The Best Beer in America? Now you can try making it at home
The brew experts have spoken. For the fourth consecutive year, a beer from Comstock, Michigan, has captured the palates of the American Homebrewers Association.
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale beat out Pliny the Elder, the Russian River Brewing Company’s much-ballyhooed brew, as the nation’s best commercial beer in the
18th annual Best Beers in America survey.
Pliny, which again came in second, had held the title for seven years until being toppled in 2017.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s Pale Ale took third place for the second consecutive year. Rounding out the top 10 were The Alchemist’s Heady Topper (No. 4); Bell’s Hopslam (No. 5); Three Floyds’ Zombie Dust ( No. 6); Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale and Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (tied for
No. 7); Deschutes’ Fresh Squeezed IPA (No. 9); and, from Fort Bragg, the North Coast Brewing Company’s Old Rasputin (No. 10).
For the survey, members of the AHA, which publishes Zymurgy magazine, were able to vote online for up to five of their favorite beers. All the brews had to be commercial ones sold in the United States. The top 10 results can be found at Homebrewersassociation.org; the complete list will be published in the November/december print issue of Zymurgy.
Want to try the Two Hearted Ale? While it’s available on draft and in bottles and cans in 42 states, the California options are all located in the southern third of the state. However, Bell’s now offers a clone recipe and kit — which comes with the Centennial hops that the brewers say gives Two Hearted its notes of pine resin and grapefruit — so you can try making your own brew at home. Order online for $35 at www.bellsbeer.com.