The Signature Beer Of Every State

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It's now possible to enjoy locally brewed beer in practically any U.S. city of at least moderate size. That wasn't true as recently as 2010. Simply put, the ability to find good beer made wherever you are in the U.S. is a pretty modern phenomenon. Singling out one beer for every state, then, is a more fruitful exercise now than it was even just a decade ago.

Basically all commercial beer can be considered either a craft beer or a macrobrew. The meaning of the former term has, notably, become convoluted since a significant number of foundational craft breweries have been purchased by large beverage companies. Nevertheless, determining the signature beer of every U.S. state effectively requires leaving out macrobreweries entirely. The Miller brewery may be located in Milwaukee, for example, but Miller is the most popular beer in more than half the country and a pillar of a company based in Chicago. Its identity, therefore, is more national than specific to Wisconsin.

So, the following list doesn't include names like Budweiser or Busch because it's hard to make a case that they represent just one state. Rather, each of the following beers is associated with a single state far more than any other. Locals know it and possibly love it — or, if they don't love it anymore, its influence on that state's beer scene is undeniable. With these criteria in mind, these are the signature beers of each U.S. state, in alphabetical order.

Good People Brewing Company proudly boasts that its Good People IPA has remained the best-selling IPA in Alabama for 10 years. Testament to the brewery's popularity is a 2022 poll conducted by the Alabama-based Al.com. Good People Brewing Company, it turns out, is more popular among fans of both Alabama and Auburn football than any other beer brand. As the brewery's self-proclaimed flagship product, the Good People IPA is implicitly the favorite beer of both football powerhouses' fan bases.

Even though it's the third-least populated state, Alaska maintains a relatively healthy beer scene. In 1986, decades before that was the case, Alaskan Brewing Co. opened, becoming just the 67th independent brewery in the U.S. The initial recipe for its flagship Alaskan Amber ale actually dates back to the early 1900s, and was first brewed by Alaskan Brewing Co. the year it opened. Since then, Alaskan Amber has remained a staple not just of Alaskan beer but the overarching U.S. beer market.

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Kilt Lifter Amber Ale actually predates Four Peaks Brewing opening to the public in Tempe, Arizona by about a year — the beer was formulated in 1996, just before the brewery opened in 1997. So noteworthy still is the popularity of Kilt Lifter among Four Peaks' offerings, it makes up more than half of the nationally distributed brewery's total output. While its label officially designates Kilt Lifter as an amber ale, it's intended to resemble a Scottish strong ale, hence its name.

Lost Forty Brewing is based in Arkansas' capital of Little Rock. In October of 2020, the brewery earned some national attention in the beer world for winning a mid-sized brewery award at that year's Great American Beer Festival Competition. Its most popular beer, available at retail outlets in Arkansas, is called Love Honey Bock. Each can proudly advertises the fact that its adjunct honey is sourced locally in Arkansas.

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The total number of fantastic beers from California is legitimately immeasurable, but most of those beers have Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and its flagship Pale Ale to thank for anchoring the California beer scene. Founder Ken Grossman started brewing all the way back in 1969, and bottled his first batch of Pale Ale in 1980. Of course, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale remains on store shelves nationwide to this day as the foremost representative of quite possibly the single best state for beer.

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Coors may be the biggest beer associated with Colorado, but Coors is more of a national company with Colorado branding than unique to the state. Colorado's signature beer is another pillar of the U.S. market: New Belgium Brewing's Fat Tire Ale. Representative of its popularity is the fact that, in 2013, New Belgium redesigned its logo to incorporate a bike because the Fat Tire brand had thoroughly eclipsed the brewery's name in popularity.

New England Brewing Co. is headquartered in Woodbridge, Connecticut, located just outside of New Haven. The brewery has served the Woodbridge community since 2003, when an earlier version of the business moved from the New York-adjacent Norwalk, Connecticut. The most popular beer produced by this Connecticut staple is a double IPA called G-bot that boasts a balance of hop forward flavor and relatively easy drinkability.

Dogfish Head

Delaware may rank sixth smallest among U.S. states by population, but the state's flagship brewery, Dogfish Head, is among some of the most popular in the country. Synonymous with the Dogfish Head brand is experimentation, but grounding the company is its classic 60 Minute IPA. Dogfish Head pioneered a beer production technique called continuous hopping with its stronger 90 Minute IPA, and then used it to produce a comparatively milder — but still plenty hoppy — single IPA, continuously hopped for 60 minutes.

Cigar City is one of the best breweries on the entire east coast, and its beers are sold throughout the U.S. But the company's inspiration has always been its home state of Florida. Founded in 2009, its namesake — and the inspiration for offerings like its Maduro Brown Ale — is, of course, the state's cigar culture, imported from nearby Cuba. Jai Alai, meanwhile, is a European sport with a history in Florida. Cigar City, therefore, named its most popular beer the Jai Alai IPA.

The founders of SweetWater Brewing decided they wanted to brew beer together when they were students at University of Colorado Boulder. They opened their first business venture, however, in Atlanta, Georgia in 1997. Perhaps inspired by the culture of Colorado, its flagship beer is the 420 Extra Pale Ale. That beer became such a lynchpin of the SweetWater brewery, it inspired a lineup of additional 420-branded beers and even one of the best beer festivals in America.

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Hawaii isn't lacking locally produced beer, thanks to names like Maui Brewing Co. and Aloha Beer Co. But the one beer most intrinsically linked to the Aloha State is Kona Brewing Co.'s Big Wave Golden Ale. Kona Brewing Co. boast decades of Hawaiian history, and since 2021, has operated a facility with a 100,000 barrel capacity, focused on sustainability and supporting the Hawaiian economy. Big Wave is a staple of nearly anywhere that sells beer in the U.S.

Grand Teton National Park is technically in Wyoming, but it's close enough to Idaho to warrant Grand Teton Brewing Company — located in Victor, near the Wyoming border — using it as a namesake. In fact, the water used to produce products like its flagship, award-winning Sweetgrass Pale Ale comes from a spring near the brewery consisting of glacial run-off from the Teton Range. Sweetgrass Pale Ale debuted in 2002 and has remained a staple of Idaho beer ever since.

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Every Black Friday, Chicago's Goose Island Beer Co. releases the latest versions of its luxurious Bourbon County Stout. Outside of November, Goose Island is upheld by the comparatively less flashy but perpetually available Goose IPA. Given its ubiquity, the Goose IPA is oftentimes better than whatever macrobrew alternatives may accompany it on a given Midwestern beer menu. Simply put, ask a beer lover to name a beer from Illinois, and even if it's not their favorite, Goose IPA will always come to mind.

Like Goose Island, beer aficionados associate Munster, Indiana's Three Floyds Brewing with a limited-time offering: the Dark Lord Imperial Stout, the annual release of which is accompanied by a legitimate heavy metal music festival. Year-round, Three Floyds' flagship product is the Zombie Dust "Undead" Pale Ale. On each Three Floyds product is eye-catching artwork, and decorating every can of Zombie Dust is a zombie design by comic artist Tim Seeley.

Toppling Goliath brewery was founded in Decorah, Iowa in 2009, and its reach has ballooned to encompass distribution in 30 states since then. The brewery's signature line of beers is its Sue series of Pale Ales and IPAs — Sue referring to a T-Rex on the label of each of these beers. Most popular among them is the Pseudo Sue Pale Ale, winner of multiple awards including Best Midwest Pale Ale at the 2024 United States Beer Tasting Championship.

Free State Brewing Company's story dates back to 1989, when it became the first legal brewery to open in the state of Kansas that century. Today the brewery operates out of urban Lawrence, Kansas. Its Yakimaniac IPA may have debuted as recently as 2015, but it rapidly became the historic brewery's flagship product. Its name refers to its hops' point of origin: the Yakima Valley in Washington state.

Kentucky may be bourbon country, but the state's signature beer isn't a bourbon barrel-aged stout but a double IPA produced in the heart of Louisville. Against the Grain Brewery describes its Citra Ass Down IPA as one of the first and most popular double IPAs in the industry. Citra hops, of course, are among the most common varieties used in IPAs, hence the kinda groan-worthy pun that serves as the beer's name.

Abita Brewing Company has operated in rural Louisiana near New Orleans since 1986. The brewery's namesake is Abita Springs, which is where it sources the water used in its beer production. What is arguably Abita's defining beer — it's either this or the much plainer Amber Lager — is called Purple Haze, a so-called raspberry lager. Simply put, its funky and fun, capturing some of the signature spirit of New Orleans.

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On the side of Maine close to the New Hampshire border is Allagash Brewing Company, founded in 1995. In 2019, its proprietor Rob Todd received a James Beard award for Outstanding Wine, Beer, Or Spirits Professional, which stands as a testament to the brewery's importance. Its flagship product is the nationally renowned Allagash White. The brewery claims Allagash White is the most-awarded wheat bear worldwide — as lofty as this may be, Allagash made sure to back up this claim up with plenty of evidence.

Local beers beloved in Maryland include Evolution Craft Brewing's Lot No. 3 IPA and the Sapwood Cellars Snip Snip Hazy IPA. But even more representative of the state is Union Craft Brewing's Duckpin Pale Ale. It's a popular choice, and it's named after duckpin bowling — a variation on tradition bowling, with a sizable footprint in Maryland, that uses pins with a shorter and stouter shape. The Duckpin Pale Ale has been a Maryland staple for more than a decade.

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It may not be the single best beer Massachusetts has to offer, but ask someone with even just rudimentary beer knowledge to name a brew from the state and they will undoubtedly think of Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Well before Constellation Brands purchased Ballast Point for $1 billion in 2015, The Boston Beer Company's Samuel Adams brand was already blurring the line between craft and macrobrew with its technically independent but widely sold products, the star of which is its Boston Lager.

Even more than the similarly iconic Founders Breakfast Stout, the state of Michigan is best represented by the beloved Two Hearted IPA from Bell's Brewery. The history of Bell's in Michigan dates back to the early '80s, and the first batch of Two Hearted IPA debuted in 1997 — predating the IPA craze that defined beer in the 2000s and beyond. Key to the Two Hearted IPA recipe is the exclusive use of Centennial hops.

Even if it's not as well-known as the likes of Bell's Brewery or Alaskan Brewing Co., for example, Summit Brewing Company in St. Paul, Minnesota boasts decades of history itself. Its flagship beer, since way back in 1986, has always been the Summit Extra Pale Ale, and it remains the company's ace to this day. Throughout the 2010s, the Summit EPA won medals at both the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival.

As late as 2005, Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. became the first brewery to package its beers in the state of Mississippi since prohibition. Its backbone is the Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale, which the brewery describes — to the best of its knowledge — as the first beer in the world to incorporate roasted pecans into the brewing process. In 2006, the World Beer Cup awarded Southern Pecan a Specialty Beer bronze medal.

Boulevard Brewing Co. has operated out of Kansas City, Missouri since 1989, and claims to now be the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest. The Tank 7 Saison came about shortly after the brewery expanded in 2006. Not only is Tank 7 the signature beer of Missouri, but it's one of the most popular saisons produced in the U.S, undoubtedly introducing many a beer drinker to a typically Belgian style of ale.

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The founders of Missoula, Montana's Big Sky Brewing Co. decided to get into the beer business when they realized their English ale recipes would complement the Montana beers already produced by Bayern Brewing — a German-style brewery still in business today. Moose Drool Brown Ale dates back to Big Sky's first year in business. Its popularity quickly ballooned, to the extent that it's become a mainstay of beer menus and liquor stores across the country.

Nebraska Brewing Company opened its doors in Papillion, Nebraska in 2007, though by that point founder Paul Kavulak already had about 15 years of brewing experience. Shortly before his brewery's official opening, he had formulated his flagship Cardinale Pale Ale after a mishap unexpectedly resulted in a quality product. Cardinal Pale Ale won its fair share of awards in the first half of 2010 and remains a cornerstone of Nebraska's beer scene today.

Sparks, Nevada, near Reno, is the city Revision Brewing Company calls home. Setting it apart from some of its competition is a commitment to experimentation and rebellion. Emblematic of this philosophy is the fact that its most popular beer is a big, bold Northeast-style hazy IPA called Disco Ninja. Plus, amplifying its Nevada bona fides, its recipe was formulated in collaboration with nearby Shoe Tree Brewing.

Smuttynose Brewing Co. in the city of Hampton refers to itself as New Hampshire's original craft brewery, dating back to 1994. Its premier product, however, is the Finestkind IPA, which was first formulated in 2010. Even if Finestkind debuted while IPAs were handily saturating the beer market, it managed to stand out from its considerable competition and become the beer most representative of its home state of New Hampshire.

Cousins Chris and Augie Carton are the proprietors of Carton Brewing Company in the New Jersey city of Atlantic Highlands. While plenty of breweries are upheld by big, hoppy, high-alcohol IPAs, the cornerstone of Carton Brewing Company is a session IPA called Boat Beer. It measures just 4.2% ABV, but as an IPA, it boasts considerably more flavor than macrobrew lagers of comparable strength. New Jersey's signature beer, then, prioritizes drinkability but without sacrificing quality.

La Cumbre Brewing Co.

La Cumbre Brewing Co. is a relatively newer business, opening its doors in 2010. Nevertheless, the company grew fast, now operating two taprooms in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the forefront of its beer lineup is the Elevated IPA, which won gold at 2011's Great American Beer Festival and bronze at the World Beer Cup the following year. On the strength of this early success, La Cumbre Brewing Co.'s Elevated IPA quickly became a New Mexican mainstay.

Despite its cultural riches, there's no one beer that far and away defines New York more than any other. For some the state's signature beer might be Other Half Brewing's All Citra Everything, whereas others might prefer Brooklyn Brewery's flagship Brooklyn Lager. But arguably more emblematic of the Big Apple than either of those is the Sixpoint Brewery Resin Double IPA. Simply put, Resin is renowned among IPA heads around the country, and it's iconically linked to its original Red Hook, Brooklyn home.

The ascent of Asheville, North Carolina's Wicked Weed Brewing was near light speed — just five years after opening in 2012, Anheuser-Busch purchased the brewery, adding it to a portfolio that included Goose Island and Elysian, among others. Pernicious IPA is Wicked Weed's best-seller. While it boasts a balanced flavor, it also comes in at a significant 7.3% ABV. It's called Pernicious because Wicked Weed thinks it's pernicious how much the beer will ruin all other IPAs for anyone who tries it.

Drekker Brewing Company opened in 2014 but operates out of a building in Fargo, North Dakota that dates back to 1880, predating the state's founding. Today, Drekker's taproom is dominated by hoppy IPAs and fruity sours. At the forefront of this selection is the Ectogasm New England-style Hazy IPA. Even if it was doubtlessly formulated when the hazy IPA trend was blossoming around 2017, Ectogasm was no mere fad, remaining the brewery's biggest success well after the trend's heyday.

Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Purporting to be Ohio's first craft brewery, the founding of Great Lakes Brewing Co. dates all the way back to 1988. Popular beers at Great Lakes are numerous, including a seasonal Christmas Ale that's remained in the brewery's rotation since 1992. Anchoring its year-round offerings is the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, named after a notorious Great Lakes shipwreck. At a reasonable 6% ABV and 37 IBU, the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter ends up in a sweet spot on the spectrum of bold and drinkable.

Prairie Artisan Ale claims a lineage stretching back not even just to pre-prohibition but before, even, its home state of Oklahoma was made official. Krebs Brewing Company opened legally in 1995, and acquired — thus merging with — Prairie Artisan Ales in 2016. Its flagship beer reflects that complicated lineage: Bomb! is an imperial stout made with cacao nibs, chili peppers, coffee, and vanilla beans. Today, beer lovers all over the country enjoy the irreplicable flavor of Prairie's Bomb! Imperial Stout.

Oregon is one of the bigger states for craft beer. Rogue's Dead Guy Ale may have paved the way for Oregon's beer scene, but more relevant to its present day landscape is the Deschutes Brewery Fresh Squeezed IPA. Back in 1988, Deschutes was just a brewpub local to Bend, but since then it's become a mainstay of the nation's beer market. Like the Goose Island IPA or Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale, Fresh Squeezed IPA isn't flashy, but its ubiquity makes it an easy-drinking classic.

Yeungling is America's oldest brewery, with a well-documented history dating back to 1829 to back up this lofty claim. Despite its large size, Yeungling has always persisted as a family-owned craft brewery. The product synonymous with the Yeungling brand is simply called Traditional Lager. While it may be compositionally similar to a big-name macrobrew, Yeungling's proud independence helps maintain the Traditional Lager's distinct Pottsville, Pennsylvania flair.

Mashed declared Narragansett Brewing Company's Narragansett Lager one of the best cheap beers to drink in 2023, and for good reason — it's similar to a big-name macrobrews in price point and composition, but it's of a markedly higher quality. The history of Narragansett beer in Providence, Rhode Island dates back to 1890, meaning the beer's reputation as a New England classic has lasted for well over 100 years.

Edward and Morgan Westbrook opened Westbrook Brewing Co. in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina in 2010. Just months later, for their wedding reception, they brewed the first batch of Mexican Cake. For the brewery's first anniversary, Westbrook Brewing Co. started bottling Mexican Cake as an annual release. Bolstering its naturally bold imperial stout base are cocoa nibs, cinnamon, vanilla, and habanero peppers. Mexican Cake is intrinsically linked with the South Carolina institution's history and remains one of the state's most renowned beers.

Shortly after Crow Peak Brewing opened in Spearfish, South Dakota in 2007, demand for its product outgrew a meager 5-barrel brewing capacity. By 2010, the brewery completed a significant expansion, and five years later, it was distributing to nearby North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Minnesota. At the forefront of its three year-round offerings is the 11th Hour IPA, a straightforward American IPA proudly declaring on each can that it's crafted in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Nashville, Tennessee's Bearded Iris Brewing is up-front about the fact its beer menu is dominated by hoppy IPAs, double IPAs, and pale ales. But rather than force variety, the brewery's mission is to prioritize quality, ensuring each hoppy ale has something unique to offer. At the forefront of this initiative is the Homestyle IPA, hopped exclusively with Mosaic hops. Also in Bearded Iris' lineup are double and triple versions of Homestyle, building on the brewery's flagship beer for the remorselessly hop-addicted.

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Texas has its own version of the Samuel Adams Boston Lager or the Yuengling Traditional Lager in Spoetzl Brewery's Shiner Bock. While Spoetzl Brewery's history in Shiner, Texas dates back to 1909 — persisting, even, through prohibition — the Shiner Bock brand is far more iconic than the name of the brewery that produces it. Shiner Bock originated, even, in 1913, but wasn't brewed year-round until 1973. Now, more then a century since its inception, Shiner Bock is outright synonymous with Texas beer.

Few states are more of an unlikely home for a brewery than Utah, thanks to laws that — while less restrictive as of 2019 — limit what alcohol can be sold where. Nevertheless, Epic Brewing is well-known not just in its home state but around the country. Its flagship product is a hefty imperial stout playfully called Big Bad Baptist. Each batch is flavored with cacao nibs and coffee, the latter changing from batch to batch, before it's barrel aged.

Pretty much anyone who considers themself a beer person knows Vermont is home to The Alchemist Brewery's Heady Topper. While it may not technically be something Bernie Sanders really enjoys, the Vermont senator did, nevertheless, pose with a can of it. Before every brewery and its mother was formulating its own Hazy IPA or New England IPA, Heady Topper was opaque and unfiltered, setting the stage for the style's emergence. It's still popular today and one of Vermont's iconic edible products.

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery opened its doors in 2011 as one of just two craft breweries in Richmond, Virginia. The city's beer scene has expanded significantly since then, but Hardywood remains one of its pillars. Most popular at Hardywood is the Gingerbread Stout — specifically, a 9.2% ABV imperial milk stout brewed with ginger and honey. The latter two ingredients are sourced locally in Virginia, lending the beer what the brewery describes as a distinctly Central Virginian terroir.

Since 1996, Elysian Brewing Company has operated out of Seattle, Washington, becoming the most iconic brewery in a state home to big names like Redhook and Fremont. Its Space Dust IPA is one of the icons of the IPA market. But while most breweries' flagship IPAs prioritize drinkability first and foremost, Space Dust foregrounds boldness, evidenced by 8.2% ABV. Its logo is modeled after Pop Rocks packaging from the '70s, use of which required official approval from General Mills.

Big Timber Brewing Company's founder developed his passion for beer while living in Montana, and decided to start his first brewery in his hometown of Elkins, West Virginia. Big Timber opened its doors in 2014, and quickly became popular enough to require a sizable expansion four years later. Its flagship product is a Porter, which won a bronze medal in 2023 and a gold medal in 2024 at the World Beer Cup, helping Big Timber become the most-awarded brewery in West Virginia.

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Wisconsin is a major beer state, as the birthplace of Pabst Blue Ribbon and site of the massive Molson Coors Milwaukee Brewery. But the former is no longer in Milwaukee and the latter is merely one outpost for a major corporation. Truly local to America's dairy capital is New Glarus Brewing Company. Its Spotted Cow is an iconic farmhouse ale utilizing a recipe that adheres to Germany's Reinheitsgebot purity specifications. Spotted Cow has been a Wisconsin staple since 1997.

Just five years after its founding, Melvin Brewing received funding from its home state of Wyoming to build a sizable facility in the town of Alpine. Most acclaimed among its year-round beer lineup is the 2x4 Double IPA, recipient of gold at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival, gold at the 2015 World Beer Cup, and a number of other major awards. At 9.9% ABV and 100 IBUs, 2x4 isn't for everyone, but hop aficionados might want to track down this Wyoming standout.