10 of the ‘highest-rated’ beers in America

The ’10 highest-rated beers in America’ have been identified in a new list that outlines which US beers are most admired.

Starting at number 10 and counting down, the analysts at the investment advisors Insider Monkey drew from their deeper dive report of the ‘60 highest-rated beers in America’. Here are the results of the top 10, counting down to the number one highest-rated beer of all, which may surprise you.

10. Modern Times: Monster Tones

The beer Monster Tones is made by California-based brewery Modern Times and is the result of a 50/50 blend of its popular Monsters’ Park and Modem Tones brews which are both aged for seven months in Bourbon barrels which have also previously housed Maple syrup.

9. Side Project Brewing: Oude Fermier

To create Oude Fermier, Side Project Brewing used barrels of Saison du Fermier for extended ageing to produce a limited saison with layers of complexity and soft, rounded nuances for the oak.

8. Cigar City Brewing: Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout (double barrel-aged)

Once a year, Cigar City Brewing creates Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout and releases it only at the brewery on the second weekend in March. The brew purportedly has notes of espresso, chocolate and plum muddled with cinnamon, toffee, and an earthy hop quality. According to Insider Monkey, Cigar City Brewing also boasted sales volumes of 110,000 barrels in 2022.

7. Revolution Brewing: Double Barrel V.S.O.J. (Very Special Old Jacket)

Produced by Revolution Brewing, Double Barrel V.S.O.J. is a cuvée of barrel-aged English barley wines that has been aged between one and three years and then blending and rebarreling in Templeton Rye barrels for an extra 18 months.

6. Perennial Artisan Ales: Abraxas (barrel-aged)

This highly distinctive 11% ABV imperial stout by Perennial Artisan Ales has been aged for 12 months in Rittenhouse Rye barrels with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, ancho chillies, and cinnamon sticks.

5. 3 Floyds Brewing Co: Marshmallow Handjee

The 3 Floyds Brewing Co is reportedly known for making some of the best beers in the Midwest as well as commissioning artists to design the labels for its beers. Marshmallow Handjee is the brewery’s Russian imperial stout and has been aged in a variety of Bourbon barrels with vanilla beans.

4. Anchorage Brewing Company: Blessed

This American imperial stout has been aged for 19 months in a blend of Woodford Reserve double oaked Bourbon barrels, Heaven Hill barrels, and Willet Bourbon barrels. The beer is produced by the Alaska-based Anchorage Brewing Company and has been finished on Madagascar vanilla beans and raw and toasted coconut to give it some gentle softer nuances.

3. Anchorage Brewing Company: A Deal with the Devil (triple oak-aged)

An American barley wine also from Anchorage that has been aged for a total of 27 months (10 months in Cognac barrels before going into freshly-emptied Woodford Reserve double-oaked barrels for 12 months and then to freshly-emptied Buffalo Trace barrels for a final five months).

2. Toppling Goliath Brewing Co: Vanilla Bean Assassin

This 12.8% ABV American imperial stout by Toppling Goliath has been aged in American whiskey barrels and conditioned on vanilla beans. Founded in 2009, the Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. has been revered for being a runaway success and is renowned for its IPA and barrel-aged beers.

1. Toppling Goliath Brewing Co: Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout

Advisors outline how this beer has not only been rated as the ‘No.1 Craft Beer in America’, but it has also been named as the ‘best beer in the world’ by BeerAdvocate and RateBeer. Toppling Goliath’s Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout offers up flavours of chocolate chip pancakes drenched with Maple syrup, served with espresso and a shot of Bourbon all in one sip.