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2011 Zymurgy Best Beers in America
The results are in for the 2011 Best Beers in America Poll! For the past nine years, we've asked Zymurgy readers to share a list of their 20 favorite commercially available American beers. A record number of votes were cast this year; 1,306 different beers from 433 breweries were represented in the poll.
Top-Ranked Beers
We have a three-peat! Russian River's Pliny the Elder, a double IPA, claimed the top spot for the third straight year. Finishing second for the second straight year was Bell's Two Hearted Ale, an IPA.
(T indicates tie)
| 1. Russian River Pliny the Elder |
| 2. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale |
| T3. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA |
| T3. Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout |
| 5. Bell’s Hopslam |
| 6. Stone Arrogant Bastard |
| 7. Sierra Nevada Celebration |
| T8. Sierra Nevada Torpedo |
| T8. Stone Ruination |
| 10. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale |
| 11. Stone Sublimely Self Righteous |
| 12. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine |
| 13. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout |
| T14. Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter |
| T14. Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale |
| T16. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA |
| T16. New Glarus Belgian Red |
| 18. North Coast Old Rasputin |
| 19. Bell’s Expedition Stout |
| T20. Deschutes The Abyss |
| T20. Left Hand Milk Stout |
| T20. Odell IPA |
| T20. Samuel Adams Noble Pils |
| T20. Surly Furious |
| T20. Troegs Nugget Nectar |
| T26. Rogue Dead Guy Ale |
| T26. Samuel Adams Boston Lager |
| 28. Anchor Steam |
| T29. Bear Republic Racer 5 |
| T29. Ommegang Three Philosophers |
| T29. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy |
| T29. Three Floyds Alpha King |
| T29. Three Floyds Dark Lord |
| T34. Avery Maharaja |
| T34. Dogfish Head Indian Brown |
| T34. Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron |
| T34. Three Floyds Gumballhead |
| T38. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA |
| T38. Lost Abbey Angel’s Share |
| T38. New Belgium La Folie |
| T38. New Belgium Ranger |
| T38. Oskar Blues Old Chub |
| T43. Ballast Point Sculpin IPA |
| T43. Great Divide Yeti |
| T43. New Belgium 1554 |
| T43. Russian River Blind Pig |
| T43. Ska Modus Hoperandi |
| T48. Alesmith Speedway Stout |
| T48. Dark Horse Crooked Tree |
| T48. Green Flash West Coast IPA |
| T48. Summit EPA |
| T48. Victory Prima Pils |
Brewery Rankings
Brewery rankings are based on total votes received by each brewery's beers. This year's top brewery, by a landslide, is Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Del. Five beers from Dogfish Head placed in the top 50 in this year's poll.
| 1. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Del. |
| 2. Bell's Brewery, Kalamazoo, Mich. |
| 3. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif. |
| 4. Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, Calif. |
| 5. Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, Calif. |
| 6. Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. |
| 7. New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo. |
| 8. Boston Beer Co. (Samuel Adams), Boston, Mass. |
| 9. Three Floyds Brewing Co., Munster, Ind. |
| 10. Oskar Blues Brewing Co., Longmont, Colo. |
| 11. Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, Ill. |
| T12. Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, Calif. |
| T12. New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus, Wis. |
| 14. Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Ore. |
| 15. Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, Ohio |
| 16. Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo. |
| 17. Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, Colo. |
| 18. Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver, Colo. |
| 19. Victory Brewing Co., Downington, Pa. |
| 20. Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis, Minn. |
| 21. Rogue Ales, Newport, Ore. |
| 22. Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, Calif. |
| T23. Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, N.Y. |
| T23. North Coast Brewing Co., Fort Bragg, Calif. |
| T24. Bear Republic Brewing Co., Healdsburg, Calif. |
| T24. Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, Colo. |
Best Portfolio
In the Best Beers in America poll, we also tabulate which breweries had the most brands represented in the results. That honor also went to Dogfish Head with 28 of its brews getting votes.
| 1. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, 28 beers |
| 2. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., 23 beers |
| T3. Avery Brewing Co., 18 beers |
| T3. Goose Island Beer Co., 18 beers |
| T3. Lagunitas Brewing Co., 18 beers |
| T3. Boston Beer Co./Samuel Adams, 18 beers |
| 7. Bell's Brewery, 17 beers |
| T8. Founders Brewing Co., 15 beers |
| T8. Great Divide Brewing Co., 15 beers |
| T8. Southern Tier Brewing Co., 15 beers |
| T11. Brooklyn Brewery, 14 beers |
| T11. Odell Brewing Co., 14 beers |
| T11. Rogue Ales, 14 beers |
| T14. New Belgium Brewing Co., 13 beers |
| T14. Russian River Brewing Co., 13 beers |
| T14. Stone Brewing Co., 13 beers |
| T17. Deschutes Brewery, 12 beers |
| T17. Three Floyds Brewing Co., 12 beers |
| T19. Boulevard Brewing Co., 11 beers |
| T19. Dark Horse Brewing Co., 11 beers |
| T19. New Glarus Brewing Co., 11 beers |
| T22. Alpine Beer Co., 10 beers |
| T22. AleSmith Brewing Co., 10 beers |
| T22. Great Lakes Brewing Co., 10 beers |
| T25. Cigar City Brewing Co., 9 beers |
| T25. Firestone Walker Brewing Co., 9 beers |
| T25. Flying Dog Brewing Co., 9 beers |
| T25. Harpoon Brewery, 9 beers |
| T25. The Lost Abbey, 9 beers |
| T25. Shorts Brewing Co., 9 beers |
| T25. Ska Brewing Co., 9 beers |
| T25. Sprecher Brewing Co., 9 beers |
| T25. Summit Brewing Co., 9 beers |
| T25. The Bruery, 9 beers |
Top Imports
| 1. Rodenbach Grand Cru, Belgium |
| T2. Fullers ESB, England |
| T2. Guinness, Ireland |
| T2. Rochefort 10, Belgium |
| T5. Duvel, Belgium |
| T5. Saison Dupont, Belgium |
| T5. St. Bernardus Abt 12, Belgium |
| T8. Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock, Germany |
| T8. Cantillon Gueuze, Belgium |
| T8. Chimay Grande Reserve, Belgium |
| T8. Orval, Belgium |
| T8. Samuel Smith's Nut Brown, England |
| T8. Unibroue La Fin du Monde, Canada |
Spirit of Homebrew
Once again, we raise a glass to those breweries that, though small in production, score high with beer lovers. We determine the Spirit of Homebrew Award by taking a brewery's total number of votes and dividing it by the brewery's annual production in number of barrels.
| 1. Alpine Beer Co., Alpine, Calif |
| 2. Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, Calif. |
| 3. AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego, Calif. |
| 4. The Bruery, Placentia, Calif. |
| 5. Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, Mich. |
