Today officially marks National IPA Day! Celebrated on the first Thursday in August, this humongous holiday celebrates one of America's most popular styles of beer. 

While the history of the IPA is complicated, America's love affair with hops is not. Piney, resiny, citrusy, earthy, floral, bitter—all characteristics of classic American hops that have contributed to this trendy style. And have been attracting our palettes for almost three decades now. 

In fact, while European brewers may be credited with inventing the traditional single IPA, a brewer right in our own backyard is often attributed with taking things to the next level. In 1994 Vinnie Cilurzo, now owner and brewmaster of renowned Russian River Brewing Co. invented the double IPA (DIPA) while working on his first beer for Blind Pig Brewery in Temecula, California. He later took his innovation to Russian River where Pliny the Elder became one of the most highly regarded DIPAs in the country. 

So, you don't need us to tell you that IPAs dominate popular beer culture. That's old news. But ICYMI, here's a fun fact: Over 7.3 million IPAs have been checked-in on Untappd this year. And that's just in the American IPA category. If we add up all 10 of the most popular sub-styles of IPA, that comes out to over 24 million check-ins just in 2021!

I can see clearly now the haze is gone. Just kidding, we all know the haze is here to stay. With that in mind, to mark this momentous occasion, we're releasing the top ranking IPAs in 10 popular categories on Untappd including: American, New England, Milkshake, Double/Imperial, Double/Imperial New England, Double Milkshake, Triple, Session, Quadruple, and Sour. 

Today, almost all of the over 8,000 breweries from coast to coast have tried their hand at brewing some type of IPA, making it almost as American as say baseball and apple pie. IPAs are a cultural phenomenon and as long as we keep drinking them, brewers will keep making them. 

From the classic cult-following, line-inducing Pliny the Younger to a massive stunner with over eight pounds of Citra per barrel called DDH Ghost in the Machine, here are Untappd's 10 Highest-Rated IPAs Across 10 of the Most Popular IPA Categories of 2021.   

1. The Top Rated American IPA: JJJULIUSSS! - Tree House Brewing Co.

2. The Top Rated New England IPA: Triple Citra Chroma Daydream w. Trillium - Other Half Brewing Co. X Trillium Brewing Co.

3. The Top Rated Milkshake IPA: Blazed Orange Milkshake - Hop Butcher for the World

4. The Top Rated Double/Imperial IPA: King JJJuliusss - Tree House Brewing Co. 

5. The Top Rated Double/Imperial New England IPA: DDH Ghost in the Machine (2021) - Parish Brewing Co. 

6. The Top Rated Double Milkshake IPA: - If You Lose Me - Track Brewing Company

7. The Top Rated Triple IPA: Pliny the Younger (2021) - Russian River Brewing Co. 

8. The Top Rated Session IPA: Boat Beer - Carton Brewing Company

9. The Top Rated Quadruple IPA: Plane Over Car Over Train Over Boat (2021) - Trillium Brewing Company

10. The Top Rated Sour IPA: CYNOSURE (cara cara hibiscus apricot) - HOMES Brewery

Powered by Untappd Data (minimum of 1,000 check-ins)

Craving more crazy beers? Check out these ones the Hop Culture team and our friends try each week. On each episode of The Craziest Beer I Had This Week, we drop a new crazy beer we've cracked. Watch the latest episode and don't forget to subscribe to Hop Culture's YouTube channel so you never miss a beat on the wild beer we drink next!