Highest-rated IPAs in Maine

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November 4, 2022
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Highest-rated IPAs in Maine

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 Maine, 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.

#30. Offset

- Rating: 4.20 (51 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: Austin Street Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#29. Daikaiju

- Rating: 4.13 (253 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.7%
- Brewery: Banded Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#28. Wolfe's Neck

- Rating: 4.13 (256 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.5%
- Brewery: Maine Beer Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#27. Super Prime

- Rating: 4.29 (26 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Goodfire Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#26. Fallstreak

- Rating: 4.26 (32 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.4%
- Brewery: Definitive Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#25. Venture

- Rating: 4.14 (203 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Foundation Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#24. Flume^2

- Rating: 4.22 (46 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Battery Steele Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#23. Into the Kaleidoscope

- Rating: 4.26 (34 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Belleflower Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#22. Particles

- Rating: 4.23 (44 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.3%
- Brewery: Definitive Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#21. Behind The Light

- Rating: 4.21 (60 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.4%
- Brewery: Definitive Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#20. Pulp Truck IPA

- Rating: 4.23 (49 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.0%
- Brewery: Marsh Island Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#19. Florens

- Rating: 4.21 (118 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.9%
- Brewery: Austin Street Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#18. Kon-Tiki

- Rating: 4.28 (48 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.3%
- Brewery: Austin Street Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#17. Float

- Rating: 4.27 (60 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Definitive Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#16. Cutter Imperial IPA

- Rating: 4.19 (355 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Rising Tide Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#15. Spirals

- Rating: 4.30 (46 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Definitive Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#14. Chaos Emeralds

- Rating: 4.23 (105 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Lone Pine Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#13. Neverender

- Rating: 4.24 (113 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Austin Street Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#12. Oh-J

- Rating: 4.25 (333 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.1%
- Brewery: Lone Pine Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#11. Flume

- Rating: 4.27 (329 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Battery Steele Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#10. Second Dinner

- Rating: 4.34 (147 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Maine Beer Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#9. Another One

- Rating: 4.30 (2,377 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Maine Beer Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#8. The Substance

- Rating: 4.31 (1,971 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.6%
- Brewery: Bissell Brothers Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#7. Reciprocal

- Rating: 4.38 (631 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.3%
- Brewery: Bissell Brothers Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#6. Here's To Feeling Good All The Time

- Rating: 4.41 (227 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 7.8%
- Brewery: Bissell Brothers Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#5. Lunch

- Rating: 4.38 (6,240 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Maine Beer Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#4. Nothing Gold

- Rating: 4.40 (515 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Bissell Brothers Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#3. Epiphany

- Rating: 4.43 (1,280 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Foundation Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#2. Swish

- Rating: 4.57 (1,761 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Bissell Brothers Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#1. Dinner

- Rating: 4.62 (2,800 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Maine Beer 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.

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