The best beer from every state
ALABAMA: Birmingham's Good People Brewing is the maker of El Gordo, a full-bodied stout that delivers notes of vanilla, dark chocolate, and bourbon at a hefty 13.9% alcohol by volume (ABV).
ALASKA: Midnight Sun's T.R.E.A.T. Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin Porter warms on a cold, Anchorage night. Brewed with pumpkin and roasted cocoa nibs, T.R.E.A.T., which stands for "The Royal Eccentric Ale Treatment," is a welcome 7.8% ABV.
ARIZONA: A fall seasonal, Picacho Pecan Pie Brown Ale from Arizona Wilderness Brewing is one of the brewery's most anticipated brews, complete with real pecans and fresh maple syrup. The 6.6% ABV brown ale comes out on Halloween this year.
ARKANSAS: Dark caramel and black malts give Core's oatmeal stout its smooth, roasty flavor. The Springdale brewery brews its 6% ABV stout with a clean finish and a hint of sweetness.
CALIFORNIA: Santa Rosa's Russian River Brewing is famous for its hard-to-get, 11% imperial IPA, Pliny the Younger. The brewery calls it a triple IPA because it's hopped three times.
COLORADO: New Belgium, in Fort Collins, makes a 7% ABV Flanders-style brown ale called La Folie. It gets its sour apple notes from spontaneous fermentation in wooden barrels.
CONNECTICUT: From Stratford's Two Roads comes a beer as unorthodox as its name. The 10.9% ABV Unorthodox Russian Imperial Stout is "aggressively hopped" and bold in flavors of rye, treacle, chocolate, and espresso.
DELAWARE: Like Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA, World Wide Stout clocks in at an impressive ABV of anywhere between 15% and 20%. This boozy stout is released once a year in November.
FLORIDA: Released only at Cigar City's Tampa brewery on the second Saturday of March each year, Hunahpu's Imperial Stout is named for a popular tale in Mayan mythology. Dark, rich, and spiced with cinnamon, vanilla, and chili, the beer clocks in at 11% ABV.
GEORGIA: Part of the Atlanta brewery Sweetwater's "Dank Tank" series, Some Strange is a 10% ABV imperial black IPA. Brewed with dark malts like a stout but hopped like an IPA, balancing bitter with roasty notes.
HAWAII: Described by Kona Brewing as "assertive," Da Grind Buzz is an imperial stout made with 100% freshly roasted local Kona coffee. At 8.3%, it's high in alcohol but goes down smooth since it's carbonated with nitrogen instead of carbon dioxide.
IDAHO: Once a season, Boise-based Sockeye Brewing takes some of its Seven Devis Imperial Stout and transfers it to American oak barrels to age for a year. When it comes out, it's mellowed by notes of vanilla and bourbon... but with an ABV of 8%.
ILLINOIS: The Bourbon County Stout from Chicago's Goose Island Beer Co. goes down smooth with notes of oak and bold coffee — but at 14.2%, it will knock you off your feet at the same time.
INDIANA: Hailing from Munster, Indiana, Three Floyds' Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout is a 15% whopper brewed with Intelligentsia coffee. It's one of the most sought-after beers in the world, released just once a year.
IOWA: Born and bred in Decorah, Toppling Goliath's Kentucky Brunch is a bit too strong (12%) to be enjoyed for brunch, but because it's dark, comforting, and made with coffee — well, you get the idea.
KANSAS: Lawrence's Free State Brewing ages its Owd Macs Imperial Stout in old McCormack's whiskey barrels, hence the name. Dark and slightly sweet, it clocks in at 9.5% ABV.
KENTUCKY: Against the Grain Brewery, based in Louisville, took its 35K sweet stout and doubled it, resulting in a big, comforting 13.1% beer.
LOUISIANA: Loup Garou, the Cajun French phrase for "werewolf," embodies this chocolatey, oaky beer. Arnaudeville's Bayou Teche Brewing brewed it to 7.5%, so while it's sessionable enough, it still packs a punch.
MAINE: Located in Freeport, Maine Beer Co.'s Dinner says it all. This 8.2% imperial IPA is hearty and hoppy, and you may want to go to sleep afterward.
MARYLAND: Stillwater Artisanal Ales' Cellar Door is an American farmhouse ale brewed with pungent white sage. It makes for a refreshingly herbal beer with a modest amount of alcohol (6.6%) and a light hint of citrus from the use of Citra hops.
MASSACHUSETTS: Good Morning is a beer that really wakes you up. Brewed with grade A maple syrup, the imperial stout by Tree House Brewing in Monson is chocolately and slightly sweet, with an alcohol percentage of 8.4%.
MICHIGAN: Kalamazoo's Bell's Brewery releases its seasonal, and most popular, double IPA around January. Hopslam, as it's known, is brewed with six varieties of hops and lots of honey, producing a well-balanced, flavorful 10% beer.
MINNESOTA: Minneapolis-based Surly Brewing changes the label on its seasonal imperial stout, Darkness, every year to reflect the changing dark flavors. A 9.6% ABV doesn't mask the delicious black cherry, chocolate, and toffee notes.
MISSISSIPPI: Straight out of Kiln, Lazy Magnolia Brewing has come up with an imperial rye IPA, Timber Beast, which is spicy, hoppy, and boozy at 9% ABV.
MISSOURI: Abraxas, a word of mystical origin, perfectly describes this 11% imperial stout from St. Louis' Perennial Artisan Ales. Brewed with cocoa nibs and ancho chilis, it ages for nearly a year in rye whiskey barrels.
MONTANA: Missoula's Big Sky Brewing has been making Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout since '06. The roasty beer was born at 8.75% ABV, but these days is found at 10%.
NEBRASKA: Black Betty (Reserve Series) is a multiple-award-winning Russian Imperial Stout from Nebraska Brewing in Papillon. It's dry and complex at 9% ABV.
NEVADA: With the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas comes new craft breweries like Tenaya Creek. The brewery may not be downtown, but its easy-to-drink 9.3% imperial stout will make you feel like you are.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Unlike regular porters, which are ales, Baltic porters are brewed at lower temperatures like lagers. From Portsmouth, Smuttynose Brewing's version is raisin-y and rich at 8.7%.
NEW JERSEY: Ocean's Kane Brewing joined the IPA train with Head High (6.5%), but where this beer one-ups the competition is in using four different hops that give it citrus and pine notes.
NEW MEXICO: Elevated IPA is La Cumbre's flagship beer, but it's also its best beer. ("La cumbre" means "the summit" in Spanish.) The 7.2% India pale ale is clean and earthy, just like its Albuquerque birthplace.
NEW YORK: Bronx brewery Gun Hill Brewing's Void of Light stout won gold for best foreign-style stout at last year's Great American Beer Festival. The richness of cocoa and deep dark color makes this 7.9% beer a complex and comforting brew. Later this month Gun Hill is releasing barrel-aged bottles of Void of Light.
NORTH CAROLINA: Winston-Salem-based Foothills Brewing releases its 10% ABV imperial stout, Sexual Chocolate, once a year in the winter. The beer is so popular that customers line up outside the brewery at 2 a.m. on release day. Foothills held an auction this year for three spots at the front of the line, with bids close to $300.
NORTH DAKOTA: Out of the city of the same name, Fargo Brewing makes its Iron Horse pale ale with intense floral hop aromas and flavors of grapefruit. The 5% beer is hoppy enough for hop lovers, but not too hoppy for the hop-averse.
OHIO: Toasted caramel malt brings warm, soothing qualities to Thirsty Dog Brewing's Siberian Night Imperial Stout. The 9.7% beer from Akron won multiple awards from the Great American Beer Festival.
OKLAHOMA: Pirate Bomb! is great to drink and fun to say. The 13% ABV imperial stout brewed by Tulsa's Prairie Artisan Ales is aged in rum casks for a hearty flavor and a slight presence of liquor, coconut, and vanilla.
OREGON: Offered in December through February, Deschutes Brewery's The Abyss is a full-bodied imperial stout brewed with licorice and molasses and aged in oak and oak bourbon barrels. It's a whopping 11% ABV.
PENNSYLVANIA: The Phoenix Kriek by Selin's Grove Brewing, from Selinsgrove, isn't your typical kriek (cherry) sour beer. The difference here is that Selins Grove makes its beer nice and jammy and only slightly tart, not to mention a high 8% ABV.
RHODE ISLAND: Westerly's Grey Sail Brewing makes an aggressively hopped double IPA, Captain's Daughter, with tropical and stone fruit aromas and flavors. At 8.5% ABV, it's not as alcoholic as other imperial IPAs, but it's certainly up there.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Mt. Pleasant's Westbrook Brewing brewed Mexican Cake Imperial Stout to celebrate its first anniversary. Then they made a 10.5% ABV Jack Daniels barrel-aged version — a limited release that's nearly impossible to find. Buy it if you do.
SOUTH DAKOTA: A slightly sweet, multigrain porter made with the bite of rye, Rapid City's Firehouse Brewing's Honey Rye Porter is a sessionable 5% ABV dark beer perfect for a warm or a cool day.
TENNESSEE: SUE is a smoked beer (rauchbier) by Yazoo Brewing, a direct nod to Nashville's history of BBQ. The 9.1% beer takes on notes of the cherrywood it's smoked in.
TEXAS: Atrial Rubicite is Jester King Brewery's first barrel-aged sour fruit beer. The Austin-based brewery used hundreds of pounds of raspberries to give this 5.8% beer its color and taste.
UTAH: In Salt Lake City, Squatters Craft Beers barrels Fifth Element and lets nature take over the fermentation process, resulting in a Champagne-y, light-bodied 6.8-percenter reminiscent of summer stone fruit.
VERMONT: Most people outside the Waterbury area probably haven't had the privilege of trying Heady Topper, the multiple accolade-winning 8% double IPA by The Alchemist. It's widely considered one of the best beers in the world.
VIRGINIA: AleWerks Brewing's Bitter Valentine is a crisp and uber hoppy 9% imperial IPA. Now everyone in Williamsburg has something to celebrate on Valentine's Day.
WASHINGTON: Seattle's Fremont Brewing brings the warmth of bourbon to its Abominable winter ale by aging it in barrels and releasing it in December in limited quantities. Fans of the 11% ABV beer lovingly refer to it as the B-BOMB.
WASHINGTON, DC: On the Wings of Armageddon from DC Brau Brewing is a 9.2% ABV imperial IPA — a little fruity, a little bitter, and a LOT hoppy.
WEST VIRGINIA: Fayetteville's Bridge Brew Works, like Smuttynose, makes an excellent Baltic porter. At 8.1%, Peregrine Porter is easy to drink and reminiscent of roasted plums.
WISCONSIN: New Glarus Brewing is all about its home state, brewing its 4% Wisconsin Belgian Red with Wisconsin-farmed wheat and infusing it with local Door County cherries.
WYOMING: Snake River Brewing has developed a perfectly balanced foreign-style stout. At 5.8% it won't knock you out, but the slight sweetness and richness are made to relax after a long day skiing in Jackson Hole.
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