The results are in! Each of the past eight years, we’ve asked Zymurgy readers to send us a list of their 20 favorite beers. The only rule is that the beer has to be commercially available somewhere in the United States. A record number of votes were cast this year, with 1,192 different beers from 450 breweries represented in the poll.

Top-Ranked Beers

And this year’s winner is…the same as last year! Russian River’s Pliny the Elder claimed the top spot for the second straight year, beating Bell’s Two Hearted Ale by a mere two votes.

1. Russian River Pliny the Elder 2. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale 3. Stone Arrogant Bastard 4. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA 5. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale 6. Stone IPA T7. Bear Republic Racer 5 T7. Guinness T7. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine T7. Sierra Nevada Celebration 11. Stone Ruination T12. North Coast Old Rasputin T12. Sierra Nevada Torpedo T12. Rahr Winter Warmer T12. Rahr Ugly Pug T12. Rahr Iron Thistle T17. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy T17. New Glarus Belgian Red T17. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA T17. Duvel T21. Lagunitas IPA T21. Samuel Adams Boston Lager T21. Rahr Storm Cloud T21. Saison Dupont T25. Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout T25. Rahr Bucking Bock T25. Ommegang Three Philosophers T28. New Belgium Fat Tire T28. Alaskan Smoked Porter T28. Anchor Steam T31. Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock T31. Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron T31. Rahr Summer T31. Rahr Red T31. Rahr Blind Salamander T31. Rahr Blonde T31. Rahr Octoberfest T31. Victory Prima Pils T31. New Belgium La Folie T31. Russian River Consecration T41. Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale T41. Rahr Buffalo Butt T41. New Belgium 1554 T41. Orval T41. Lagunitas Hop Stoopid T41. Rogue Dead Guy T41. Unibroue La Fin Du Monde T41. Deschutes Black Butte Porter T49. Surly Furious T49. Dogfish Head Indian Brown T49. Rahr Whiskey Warmer T49. Rodenbach Grand Cru

Brewery Rankings



Brewery rankings are based on total votes received by each brewery’s beers. This year’s top brewery, by a landslide, is Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. in Fort Worth, Texas. Rahr’s loyal fans placed a whopping 12 beers in the top 50.

1. Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. Fort Worth Texas 2. Stone Brewing Co. Escondido Calif. 3. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton Del. 4. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico Calif. 5. Russian River Brewing Co. Santa Rosa Calif. 6. New Belgium Brewing Co. Fort Collins Colo. 7. Bell’s Brewery Kalamazoo Mich. 8. Boston Beer Co. (Samuel Adams) Boston Mass. 9. Deschutes Brewery Bend Ore. 10. Oskar Blues Brewing Co. Lyons Colo. 11. Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma Calif. 12. Rogue Ales Newport Ore. T13. Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco Calif. T13. Avery Brewing Co. Boulder Colo. T15. New Glarus Brewing Co. New Glarus Wis. T15. Brewery Ommegang Cooperstown N.Y. 17. North Coast Brewing Co. Fort Bragg Calif. 18. Victory Brewing Co. Downington Pa. 19. Bear Republic Brewing Co. Healdsburg Calif. 20. Odell Brewing Co. Fort Collins Colo. 21. Goose Island Beer Co. Chicago Ill. 22. Founders Brewing Co. Grand Rapids Mich. T23. Three Floyds Brewing Co. Munster Ind. T23. Allagash Brewing Co. Portland Maine 25. Great Divide Brewing Co. Denver Colo.

Best Portfolio



We also tabulated which breweries had the most brands in the voting. That honor went to Boston Beer Co. with 22 of its Samuel Adams brews getting votes. Dogfish Head was close behind with 20 brands.

1. Boston Beer Co. (Samuel Adams) (22 beers) 2. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (20 beers) 3. Rogue Ales (19 beers) 4. New Belgium Brewing Co. (16 beers) T5. Bell’s Brewery (15 beers) T5 Deschutes Brewery (15 beers) T5. New Glarus Brewing Co. (15 beers) T5. Stone Brewing Co. (15 beers) T9. Avery Brewing Co. (14 beers) T9. Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. (14 beers) T11. Lagunitas Brewing Co. (13 beers) T11. Spoetzl Brewery (Shiner) (13 beers) T11. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (13 beers) T14. Great Divide Brewing Co. (12 beers) T14. Russian River Brewing Co. (12 beers) T16. The Lost Abbey (11 beers) T16. Anderson Valley Brewing Co. (11 beers) T16. Victory Brewing Co. (11 beers) T19. Allagash Brewing Co. (10 beers) T19. Odell Brewing Co. (10 beers) T19. Brewery Ommegang (10 beers)

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. Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. Fort Worth Texas 2. Port Brewing/The Lost Abbey San Marcos Calif. T3. Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales Dexter Mich. T3. Alpine Beer Co. Alpine Calif. 5. Russian River Brewing Co. Santa Rosa Calif.

Thanks to everyone who voted. Look for information about participating in the 2011 poll in future issues of Zymurgy, as well as on HomebrewersAssociation.org.