The Best Beer In Every State 2018 Gallery

Sometimes, it feels like the conversations about craft beer in America are centered around just a handful of states. And yes, Michigan, California, Vermont, and Maine really do contain many of the world's best beers and the most high-profile breweries in America, but as craft beer continues to gain popularity, each and every state in the union has incredible, unique brews that locals go crazy for and in-the-know beer fans will travel for.

So, we decided to give Alabama, South Dakota, and even Utah some love by finding out what beer reigns supreme in the less talked about areas of the country. And when it comes to those juggernaut states, we had to do a battle royal to see what beer truly is the best in every state.

To determine the best beer in every state (and Washington, D.C.), we first consulted our own rankings of the best beers in America and the best beers in the world. If an American brew can stand up to the beers from Belgium, it's probably the best in its state. Then, we consulted beer ranking and rating sites such as Beer Advocate, Untappd, and RateBeer to see what locals are loving. Finally, we took our own editorial staff into account and tapped into their knowledge and love of craft beer around the country.

The result is a good portrait of beers across America. This list is dominated by beer geek favorite styles like imperial stouts, double IPAs, and porters, but you'll also find classic American IPAs, sour ales, and even a smoked beer or two. You never know what the best beer in your home state is if you don't read on to find out.

ABV: 17.3 percent
Barleywines aren't the easiest thing to drink, sometimes it feels like you're doing a deal with the devil. And oh hey! That's what Anchorage Brewing Company named the best beer in Alaska. This bold brew packs a world of flavor in every single sip with flavors of caramels and malts. A Deal With the Devil will cost you a pretty penny; the October 2017 release of this beer ran for $300 per six-pack.

ABV: 10.2 percent
Ozark Beer Company's Bourbon Barrel Aged Double Cream Stout is aged for seven months in 12-year-old Kentucky bourbon barrels with coffee beans from a local roaster. The result is everything you could imagine. There are obvious notes of whiskey and cocoa, with smaller hints of vanilla and spice. It has a luxuriously smooth and creamy pour, making it a true dessert beer.

ABV: 10.5 percent
Not every famous beer lives up to its reputation, but not every famous beer is Ten FIDY from Oskar Blues. This rich, creamy imperial stout pours pitch black, but don't think it's one note. There's dynamic flavors of dark chocolate, roasted malts, caramel, chocolate, and even a little bit of pine. At 10.5 percent, it's a big beer, but it's the perfect beer for winter.

ABV: 9 percent
Dogfish Head has a wide array of beers that could be considered top of their class, but it's still hard to beat their signature 90 Minute IPA. Brewed continuously with hops for — you guessed it — 90 minutes, this amber imperial IPA tastes vaguely of brandy and caramel, but it's beautifully balanced with a ton of hops. There's a flavor here for everyone.

ABV: 9.4 percent
Wake-n-Bake, formerly known just as W-n-B, is definitely worth getting out of bed for... not that we recommend day drinking. (Just kidding, we totally do!) This imperial stout from Athens' Terrapin Beer Co. is made with a collaboration between the brewery and Jittery Joe's Coffee, a local café chain and coffee roaster. So with a base that good (and local), the resulting beer has to be similarly amazing. It's got plenty of rich coffee flavor with just enough chocolate and caramel flavor to mimic the taste of a perfect morning beverage.

ABV: 8 percent
If you want hops on hops on hops, you need to try the Lost Continent by Grand Teton Brewing. With Columbus, Centennial, Simcoe and tons of Bravo hops, this beer has a strong foundation of dank tangerine and grapefruit flavors. The result is a double IPA that is somewhere between an American and British brew, making this beer's name quite appropriate.

ABV: 6.2 percent
Consider Zombie Dust from Three Floyds the juggernaut that powers you through the apocalypse, because this pale ale is anything but undead. The intensely hopped brew is floral on the nose and citrusy on the tongue with a slight bread-iness at the finish. As an added bonus, the comic-style bottle label is seriously dope — but not for the faint of heart.

ABV: 5.2 percent
If you think this name is off-putting, you're not alone. Buffalo Sweat? Umm... But we can promise you that no buffalo were harmed in the making of this beer. Tallgrass Brewing Company started experimenting with barrel-aging in 2012, and the result of the first experiment was this creamy oatmeal stout, infused with whole vanilla beans. If you love the iconic combination of chocolate and vanilla, then this beer is the one for you.

ABV: 8 percent
Parish Brewing Co.'s Ghost in the Machine pours a hazy yellow-orange hue, and while it's full of juicy, big hop flavors, it still goes down with ease. Lightly sweet with notes of mango, tangerine, and peach, this beer is perfect for the hop lover in your life (especially if that is you).

ABV: 9.2 percent
Flying Dog's Gonzo Imperial Porter was named for a style of journalism famously practiced by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, who used first-person narratives and satirical devices in his reporting. His close friend, Ralph Steadman, actually illustrated this imperial porter's label. Beyond the name, the brew itself features roasted chocolate, coffee, and vanilla malt flavors with a unique burst of floral hops. That's definitely worth writing about.

ABV: 11.7 percent
Founders KBS tends to get all the love on "best beers" list because it's released annually, but in late 2017, beer geeks were blessed with a surprise release of a more elusive Founders breakfast stout: Canadian Breakfast Stout, better known as CBS. Made with the same base and aging process as KBS but with the addition of maple syrup as a nod to their neighbors up north, this brew is rich and velvety, and perfectly sweet. Founders doesn't release CBS regularly, but we anxiously await our next opportunity to sip this beer.

ABV: 4.9 percent
Beer? It's what's for breakfast, at least if the Devil's Harvest Breakfast IPA from Southern Prohibition Brewing is to be believed. Why breakfast? Well, this relatively low-ABV beer has a cloudy appearance thanks to a dash of oats in the brewing process. Those oats also help to cut through the bitterness IPAs tend to have, making this beer easy drinking at any time of day.

ABV: 9.5 percent
Big Sky Brewing Company's Ivan the Terrible is a thick, dense Russian imperial stout, but don't think that means it's difficult to drink. It's surprisingly smooth sipping. Brewed in the traditional style using English hops and American malts, this brew tastes of dried fruit, roasted cocoa, and bourbon. It's the perfect thing for winter nights by the fire (or any time of the year).

ABV: 9.5 percent
Joseph James' Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout is insanely popular in Nevada, and we get why. With notes of bourbon, oak, vanilla, and bittersweet chocolate, this rich brew is smoother than smooth and a premium example of what a drinkable Russian imperial stout should taste like.

ABV: 9.2 percent
Like a lot of things in life, New Jersey's craft beer scene often gets overshadowed by its neighbor, New York. But every craft beer fan in New York City knows the name Kane Brewing Company. Any number of this brewery's beers could be deemed the best in New Jersey, but Sunday Brunch earns its status well. Thanks to tasting notes of cinnamon, maple, coffee, and lactose, this rich, dark-pouring porter is like a decadent sweet brunch in bottle form.

ABV: 10.5 percent
Brooklyn's Other Half Brewing is known for two things: insanely long lines at their can releases, and dropping delicious, juicy Northeast-style IPAs at said can releases. Any number of Other Half's limited-releases beers could be deemed the best beer in New York, but you may not ever be able to try them. A reliable Other Half beer you'll usually be able to find? All Green Everything. With Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic and Motueka hops, this imperial IPA shows the dynamics of this beer style and makes for easy (and highly alcoholic) sipping.

ABV: 8.9 percent
Fargo Brewing Company has a well-earned strong reputation for churning out great beers, but 1.21 Gigahops is perhaps their finest brew. With a dark, hazy orange color, it may look like this beer has an overwhelming amount of hops, but its balance of bitterness and sweet malts is pleasing enough for every kind of beer fan.

ABV: 13 percent
No brewery is more popular or well regarded in the state of Oklahoma than Prairie Artisan Ales. Its Bomb! beer is aptly named because, well, it's the bomb. With a 13 percent ABV and dynamic notes of espresso, chocolate, vanilla and ancho chile pepper, this beer is a true explosion of flavor.

ABV: 7 percent
Aliens need Jesus, too. Alien Church from Tired Hands Brewing Company is brewed with oats and hopped with Mosaic, Citra, Chinook, Centennial, and Columbus hops. Drinkers can expect out-of-this-world bitter and tart tastes of blueberry, orange, melon, guava, papaya, pineapple, passionfruit, and grapefruit. If that sounds like a dynamic, juicy beer, that's because it is.

ABV: 10.5 percent
South Carolina's Westbrook Brewing cooked up their Mexican Cake as a first anniversary celebration for themselves, but beer fans are really the ones who have something to celebrate with this imperial stout. Cacao nibs and vanilla beans give this beer a rich, sweet flavor and the Mexican influence comes into play perfectly with hints of cinnamon and habanero pepper. Happy birthday, indeed!

ABV: 9.2 percent
Sue from Yazoo Brewing Company is rich, bitter, hoppy, and heavily smoked with burnt barley malts and cherry wood. Smoked? Oh yeah. Tennessee is known for its smoked meats, so this beer is an ode to that process. But unlike a lot of other smoked beers, Sue is balanced. The smokiness is sweet before it's anything else. For skeptics of smoked beers, this is the perfect beer to start with.

ABV: 11.8 percent
You may not think of big, bold beers when you think of drinking culture in Utah, but Epic Brewing Company's Big Bad Baptist defies everything you might think. With an 11.8 percent ABV and big, bold coffee and chocolate flavors, this imperial stout stands boldly in all its bourbon barrel-aged glory.

ABV: 8 percent
It takes a lot of work to get an IPA right, and Richmond, Virginia's The Veil Brewing Co. put in the work before releasing Whiteferrari. And what is Whiteferrari? Like the car its named after, this double IPA is smooth as heck with flavors of grapefruit, grassy pine, and a hint of orange citrus. But unlike a Ferrari, you'll want to take one slow and savor all the dynamics of a perfectly executed beer.

ABV: 9.2 percent
DC Brau Brewing Co.'s On the Wings of Armageddon is a world-class imperial IPA. Though many imperial IPAs are held in high regard, this single-hopped beer has a marvelous mellow bitterness and flavors of citrus, mango and a bit of pine, making it sweet but shippable in a way that does not give way to its weighty 9.2 percent ABV.

ABV: 4 percent
Wisconsin's New Glarus may be most well-known for its Spotted Cow, but its Belgian Red is truly the brewery's best beer. At just 4 percent alcohol, this fruit beer has over one pound of cherries in every bottle, giving you perfect fruit flavor. It also helps to prove that beers don't need to be big and boozy to be the best in their state. Instead, this beer thrives because of its perfect pucker and deep red color.