The 13 Best IPA Beers to Drink in 2024

By Bob Barnes

Fall in Love with IPAs: The Very Best India Pale Ales

India Pale Ales earned their name in the days of the British empire, when brewers used hops to extend the life of beer so it would survive the long sea voyage to reach soldiers stationed in India. Higher alcohol and hop content acts as a natural preservative. Today’s brews have evolved considerably, with American versions containing far more hops than their British forebears.

Complicating things further, brewers have wildly subverted the original recipes, with dark Cascadian IPAs, extra-strong double IPAs and brews that combine specialty ingredients as far-ranging as coffee, rye, lemon, blood orange and nectarine.

Luckily, GAYOT has gotten its hands on the best IPAs on the market, from American-style hop monsters to lighter versions sweetened with malt or fruit—contributing to some of the Health Benefits of Beer.

And if you still can’t get enough, check out our Top Craft Beers for even more reasons to pop open a cold one.

> The selections are presented in alphabetical order.

1. Ballast Point Sculpin

Ballast Point Sculpin

Origin: San Diego, CA, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $13.99 for six-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 7%
Brewed by: Ballast Point

Ballast Point has been brewing this IPA since they were limited to the back of their Home Brew Mart in San Diego.

The now-booming company named their flagship IPA for a fish that wouldn’t win any beauty contest, with poisonous spines protruding from its back; nevertheless, this sea creature also yields delicious flavor. The golden beer offers the same dichotomy, with a bitter hop punch balanced by refreshing tropical fruit notes. Sculpin IPA has proven so popular that Ballast Point now offers variations with grapefruit, habanero and coffee.

2. Dogfish Head Flesh & Blood IPA

Dogfish Head Flesh & Blood IPA

Origin: Milton, DE, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA, Blonde Ale
Price: $14 for six-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 7.5%
Brewed by: Dogfish Head

This is a unique IPA that drinks like a fruit beer, balancing resinous hoppiness with zesty fruitiness.

Since its beginning in 1996, Dogfish Head — the first American craft brewery to focus on culinary-inspired beer recipes — has been innovating with fruit and other ingredients not previously used in beer. Flesh and Blood IPA is named for its additions of lemon flesh and blood orange juice, plus orange and lemon peel. The mixture of Warrior, Centennial and an experimental hop so new it doesn’t have a name yet, combine to magnify the natural citrus flavors. This is a unique IPA that drinks like a fruit beer, balancing resinous hoppiness with zesty fruitiness and finishing with a dry, citrus tartness.

3. Elysian Brewing Space Dust IPA

Elysian Brewing Space Dust IPA

Origin: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $14 for six-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 8.2%
Brewed by: Elysian Brewing Company

This cosmically named IPA indeed sends hop lovers into orbit.

Bittered with the powerful Chinook hops and dry hopped with locally-grown floral Yakima Valley Citra and Amarillo, the beer offers aromas of orange and tangerine with flavors of tropical fruit such as pineapple and mango. The fruity flavors are matched with a slight sweetness obtained from two-row, c-15 and dextra-pils malts, making it an easy drink with a refreshing, dry finish. The eye-catching label depicts Dusty the Space Hop: a cartoon-like hop cone emitting the space dust for which this brew is named.

4. Firestone Walker Wookey Jack

Firestone Walker Wookey Jack

Origin: Paso Robles, CA, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $11 for four-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 8.3%
Brewed by: Firestone Walker Brewing Company

This ale offers rich aromas of roasted malt, piney hops and peppery rye.

This unfiltered Cascadian Black IPA allows you to go dark without giving up the hops, as the style marries the flavors of stout with those of a hoppy IPA. Atypical ingredients include malted rye, CaraRye, Midnight Wheat and, according to the brewer, a dash of “Wookey Dust” — we’re not sure what this esoteric component is, but the results taste great. The ale pours a pitch black color with a khaki-hued head and offers rich aromas of roasted malt, piney hops and peppery rye.

5. Founders Centennial IPA

Founders Centennial IPA

Origin: Grand Rapids, MI, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $10 for six-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 7.2%
Brewed by: Founders Brewing Co.

The brew that pours a crisp bronze hue with aromas of pine, grapefruit and sweet malt.

Founders Brewing’s best-selling beer, this IPA is so respected that the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) uses it as a benchmark for judging beers using Centennial hops. It pours a crisp bronze hue with aromas of pine, grapefruit and sweet malt. The flavor that follows is a well-balanced mix of tropical fruit and dryness. This beer is so easy drinking that its 7.2% ABV is well hidden and may sneak up on you. Founders is noted for its artistic labels and this one depicting two angels surrounded by hops and barley holding up the Centennial title suggests that this brew is quite heavenly. We have to agree.

6. Four Peaks Hop Knot IPA

Four Peaks Hop Knot IPA

Origin: Tempe, AZ, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $9 for six-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 6.7%
Brewed by: Four Peaks Brewing Company

This beer offers a clean and crisp finish that is bitter without being harsh.

This beer is truly all-American, as it is made only from American malts and American Cascade, Glacier, Magnum, Liberty and Simcoe hops. Its peculiar name alludes to the weaving of these five different hops added at seven separate times during the brewing process. As expected, the aroma is hoppy — with citrus and pine tree along with grapefruit and bready malt — and its appearance is a light amber with yellow hues. Well-balanced and refreshing, this beer offers a clean and crisp finish that is bitter without being harsh.

7. Great Basin Ichthyosaur “Icky” IPA

Great Basin Ichthyosaur "Icky" IPA

Origin: Sparks, NV, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $16.99 for 12-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 6.4%
Brewed by: Great Basin Brewing Co.

Named in honor of the official state fossil of Nevada, this American-style IPA is affectionately nicknamed “Icky.”

But icky it is not. Its easy-drinking balance of malt and hops and its 47 IBU bitterness tally puts it at the lower end of the American IPA range. It pours an orange-amber hue with a large, long-lasting frothy head, and the generous addition of Cascade and Columbus hops adds a nice finishing touch.

8. Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale

Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale

Origin: Petaluma, CA, U.S.A.
Beer type: Wheat, American IPA, IPA
Price: $9.99 for six-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 7.5%
Brewed by: Lagunitas Brewing Company

This brewery out of Petaluma, California, is known for using bucket loads of hops.

First released as a summer seasonal in 2008, Little Sumpin’ became a year-round offering in 2010 after its fans were hoarding it and demanding more. A cross between a wheat beer and an American IPA, it’s brewed with three different types of wheat and packed full of hops. Its appearance is of a golden, orangeish, hazy hue, and its aroma and flavors include apricots, peaches, pine, clove, rose petals and spice — all compliments of the citrusy Centennial, Cascade and Citra hops. If you like this one, try its big sister, the Little Sumpin’ Wild Ale. It’s a higher ABV version fermented with Belgian yeast, which gives it a distinctive spicy Belgian character.

9. Moody Tongue Sliced Nectarine IPA

Moody Tongue Sliced Nectarine IPA

Origin: Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $10 for four-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 5.9%
Brewed by: Moody Tongue Brewing Company

A very refreshing IPA that should pair well with slow-roasted pork shoulder or a slice of warm peach pie.

A former chef and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Moody Tongue brewmaster-owner Jared Rouben has built a reputation as a culinary brewer: one who uses a chef’s mindset to highlight flavors and aromatics in balanced beers. Sliced Nectarine IPA finds him combining fresh nectarines with the grapefruit acidity of Chinook hops. It pours a red-orange color and exudes an aroma of the sweet stone fruit. The flavor is more subtle than the nose, and the bready malt sweetness is backed up with citrusy hop bitterness. The final result is a very refreshing IPA that should pair well with slow-roasted pork shoulder or a slice of warm peach pie.

10. Russian River Pliny the Elder

Russian River Pliny the Elder

Origin: Santa Rosa, CA, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $5.99 for 500 ml
ABV: 8%
Brewed by: Russian River Brewing Company

Bay Area beer titan Vinnie Cilurzo created Russian River Brewing’s first double IPA in 2000 for friend Vic Kralj, who owns The Bistro in nearby Hayward and was hosting the inaugural Double IPA Festival.

Cilurzo named the bold beer for Pliny the Elder, who is credited with first writing about Lupus salictarius, otherwise known as hops. This cloudy, copper-hued, well-balanced beer is crafted with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ and Simcoe hops and has an enticing aroma, reminiscent of a pine forest. Pliny the Elder succumbed in heroic fashion while rescuing friends during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.; you can now drink like a hero with Russian River’s iconic IPA.

11. Samuel Smith’s India Ale

Samuel Smith's India Ale

Origin: Tadcaster, U.K.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $4.99 for 18 oz.
ABV: 5%
Brewed by: Samuel Smith Old Brewery

While the flavor is hop forward, it doesn’t approach that of its American cousins.

This traditional IPA is 100 percent English. It’s brewed with water from the original well at the Old Tadcaster Brewery, which dates back to 1758; it utilizes English-grown malted barley and hops; and it’s fermented in classic stone Yorkshire squares. At only 5 percent ABV with a 46 IBU count, this brew is quite sessionable and pours an apricot color with an earthy and caramel aroma. While the flavor is hop forward, it doesn’t approach that of its American cousins.

12. Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Origin: Chico, CA, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $16 for 12-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 7.2%
Brewed by: Sierra Nevada

Sierra Nevada is so serious about its full-cone hops, it invented its own patented device…

Sierra Nevada is so serious about its full-cone hops, it invented its own patented device, the Hop Torpedo, to more efficiently extract the volatile hop oils without adding bitterness. This IPA takes its name from the unique dry-hopping technique the brewery uses, maximizing the pine, citrus and herbal aromas that form the beer’s backbone. Beware the bone-dry finish, which will make you want to reach for more.

13. Victory DirtWolf Double IPA

Victory DirtWolf Double IPA

Origin: Downingtown, PA, U.S.A.
Beer type: IPA
Price: $9.99 for four-pack 12 oz.
ABV: 8.7%
Brewed by: Victory Brewing Company

A pungent 8.7 percent ABV brew that’s so flavorful, you might find it hard to put down.

This golden-hued double IPA is brewed with whole-flower American-grown Citra, Chinook, Simcoe and Mosaic hops, which bring on a full dose of citrus, pine, grapefruit and pineapple aromas. Don’t let the higher alcohol content sneak up on you: This is a pungent 8.7 percent ABV brew that’s so flavorful, you might find it hard to put down.