK IPA
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.2%
- Brewery: Avondale Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#11. Hazy Snake
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.9%
- Brewery: Good People Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#10. Snipe Hunt IPA
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.5%
- Brewery: Folklore Brewing & Meadery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#9. Mumbai Rye
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.6%
- Brewery: Good People Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#8. Tesserae Double IPA
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: Trimtab Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#7. Helix Rising
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Trimtab Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#6. Take The Causeway IPA
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Fairhope Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#5. Light Visions: The Original 006
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.7%
- Brewery: Trimtab Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#4. Mosaic Singularity
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Trimtab Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#3. Light Visions: Theory of Abundance
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.6%
- Brewery: Trimtab Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#2. Snake Handler Double IPA
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.0%
- Brewery: Good People Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#1. Hitchhiker
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.4%
- Brewery: Good People Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 51 states.