The 10 Best IPAs From The 10 Best Craft Breweries In America

Do you know the exact definition of a craft brewery? According to the Brewers Association, in order for a brewery to be considered craft, it must be "small, independent, and traditional." That means that it produces no more than six million barrels per year and that outside investors or part-owners have less than 25 percent control of the brand.

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There plenty of craft breweries all throughout America, and choosing the best small-batch beers for your barbecue or dinner party can be a bit stressful. Luckily, we rounded up the 50 Best Craft Breweries in America to get you started. This way, you're barbecue will be absolutely perfect.

Among the wide spread of brews that each venue provides, the classic IPA never fails to be a crowd favorite.

With that in mind, we've rounded the 10 Best IPAs from the 50 Best Craft Breweries in America. This way, you'll know the best of the best. We'll cheers to that!

#10 G'Knight, Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, Colo.

This brewery got its start in the basement of the Oskar Blues Grill and Brew Restaurant one year after the restaurant opened. There was never a doubt about Oskar Blues Brewery: Their very first beer, the Reverend Sandi's Sinful Stout, earned them a bronze medal in the Great American Beer Festival in 1998. In 2002 they became the first brewery to can their own beer: their flagship Dale's Pale Ale. 

They know what they're doing when it comes to IPAs, too: their G'Knight is a dry-hopped, imperial red IPA with a hefty flavor.

#9 Golden IPA, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, Calif.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company began with Ken Grossman's passion for the alchemy of home-brewing as a young man. When Grossman took a cycling trip through Chico, he fell in love with the area and decided to set up his home and his first beer venture, the Home Brew Shop, there in the 1970s. As he honed his craft, he searched for quality hops (not easily available at the time) and began shaping what would become Sierra Nevada's entire flavor profile. It's all based on rich, hoppy brews that mirror flavors found in nature.

The Golden IPA provides a fruity and flowery grapefruit scent that's perfect for summer. Interested in trying other IPAs at this brewery? Sierra Nevada Brewing Company also offers a 4–Way IPA Seasonal Sampler.