Highest-rated IPAs in New Jersey

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November 4, 2022
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Highest-rated IPAs in New Jersey

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 New Jersey, 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. Carrington Event

- Rating: 4.24 (22 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.2%
- Brewery: Icarus Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#29. Improv

- Rating: 4.15 (50 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Tonewood Brewing - Barrington
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#28. Exit 16 Wild Rice Double IPA

- Rating: 4.08 (862 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Flying Fish Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#27. Milking It

- Rating: 4.18 (39 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.1%
- Brewery: Icarus Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#26. Touching The Sun

- Rating: 4.19 (37 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 10.5%
- Brewery: Icarus Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#25. Rift

- Rating: 4.24 (27 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Tonewood Brewing - Barrington
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#24. Danky Kong

- Rating: 4.22 (32 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.2%
- Brewery: Glasstown Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#23. Brotherton IPA

- Rating: 4.14 (86 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.7%
- Brewery: Brotherton Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#22. City To Shore

- Rating: 4.15 (81 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 7.8%
- Brewery: Cape May Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#21. Fuego

- Rating: 4.13 (173 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.2%
- Brewery: Tonewood Brewing - Barrington
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#20. Double Dry-Hopped Fuego

- Rating: 4.27 (32 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.2%
- Brewery: Tonewood Brewing - Barrington
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#19. Snag & Drop

- Rating: 4.21 (65 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.0%
- Brewery: Cape May Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#18. Gravitational Pull

- Rating: 4.37 (23 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.6%
- Brewery: Conclave Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#17. Maine Event

- Rating: 4.22 (98 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.5%
- Brewery: Magnify Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#16. Heady Jams

- Rating: 4.28 (48 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Brix City Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#15. Up Up & Away

- Rating: 4.30 (41 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Magnify Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#14. Imperial Cold Side

- Rating: 4.38 (31 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Magnify Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#13. Peak Of Ripeness

- Rating: 4.29 (64 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.5%
- Brewery: Magnify Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#12. All Orange Everything

- Rating: 4.25 (140 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.5%
- Brewery: Carton Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#11. Peak Oil

- Rating: 4.30 (94 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: Magnify Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#10. Gravitational Waves

- Rating: 4.35 (71 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.84%
- Brewery: Conclave Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#9. 07750 - Nelson

- Rating: 4.32 (105 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 7.8%
- Brewery: Carton Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#8. Head High

- Rating: 4.26 (1,011 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.6%
- Brewery: Kane Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#7. 077XX

- Rating: 4.26 (1,456 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 7.8%
- Brewery: Carton Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#6. Mosaic Punch

- Rating: 4.47 (35 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.6%
- Brewery: Kane Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#5. Epitome

- Rating: 4.29 (327 ratings)
- Type: Black IPA
- ABV: 10.3%
- Brewery: Carton Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#4. Party Wave

- Rating: 4.34 (182 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.4%
- Brewery: Kane Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#3. Overhead

- Rating: 4.31 (638 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Kane Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#2. Head High - Double Dry-Hopped With Galaxy

- Rating: 4.40 (83 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.5%
- Brewery: Kane Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#1. 077-07871 - Mosaic

- Rating: 4.40 (95 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 7.8%
- Brewery: Carton 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.

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