Pliny the Elder dethroned after eight years as Zymurgy's 'Best Beer in America'

Scroll ahead to see the 15 best breweries in America, as voted by Zymurgy readers. less A freshly poured pint of the highly sought after Pliny the Elder by Russian River Brewing Co at The Page in San Francisco on Thursday, Aug. 18th. Scroll ahead to see the 15 best breweries in America, as voted ... more A freshly poured pint of the highly sought after Pliny the Elder by Russian River Brewing Co at The Page in San Francisco on Thursday, Aug. 18th. Photo: Amy Osborne, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Amy Osborne, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Pliny the Elder dethroned after eight years as Zymurgy's 'Best Beer in America' 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

After dominating Zymurgy Magazine's annual survey of the Best Beers in America for eight of the 15 years it has existed, Russian River Brewing Co.'s elusive double IPA Pliny the Elder has been usurped.

Zymurgy, which is the official publication of the American Homebrewers Association, found that following a survey of over 4,000 of its members, that title now belongs to Two Hearted Ale, an IPA brewed by Bell's Brewery in Galesburg, Michigan.

"This is an incredible honor for us," said Laura Bell, CEO of Bell's Brewery. "We got our start as homebrewers — that's how my dad got going — so we really identify with the homebrewing community. We take a lot of that spirit into what we do today."

Zymurgy asked voters to select 20 of their favorite commercial beers available across the United States in an online poll, tallied them up, and with those votes found both state and national winners. Pliny came in at second place nationwide (though first in California), with Founders' Breakfast Stout (Grand Rapids, Michigan) at third, Three Floyds' Zombie Dust pale ale (Hammond, Indiana) at fourth, and another of Bell's, the imperial IPA Hopslam, rounding out the top five.

The Homebrewers Association's list of top breweries in the United States looked similar to its top-ranked brews. Bell's Brewery landed at first, with Founders Brewing coming in at second. Russian River ranked third, with fellow Northern California brewery Sierra Nevada at fourth. Fifth place went to Escondido's Stone Brewing, and sixth to Firestone Walker.

For Russian River loyalists, the results may not come as a shock. Bell's began distributing to California in early 2015, and has steadily been adding more customers in its growing list of distribution territories, including Texas, North Dakota, Nebraska, and South and Central Florida.

Russian River's distribution of Pliny, meanwhile, remains limited; currently, just beer drinkers in California, Oregon, Colorado, and Philadelphia can buy it — if it doesn't sell out immediately. Those who can't get the beer to taste are, naturally, less inclined to vote for it as a favorite.

See the full list of winners at the Homebrewers Association's website.

This article has been updated with data provided by the AHA.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

