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.