10 Best Rated Craft Beers in the US: Rate Your Beer

The pleasure of engaging in binge drinking isn’t about to go on hiatus in the United States. As of 2018, Americans consumed over six billion gallons of beer. The country’s love for brews goes way back to the 17th/18th century when citizens opted for ale as opposed to drinking water in the early hours of the day.

Each American beer drinker has a favorite brand, from Voodoo Ranger to KBS and Two Hearted Ale. We, therefore, assert that Americans love American-made beers.

So among the community of beer lovers, let’s find out the ten best-rated beers in the US. Regardless of what Zymurgy Magazine thinks, here’s how we rate the craft beers Americans consider blissful.

1. Voodoo Ranger IPA

Voodoo Ranger is sure to enchant a drinker, not merely because it goes by the word “voodoo,” but mainly due to its array of ingredients. These ingredients range from Mosaic hops to Amarillo hops, fruits that are capable of getting beer connoisseurs to gulp up to five bottles in one sitting. With the ingredients above, you can tell that Voodoo Ranger tastes of grass, pine, and citrus.

This seven percent ABV American IPA is one beer to distract you from any physical or emotional pain. The moment you start gulping, its bitter flavor and distinct-tasting hop reign supreme on your palate.

Indeed, not many staunch beer fanatics would resist the temptation of savoring this hoppy beer and the tropical aroma it oozes.

2. KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)

It’s almost impossible to ignore a bottle of KBS elegantly positioned on a beer shelf. Its design ignites the eye’s curiosity. There’s little wonder why it made it to our top three. The ale is the first dark-brown-colored beer to grace our list of Americans’ best beer, signaling its unique traits and ingredients. This 12 percent ABV imperial stout smells of coffee, wood, and bourbon (all thanks to its longevity in the oak bourbon drums).

The beer’s taste isn’t any different from the aroma that fills the nose. Gulping down a glass of KBS leaves a bitter savor of coffee, chocolate, and bourbon in the mouth. This aftertaste only lasts for a short while.

Indeed, it’s not our number one American craft beer, but it has graciously climbed up the ladder with hopes of being our favorite someday.

3. CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout)

Fans of Founders Brewing company will probably opt for CBS if the KBS beer isn’t available. After all, variety makes a perfect beer palate. Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) is one of the Backstage Series collection.

This creamy, well-balanced stout is one ale to store up for exceptional events, as it holds power to make its drinkers scream “great” at the last sip of the beer. Its good looks are a hint of its swell taste. Thus, it’s unlikely to disappoint a connoisseur with high expectations.  

CBS’ hallmark would be the maple syrup taste it unapologetically leaves on the palates of its drinkers. It isn’t the most bitter of beers, but it’s our third best American ale.

4. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale may have come fourth on our list. However, the company is arguably the brain behind the grand reception of hops’ aroma and flavor among the American beer community. Beer lovers who subscribe to this brand always go with a canned pale ale while mountaineering on weekends or watching a football match in solitude.

It’s been 40 years now since its inception. Still, the popular craft beer wouldn’t take “no cascade” for an answer. Pale Ale’s signature cascade hops, ale yeast, and caramel malts recipes are why American beer drinkers would make do with the ale for the rest of their lives if they had to.

5. Breakfast Stout

Its ingredients explain why the ale has been tagged the breakfast stout with a bib-wearing baby as its poster child. This coffee beer ranks fifth to the delight of chocolate and coffee beer enthusiasts who are obsessed with the distinct roasty taste it hits the palate with at first sip.

This stout isn’t just gracing our list; it’s also rated 100 on Beer Advocate. It’s the perfect drink to accompany a dessert for a coffee, roasted oats aftertaste in the mouth. 

Breakfast Stout may not help with preparing your taste buds for the day’s spices and flavor. Nonetheless, it’s an ideal drink to complement whatever you’re having for lunch and even dinner. Generally, it’s a beer that lives up to the hype.

6. 420 Extra Pale Ale

We’re not sure why 420 is branded an extra pale ale, considering its addictive malty and hoppy taste. This 5.4 percent pale ale isn’t new on the shelves. It’s sure to arouse the nostalgic feeling of being a craft beer newbie in the late 90s.

420 Extra Pale Ale may not get you drunk. However, it’d tickle your toe with the typical malts, centennial, and cascade hops ingredients most breweries use. So, yes, Sweet Water Brewing Company made no mistake on this one.

420 Extra Pale Ale is a dark-golden colored brew that’s best served cold; it drifts from its pleasantness as it goes warm.

7. Heady Topper

Heady Topper is far from being a boring beer even though it came seventh here. I mean, consider all the craft beers that didn’t make our shortlist.

This beverage is a combination of hop and fruit ingredients, making it less concentrated between the beer elements. The brew is probably hard to forget for two reasons: its pungent smell as soon as you snap the can and the peppery aftertaste your palate easily recognizes.

Americans may have a soft spot for this double IPA considering its very balanced, bitter, typical hop taste. One way The Alchemist keeps its customers addicted to its brews is by ensuring that the company’s ale is distributed weekly to its lovers to retain freshness.

8. Gose

With Gose’s four percent ABV, American beer enthusiasts can keep their reputation intact even after enjoying several bottles of this ale in public. No slurred speeches – it’s just the ideal social beer to grab from the shelves.

Besides, what you see is what you get, as Westbrook Brewing Co. strictly adhered to the beverage’s tagline – sour, salty, and delicious.

This hazy golden colored beer won’t deny both lemon and coriander lovers of their cravings, as it doesn’t lack in both ingredients. So if you care for a traditional German-style brew, don’t keep this one away from your reach.

9. Two-Hearted Ale

Two-Hearted Ale is one beer too conversant with stealing the number one spot but not on our list. For three consecutive years, it ranked in some circles as the best-rated beer in America, rendering its founder, Larry Bell, speechless while acknowledging the considerable honor.

The creamy brown-bottled beer relies on its 100 percent centennial hops ingredient to give Americans a balanced bitter taste and an overwhelming hop aroma. What’s more? Fruit lovers can pleasurably taste the perfect combo of orange, pineapple, and mango on their palate while gulping the brew. The alcohol is such a kind reminder of the conventional IPA. Hence, it isn’t one to shove aside on the beer shelf.

Two-Hearted Ale has a seven percent ABV, making it consumable at any time and place. For a greater pleasure of this beverage, Larry Bell unapologetically released the Double Two-Hearted Ale into the beer market.

10. Super Eight

Super Eight isn’t the most outstanding ale on this list. However, it makes for a perfect summer binge on the beach. It has a decent 5.3 percent ABV flavored with salt, mango, pear, and quinoa.

Stone Brewing Co. believes that some brew connoisseurs could use a variety of berries, so the beer contains boysenberry, raspberry, elderberry, and blackberry ingredients—such a swell attempt at exciting fruit lovers.

You can’t overlook this one when all you want is just a delicious taste of fruits in beer. Undoubtedly, the refreshing, pink-colored drink is sure to appeal to beer lovers who’d love to relish a fruity palate.

When we talk about beer popularity in the US, brands such as Guinness, Heineken, and Corona are sure to make it to the list. However, when it comes down to the favorite craft beer amongst American brew lovers, expect to see Voodoo Ranger IPA, KBS, Pale Ale, and all the beer brands mentioned above.

There’s so much to drink with only a little time to taste just a handful of these beers. So while you still can, consider savoring all our ten best-rated beers in the US. It promises to be an intriguing adventure for any beer connoisseur.