Highest-rated IPAs in Pennsylvania

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November 4, 2022
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Highest-rated IPAs in Pennsylvania

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 Pennsylvania, 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.

#22. Wandering Into The Fog

- Rating: 4.26 (48 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.6%
- Brewery: Abomination Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#21. Double Broken Heels

- Rating: 4.22 (100 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 9.2%
- Brewery: New Trail Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#20. Rare Fog

- Rating: 4.26 (73 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.5%
- Brewery: Abomination Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#19. Prop

- Rating: 4.32 (43 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 7.5%
- Brewery: Funk Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#18. Hop Ranch

- Rating: 4.19 (2,442 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#17. Double Lustra

- Rating: 4.31 (50 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Dancing Gnome
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#16. Hammock

- Rating: 4.33 (50 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: New Trail Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#15. Nimble Giant

- Rating: 4.21 (952 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: Tröegs Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#14. Idle Hands Double IPA

- Rating: 4.25 (229 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Helltown Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#13. The Shape Of Hops To Come

- Rating: 4.24 (893 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#12. Better One or Two

- Rating: 4.33 (79 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Dancing Gnome
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#11. General Braddock's

- Rating: 4.29 (238 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.8%
- Brewery: Brew Gentlemen
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#10. DirtWolf

- Rating: 4.27 (6,903 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.7%
- Brewery: Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#9. Double Milkshake IPA - Mango

- Rating: 4.45 (57 ratings)
- Type: Milkshake IPA
- ABV: 9.7%
- Brewery: Tired Hands Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#8. Recertified

- Rating: 4.44 (67 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Brew Gentlemen
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#7. Eviscerated Pathway Of Beauty

- Rating: 4.37 (190 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.6%
- Brewery: Tired Hands Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#6. Alien Church

- Rating: 4.34 (845 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Tired Hands Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#5. Double Milkshake IPA - EXTRA Vanilla

- Rating: 4.39 (160 ratings)
- Type: Milkshake IPA
- ABV: 9.2%
- Brewery: Tired Hands Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#4. Extra Extra Knuckle

- Rating: 4.40 (155 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.6%
- Brewery: Tired Hands Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#3. FOSHOMO

- Rating: 4.47 (79 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Brew Gentlemen
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#2. Mammoth

- Rating: 4.43 (123 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Brew Gentlemen
- Read more on BeerAdvocate

#1. Albatross

- Rating: 4.49 (123 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Brew Gentlemen
- 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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