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Best in Beer 2020 Readers’ Choice: Who Brews It Best?

Going beyond your No. 1 fave brewer, we asked you for your favorite beers and brewers in eight specific style categories, from saisons to stouts (and, of course, IPAs).

Readers of Craft Beer & Brewing Nov 5, 2020 - 6 min read

Best in Beer 2020 Readers’ Choice: Who Brews It Best? Primary Image

In our annual reader survey, we asked you to list your favorite brewer in each of these categories. 2019 rank is listed in parenthesis, with breweries new to the list this year denoted with a +.

Favorite American IPA Brewer

1. Russian River (1)
2. Stone (2)
3. Sierra Nevada (4)
4. Bell’s(3)
5. Dogfish Head (8)
6. Lagunitas (9)
7. Tree House (7)
8. Firestone Walker (5)
9. Odell(12)
10. Breakside (+)
11. Fat Head’s (+)
12. Highland Park (+)
13. New Realm (+)
14. Founders (10)
15. Maine Beer (18)
16. Ballast Point (6)
17. Cigar City (14)
18. Green Flash (15)
19. Modern Times (+)
20. The Alchemist (11)


Favorite Hazy IPA Brewer

1. Tree House (1)
2. Sierra Nevada (2)
3. The Alchemist (4)
4. Other Half (6)
5. WeldWerks (5)
6. Trillium (3)
7. Monkish (11)
8. Hop Butcher (8)
9. Hill Farmstead (9)
10. Old Nation (7)
11. New Belgium (12)
12. Modern Times (10)
13. Vitamin Sea (+)
14. Bell’s (19)
15. Tired Hands (+)
16. Deschutes (+)
17. Parish (+)
18. Pinthouse (+)
19. Toppling Goliath (+)
20. Burial (+)


Favorite Saison Brewer

1. Dupont (1)
2. Hill Farmstead (2)
3. Boulevard (3)
4. Allagash (4)
5. Jester King (7)
6. Ommegang (5)
7. Sante Adairius (9)
8. Funkwerks (6)
9. Side Project (8)
10. Holy Mountain (19)
11. Tired Hands (+)
12. Fair Isle (+)
13. Highland Park (+)
14. Blackberry Farm (11)
15. New Belgium (16)
16. Fantôme (+)
17. Trillium (+)
18. Oxbow (14)
19. Casey (+)
20. Off Color (17)

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Favorite Abbey-Style Brewer

1. Ommegang (1)
2. Allagash (3)
3. St. Bernardus (6)
4. Chimay (4)
5. Westmalle (7)
6. New Belgium (5)
7. Westvleteren (2)
8. The Lost Abbey (9)
9. Rochefort (8)
10. Unibroue (11)
11. Duvel (10)
12. Orval (13)
13. Bosteels (+)
14. Boulevard (12)
15. Spencer (18)
16. Delirium (+)
17. Sierra Nevada (+)
18. La Trappe (15)
19. Leffe (+)
20. Monkish (+)


Favorite Sour or Wild Ale Brewer

1. Cantillon (3)
2. Jester King (1)
3. Russian River (6)
4. Crooked Stave (2)
5. Cascade (8)
6. New Belgium (11)
7. Wicked Weed (7)
8. Casey (14)
9. Jolly Pumpkin (4)
10. de Garde (16)
11. The Rare Barrel (10)
12. Rogue (+)
13. The Bruery Terreux (9)
14. Trillium (+)
15. 3 Fonteinen (13)
16. Allagash (12)
17. Side Project (5)
18. Hill Farmstead (+)
19. Black Project (+)
20. Hudson Valley (19)


Favorite Stout or Porter Brewer

1. Guinness (2)
2. Founders (1)
3. Bell’s (4)
4. Left Hand (3)
5. Goose Island (5)
6. North Coast (6)
7. Fremont (20)
8. Side Project (+)
9. Trillium (+)
10. Bottle Logic (7)
11. Tree House (13)
12. Deschutes (14)
13. WeldWerks (9)
14. Alesmith (19)
15. Firestone Walker (8)
16. Samuel Smith (16)
17. Sierra Nevada (+)
18. Modern Times (+)
19. Perennial (12)
20. Angry Chair (+)


Favorite Pale Ale Brewer

1. Sierra Nevada (1)
2. Oskar Blues (3)
3. Three Floyds (2)
4. Hill Farmstead (5)
5. Toppling Goliath (4)
6. Bell’s (8)
7. Trillium (7)
8. Half Acre (6)
9. Tree House (9)
10. Lagunitas (10)
11. Maine Beer (15)
12. Deschutes (13)
13. Cellarmaker (+)
14. Georgetown (+)
15. Firestone Walker (14)
16. Stone (+)
17. Founders (12)
18. Fremont (+)
19. Odell (17)
20. Boulevard (20)


Favorite Lager Brewer

1. Jack’s Abby (2)
2. Bierstadt Lagerhaus (3)
3. Samuel Adams (1)
4. Yuengling (5)
5. Suarez Family (6)
6. Dovetail (9)
7. Firestone Walker (4)
8. Pilsner Urquel (7)
9. pFriem (15)
10. Ayinger (17)
11. Chuckanut (14)
12. Wayfinder (+)
13. Weihenstephaner (+)
14. Highland Park (+)
15. Victory (11)
16. Great Lakes (+)
17. Bell’s (+)
18. Founders (10)
19. Live Oak (13)
20. Urban Chestnut (+)

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