The Best Beers of 2021 By Style Category
The year’s best beer categorized by the most populated beer styles in the 2021 Official Review. A one-stop shopping list of the best brews on shelves today.
Story by:
Editorial Dept.
Published: January 10, 2022
| Updated: February 18, 2025
The beer world kept turning in 2021, though multiple changes were wrought by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
One thing that remained unchanged was brewers’ unending desire to push the envelope and produce a bevy of terrific beers in a multitude of styles that would make a Reinheitsgebot purist blush.
2021 provided a scintillating menagerie of tremendously engaging brews that are sure to pique the interest of connoisseurs the world over. In this piece, we’ve highlighted the most populous styles our judges reviewed in 2021, including hazy IPAs, barrel-aged beers and many more.
Read on to explore this list of some of the most engaging and popular styles from the year that was.
Top 15 IPAs of 2021 (All Styles)
Top 10 Double IPAs
Top 10 Specialty IPAs
Top 5 American IPAs
Top 10 Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beers
Top 3 Mixed-Style Beers
Top 5 International Pale Lagers
Top 3 Wild Specialty Beers
Top 5 Fruit Beers
Top 15 Specialty Wood-Aged Beers
Top 15 IPAs of 2021 (All Styles)
1. Hazy Sabro IPA
pFriem Family Brewers
Rated 98
2. Kiwi Double IPA
Lawson’s Finest Liquids
Rated 96
3. Jockamo Juicy IPA
Abita Brewing Co.
Rated 96
4. Alpha Abstraction, Vol. 15
Wild Leap Brew Co.
Rated 96
5. Too Pure To Be Pink
Wild Leap Brew Co.
Rated 96
6. Big IPA
pFriem Family Brewers
Rated 95
7. Heady Topper
The Alchemist
Rated 95
8. Alpha Abstraction, Vol. 16
Wild Leap Brew Co.
Rated 95
9. Focal Banger
The Alchemist
Rated 94
10. High Pines
Highland Brewing Co.
Rated 94
11. Planet Juice
Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.
Rated 94
12. Good Monster
Collective Arts Brewing
Rated 94
13. Beach Cruiser IPA
Garage Brewing Co.
Rated 94
14. Frog-Get About It
Metazoa Brewing Co.
Rated 94
15. Samuel Adams Just the Haze
The Boston Beer Co.
Rated 93
Top 10 Double IPAs
1. Kiwi Double IPA
Lawson’s Finest Liquids
Rated 96
2. Alpha Abstraction, Vol. 15
Wild Leap Brew Co.
Rated 96
3. Too Pure To Be Pink
Wild Leap Brew Co.
Rated 96
4. Alpha Abstraction, Vol. 16
Wild Leap Brew Co.
Rated 95
6. Big IPA
pFriem Family Brewers
Rated 95
6. Heady Topper
The Alchemist
Rated 95
7. High Pines
Highland Brewing Co.
Rated 94
8. Birthday Month Mango Cryo Hop IIPA
Wild Leap Brew Co.
Rated 92
9. Birthday Month Flowers and Fruit Double IPA
Wild Leap Brew Co.
Rated 91
10. Birthday Month Blueberry Cryo Hop IIPA
Wild Leap Brew Co.
Rated 90
Top 10 Specialty IPAs
1. Hazy Sabro IPA
pFriem Family Brewers
Rated 98
2. Jockamo Juicy IPA
Abita Brewing Co.
Rated 96
3. Planet Juice
Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.
Rated 94
4. Good Monster
Collective Arts Brewing
Rated 94
5. Beach Cruiser IPA
Garage Brewing Co.
Rated 94
6. Samuel Adams Just the Haze
The Boston Beer Co.
Rated 93
7. The Knights Who Say NEIPA
Pontoon Brewing
Rated 92
8. Coconut Jucifer
Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.
Rated 91
9. Wicked Pawesome
Metazoa Brewing Co.
Rated 91
10. Li’l Luci
Church Street Brewing Co.
Rated 90
Top 5 American IPAs
1. Focal Banger
The Alchemist
Rated 94
2. Frog-Get About It
Metazoa Brewing Co.
Rated 94
3. He Is Resin
Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.
Rated 92
4. DDH Hoppopotamus
Metazoa Brewing Co.
Rated 92
5. Rustic Ridge IPA
Highland Brewing Co.
Rated 89
Top 10 Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beers
1. Imperial Peanut Butter Korova
Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.
Rated 97
2. Smooth Operator
Low Road Brewing
Rated 97
3. Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter
Wild Leap Brew Co.
Rated 95
4. This Boi is C H O N K Y: Horchata
Pontoon Brewing
Rated 94
5. Peanut Butter Cup Cassowary
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
Rated 93
6. pFriem Coconut Stout
pFriem Family Brewers
Rated 93
7. Cinnabun Pastry Stout
Garage Brewing Co.
Rated 92
8. NITRO Cali Creamin’
Mother Earth Brew Co.
Rated 92
9. Chocolate Chip Cookie Stout
Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.
Rated 91
10. This Boi is C H O N K Y: Wide Awake
Pontoon Brewing
Rated 88
Top 3 Mixed Style Beers
1. Campfire Coffee Stout
Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.
Rated 95
2. Blueberry Pancake Pastry
Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.
Rated 94
3. Fruit Cup Vol. 2
Pontoon Brewing
Rated 92
Top 5 International Pale Lagers
1. Sirène
Arches Brewing
Rated 97
2. Yurei
Arches Brewing
Rated 94
3. Sprezzatura
Arches Brewing
Rated 94
4. XXOLO Aureo Cerveza
Garage Brewing Co.
Rated 92
5. Tierra Madre
Mother Earth Brew Co.
Rated 92
Top 3 Wild Specialty Beers
1. Mango Margarita Gose
Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.
Rated 95
2. La Baie Sauvage
pFriem Family Brewers
Rated 93
3. Panic Button
Monday Night Brewing
Rated 92
Top 5 Fruit Beers
1. Fruitopia Berliner Weisse
Garage Brewing Co.
Rated 94
2. Surf Rock Candy Shandy
Pontoon Brewing
Rated 93
3. Blood Orange Hefeweizen
Garage Brewing Co.
Rated 93
4. There’s No Crying In Baseball
Evil Genius Beer Co.
Rated 93
5. Rise and Shine Breakast Sour
Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.
Rated 90
Top 15 Specialty Wood-Aged Beers
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