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5 Breweries That Are Serving Some Of The Best IPAs

Green is an IPA from Tree House Brewing Co. that is ranked by many beer drinkers as one of the world's best. It is pictured here on the right at one of Tree House's locations Sandwich, Massachusetts. Erik Ofgang It's a great time to be an IPA fan. The style has come to dominate craft beer sales and culture and hop heads have a wide variety of IPAs from which to choose at nearly every brewery. While summer is not traditionally seen as IPA season, modern IPA varieties like fruited sour IPAs, hazies and even more traditional IPAs that feature tropical fruit notes are some of my favorite summertime sippers. The breweries below were selected because they offer some of the best and most refreshing IPAs I've ever tasted anywhere. All these breweries produce IPAs I love and which I recommend seeking out, even if that requires visiting each brewery in person. Tree House Brewing Co. is producing some of the most highly rated and refreshing IPAs. (File photo: SARATOGA, SPRINGS, NY - JANUARY 15: The Tree House Brewing Company on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. Photo Credit: Jim Franco/Albany Times Union via Getty Images.) Houston Chronicle via Getty Images Some of the best and highest-rated IPAs in the world are brewed at the acclaimed Tree House Brewing Co., which started in Massachusetts but now has multiple locations including ones in New York and Connecticut. Tree House didn't invent the hazy or New England IPA, but boy, did they help popularize it. The brewery's IPA offerings are bursting with hop aroma but generally have low bitterness and soft and pillowy mouthfeels. Tree House produces some of the most sought-after IPAs on the globe, so you can't go wrong with any of them, but some particularly acclaimed varieties include Julius, Haze, Green and Doppelganger — those last two are always favorites of mine, but if I'm being honest, so are the others. For IPA fans in search of refreshing summer hoppy goodness, a pilgrimage to Tree House is a must if they find themselves in the Northeast. Tree House now has multiple locations in Massachusetts, one in Saratoga, New York, and a farm location in Woodstock, Connecticut. In the summer, it's hard to beat the Cape Cod location on the water in Sandwich, Massachusetts. DDH Pillow earned bragging rights as one of the best IPAs brewed in 2024 after it took home a gold medal at this year's Great American Beer Festival competition. James Sullivan Last year Highland Park Brewery received the most gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival in large part thanks to the strength of its IPAs. The brewery's hazy IPAs are everything a hazy IPA should be: bursting with hop aroma and tropical fruit flavor and gentle, velvet mouthfeel. They also produce other types of world class IPAs. What Are Highland Park Brewery's Best IPAs? Highland Park took home gold medal awards at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival for Competition, an American-style IPA, DDH Pillow, a hazy imperial IPA, and Timbo, a hazy pale ale, which is a similar style to an IPA. All these beers are must-trys, and the DDH Pillow was one of the best IPAs I had in 2024. This beer has also won multiple gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival. Who Should Consider Visiting Highland Park? Highland Park is not only a must-visit for IPA fans; it also is perfect for baseball fans. Located less than two miles from Dodger Stadium, it's a fun spot to pregame or celebrate a Shohei Ohtani home run. Hudson Valley Brewery, Beacon, New York Hudson Valley Brewing Co. uses fruit to create refreshing sour IPAs. Erik Ofgang Hudson Valley Brewery is a beloved New York brewery that offers some excellent hazy IPAs that offer the tropical fruit and soft mouthfeel you'd expect. But they made this list thanks to their sour IPAs, which burst with tart fruit flavors, have very limited bitterness, and provide a tasting experience that is a far cry from your average IPA, but is also a must-try drinking experience. What Are Hudson Valley's Best IPAs? Its fruited sour IPA line has some real gems, including Peach Silhouette, which took home a gold medal at last year's Great American Beer Festival—though be warned, as fantastic as this beer is, it drinks more like a sour beer than an IPA. Another favorite of mine, is Double Peach Silhouette, a much more peach-forward beer that is bursting with sweet juice flavors and one of the most refreshing beers I've had. Who Should Visit The Hudson Valley Brewery? Anyone who is interested in IPAs and sours should make a trip to Hudson Valley Brewery. Its home in Beacon is an easy train ride from New York City, and it's got a wonderful brewery space that is a popular spot on weekends. Beacon itself is also a great day trip destination with plenty of hiking opportunities and riverside views. Lawson's Finest Liquids, Waitsfield, Vermont Sip of Sunshine is a classic refreshing IPA from Vermont Lawson's Finest Liquids The thing I love about the IPAs at Lawson's Finest Liquids is that they serve as a bridge between the more traditional bitter IPAs and the fruit-bomb, low-bitterness hazy IPAs that have dominated craft beer sales over the last decade or so. Lawson's Finest's best IPAs are bursting with summer-appropriate fruit flavors but also have some real, old-school hop bite. What Are Lawson's Best IPAs? One of my longtime favorites is Sip of Sunshine. Served in a bright yellow can with tropical flavors that live up to its sunshine-inspired name, it's a beer I always enjoy. Craft beer fanatics will also want to try IPAs such as Little Sip, Hazy Rays and Double Sunshine. Who Should Consider Visiting Lawson's Finest? A trip here should be part of any beer lover's Vermont IPA itinerary. I love to visit Vermont in the fall and drink my way through foliage season. Maine Beer Co., Freeport, Maine Maine Beer Co. is known for producing more traditional but still rereshing IPAs. In this May 7, 2015 file photo, craft beers are served at the Maine Beer Company in Freeport, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) Associated Press The Maine Beer Co. has long been a beloved spot for IPAs, and other styles. Back in the early 2010s, its signature IPA, Lunch, used to draw crowds when it would appear on tap. It's still a great option that predates—and offers a refreshing alternative—to the fruit-forward hazy IPAs, which are more common these days. What Are Maine Beer Co.'s Best IPAs? The aforementioned Lunch remains among its most popular and refreshing IPAs. For me, it's one of those beers I never regret opening or ordering. Another wonderful and equally well regarded option is Dinner. Both beers feature clean, refreshing flavors and even some pine notes, a once common IPA flavor that has become rare these days. Who Should Visit Maine Beer Co.? Any IPA fans exploring the state of Maine should stop in here. It's one of the OGs of the new school craft brewing movement and offers a fun visitor experience, and of course, plenty of summer-appropriate, refreshing IPAs.