Hop Knot IPA from Tempe’s Four Peaks Brewing is the best beer in Arizona, but doesn’t quite crack the top 5 in the Southwest, according to Beer Advocate’s rankings of the top 100 beers in the Southwest.
Arizona manages only two beers in the top 20 – Hop Knot at No. 6 and Inebriator Stout, a Russian Imperial Stout from Phoenix’s Sonoran Brewing, at No. 18.
The rankings are based on the website’s user reviews and cover a four-state region that also includes New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.
A total of 21 Arizona beers made the top 100, not counting a couple from national chain BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery, which has locations in Arizona and 12 other states.
Texas dominates the list. Austin’s Live Oak Brewery has two of the top 5: Live Oak Hefeweizen (No. 1) and Old Tree Hugger Barleywine (No. 5). Austin’s (512) Brewing also has two: (512) IPA (No. 2) and (512) Pecan Porter (No. 4).
The Arizona beers in the top 100:
- Hop Knot IPA, Four Peaks Brewing, Tempe (No. 6)
- Inebriator Stout, Sonoran Brewing, Phoenix (No. 18)
- Petrified Porter, Prescott Brewing, Prescott (No. 23)
- Warhead Imperial Stout, Thunder Canyon Brewery, Flagstaff (No. 28)
- Horny Toad IPA, Mogollon Brewing, Flagstaff (No. 30)
- Elsie Irish Cream, Papago Brewing, Scottsdale (No. 34)
- Apache Trout Stout, Mogollon Brewing, Flagstaff (No. 39)
- HopShock IPA, SanTan Brewing, Chandler (No. 51)
- Old Monkeyshine, Nimbus Brewing, Tucson (No. 57)
- El Robusto Porter, Papago Brewing, Scottsdale (No. 58)
- Hopsquatch Barleywine, Four Peaks Brewing, Tempe (No. 64)
- Ponderosa IPA, Prescott Brewing Company, Prescott (No. 69)
- The Raj IPA, Four Peaks Brewing, Tempe (No. 79)
- Superstition Pale Ale, Mogollon Brewing, Flagstaff (No. 80)
- Trooper IPA, SunUp Brewing, Phoenix (No. 81)
- Thunderhead IPA, Thunder Canyon Brewing, Flagstaff (No. 83)
- Devil’s Ale, SanTan Brewing, Chandler (No. 86)
- Horseshoe Hefeweizen, Oak Creek Brewing, Sedona (No. 88)
- Oatmeal Stout, Nimbus Brewing, Tucson (No. 91)
- 8th Street Ale, Four Peak Brewing, Tempe (No. 94)
- Oatmeal Stout, Four Peaks Brewing, Tempe (No. 95)
Top Beers – Southwest [Beer Advocate]
