
Highest-rated IPAs in Tennessee
Highest-rated IPAs in Tennessee
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 Tennessee, 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.
#18. Adjective Animal
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.6%
- Brewery: Wiseacre Brewing - Broad Ave OG
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#17. Igneous IPA
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.2%
- Brewery: Hutton & Smith Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#16. New Heights IPA
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.9%
- Brewery: New Heights Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#15. Coyote Tactics
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.2%
- Brewery: Blackberry Farm Brewery
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#14. Puffel
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: Wiseacre Brewing - Broad Ave OG
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#13. Hop Perfect IPA
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.0%
- Brewery: Yazoo Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#12. The Promenade
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.7%
- Brewery: Hutton & Smith Brewing Company
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#11. Paper Crowns
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.8%
- Brewery: Xül Beer Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#10. DDH Mixed Greens
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.2%
- Brewery: Southern Grist Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#9. Process Control
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.5%
- Brewery: Southern Grist Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#8. Mixed Greens
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.2%
- Brewery: Southern Grist Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#7. [Insert Juicy Pun]
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Southern Grist Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#6. Always Something
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.3%
- Brewery: Southern Grist Brewing Co.
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#5. DDH Tunnel Vision
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.8%
- Brewery: Bearded Iris Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#4. Homestyle
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.0%
- Brewery: Bearded Iris Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#3. Double Homestyle
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Bearded Iris Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#2. Chief Of Chiefs - Double Dry-Hopped
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.5%
- Brewery: Bearded Iris Brewing
- Read more on BeerAdvocate
#1. Attention Please!
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Bearded Iris Brewing
- 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.