Highest-rated IPAs in North Carolina

Bitter is better for IPA lovers. This hop-forward brew is the most popular craft beer style in the United States, accounting for nearly in off-premise retail establishments in 2024, according to Circana data.

India pale ales in the 1800s, with the phrase first appearing in print in 1835. Brewer typically gets the credit for its development. His competitors started calling his hoppier brew India pale ale because of his contract with the British East India Company.

American brewers first began making English IPAs in the late 1800s, but Americans preferred lagers. It wasn't until 1975, when Anchor Brewing Company launched a dry-hopped pale ale, that craft brewers started to latch onto the style. In 1991, Oregon brewer Teri Fahrendorf made an IPA with all-American ingredients, creating the first American IPA.

Like other ales, IPAs contain , which gives them a robust flavor and aroma. IPAs are , responsible for the beer's characteristic bitterness and its notes of citrus, floral, or pine. These beers are known for their higher alcohol content, ranging from 5.5% to 7.5%, although session IPAs are lower in ABV, and double or triple IPAs are higher.

Brewers like IPAs because they allow for bold creativity. West Coast IPAs are known for their , with brewers pushing the bounds of bitterness. While true IPA aficionados love that element, many are now leaning toward the more approachable New England-style IPA, which is hazier in appearance and maximizes the fruitier characteristics of hops without the extreme and potentially off-putting bitter taste.

Whatever your IPA preference, there are endless options to choose from. compiled a list of the best IPAs from North Carolina, using data from , and sorted them according to their weighted ranking. Beers without images were excluded. Only IPAs that made BeerAdvocate's top 100 beer list by state were included.

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BeerAdvocate

1 / 26

#26. Whatever You Feel Just Dance It

- Rating: 4.25 (29 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.0%
- Brewery: Resident Culture Brewing Company
-

BeerAdvocate

2 / 26

#25. Pithy

- Rating: 4.19 (52 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.4%
- Brewery: Brewery Bhavana
-

BeerAdvocate

3 / 26

#24. Perni-Haze

- Rating: 4.16 (92 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.9%
- Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
-

BeerAdvocate

4 / 26

#23. Sticky When Wet

- Rating: 4.25 (36 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.31%
- Brewery: NoDa Brewing Co. - North End
-

BeerAdvocate

5 / 26

#22. Vicky Virago

- Rating: 4.29 (28 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Resident Culture Brewing Company
-

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BeerAdvocate

6 / 26

#21. The Savages Of Ruminating Minds

- Rating: 4.21 (56 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.2%
- Brewery: Burial Beer Co.
-

BeerAdvocate

7 / 26

#20. Lemur Party

- Rating: 4.30 (28 ratings)
- Type: Milkshake IPA
- ABV: 8.3%
- Brewery: Wilmington Brewing Company
-

BeerAdvocate

8 / 26

#19. I Used To Be An Athlete

- Rating: 4.44 (18 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.4%
- Brewery: Burial Beer Co.
-

BeerAdvocate

9 / 26

#18. Imperial Hop Drop

- Rating: 4.23 (48 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9.2%
- Brewery: NoDa Brewing Co. - North End
-

BeerAdvocate

10 / 26

#17. Hop Cakes

- Rating: 4.16 (232 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 10.2%
- Brewery: NoDa Brewing Co. - North End
-

BeerAdvocate

11 / 26

#16. Gang Of Blades

- Rating: 4.16 (252 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.3%
- Brewery: Burial Beer Co.
-

BeerAdvocate

12 / 26

#15. God Complex

- Rating: 4.31 (31 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: Resident Culture Brewing Company
-

BeerAdvocate

13 / 26

#14. Grove

- Rating: 4.21 (84 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.0%
- Brewery: Brewery Bhavana
-

BeerAdvocate

14 / 26

#13. Massacre Of The Innocents

- Rating: 4.22 (87 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 6.5%
- Brewery: Burial Beer Co.
-

BeerAdvocate

15 / 26

#12. Bee Fruitful

- Rating: 4.30 (40 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 7.6%
- Brewery: Heist Brewery
-

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BeerAdvocate

16 / 26

#11. To Streak Blood Across My Brow

- Rating: 4.31 (38 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Burial Beer Co.
-

BeerAdvocate

17 / 26

#10. Menage-a-Freak

- Rating: 4.24 (73 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 11.4%
- Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
-

BeerAdvocate

18 / 26

#9. Kitten Biscuit

- Rating: 4.32 (52 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 9.0%
- Brewery: Wilmington Brewing Company
-

BeerAdvocate

19 / 26

#8. Pernicious IPA

- Rating: 4.21 (1,500 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.3%
- Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
-

BeerAdvocate

20 / 26

#7. Jade IPA

- Rating: 4.24 (1,122 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.4%
- Brewery: Foothills Brewing Company - Downtown Brewpub
-

BeerAdvocate

21 / 26

#6. Hop, Drop 'n Roll

- Rating: 4.27 (2,105 ratings)
- Type: American IPA
- ABV: 7.2%
- Brewery: NoDa Brewing Co. - North End
-

BeerAdvocate

22 / 26

#5. Freak Of Nature

- Rating: 4.29 (1,615 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.5%
- Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
-

BeerAdvocate

23 / 26

#4. Blurred Up

- Rating: 4.45 (53 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 8.4%
- Brewery: Heist Brewery
-

BeerAdvocate

24 / 26

#3. 脺berQuench'l

- Rating: 4.44 (66 ratings)
- Type: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 8.2%
- Brewery: Heist Brewery
-

BeerAdvocate

25 / 26

#2. Blurred Is The Word

- Rating: 4.41 (111 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 6.8%
- Brewery: Heist Brewery
-

BeerAdvocate

26 / 26

#1. CitraQuench'l

- Rating: 4.49 (389 ratings)
- Type: New England IPA
- ABV: 7.1%
- Brewery: Heist Brewery
-

This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 51 states.

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