While hazy IPAs and experimental fruit brews continue to dominate taproom handles, true craft beer veterans always return to the classics. Tracing its lineage back to the 1980s and officially debuting in 1997, Bell’s Two Hearted IPA mastered the single-hop Centennial recipe long before IPAs went mainstream. Hailing from the oldest existing craft brewery in the state, Two Hearted remains a reliable staple for early autumn campfires and football watch parties. It’s also one of our 50 favorite beers of the year.
What Is an American IPA?
A slightly nebulous category, American IPAs are floral, fruity, piney, bitter, and aromatic, much more so than an English IPA. The hops themselves are usually American in origin. It’s the top-selling craft beer style in the U.S., though there is some argument in the beer community about how this style differs (if at all) from certain regional IPAs, such as a West Coast IPA. Consider this a broad category that’s usually seen as a little mellower and less hazy than a New England IPA.
Why Bell’s Two Hearted IPA Is the Best American IPA
Courtesy Brand
Named after a renowned Michigan trout river, Bell’s flagship IPA traces its DNA to a homebrew experiment by employees Rik Dellinger and Rob Skalla. Using then-novel Centennial hops from the Pacific Northwest and formulated with Bell’s proprietary house yeast, they created a grapefruit-forward, piney IPA that later became Two Hearted. It became a year-round offering in 2003 and is now the brand’s all-time best-selling beer.
IPAs can be bitter, but Two Hearted (7 percent ABV) is balanced and multifaceted. You’ll find additional notes of orange peel, ripe berries, caramel malts, tangerines, and lemongrass, with a dry finish of lightly floral, earthy, pleasantly bitter pine.
“IPA trends have come and gone, but this Michigan standard has remained more or less unchanged,” says Advanced Cicerone David Nilsen, a writer and publisher of several beer zines, including Final Gravity and Bean to Barstool. “Two Hearted hasn’t needed to change to stay relevant.”
Bell’s Two Hearted IPA Specs
- Style: IPA
- Brewery: Bell’s Brewery, Comstock, MI
- ABV: 7 percent
Methodology: How We Tested
I created the Men’s Journal Best Beers awards list by blending expert input with brand longevity, awards, online ratings, and accessibility. In other words, I tried not to select one-off West Coast IPAs that are only sold at taprooms for two hours on a Tuesday. Instead, most of these beers are available across the U.S., meaning you won’t have to book a plane ticket to tick these bevs off your bucket list.
I began by canvassing seasoned beer experts for their top picks, then cross-referenced popular ratings sites such as Untappd. Instead of sipping from a can or bottle, I poured each beer into its appropriate glassware to appreciate its foam. The cloudy cap—caused by carbon dioxide surging to the surface—captures a beer’s aromatic compounds and delivers a more fragrant experience, each tiny pop a blast of a beer’s distinct perfume.
It takes about three sips to acclimate your palate and get a true snapshot of a beer, and I gave each beer a full appraisal. A great beer fired on all cylinders, from flavor to foam, appearance and fragrances, its memory lingering long after I emptied a glass.
Related: Beer Lovers Are Ditching Heavy Stouts for This Crisp German Import
Why You Should Trust Me
I’m a veteran journalist who’s been covering the beer industry for more than two decades, thoroughly chronicling the rise of the American craft beer industry for The New York Times, Food & Wine, Imbibe magazine and, of course, Men’s Journal. I’m also the author of six books on beer including The Complete Beer Course, which has sold more than 100,000 copies and been translated into multiple languages.
Over the decades, I’ve tasted thousands of different beers, from spiced pumpkin ales to summer shandies, coffee-infused stouts, spontaneously fermented Belgian ales, lightly fruity kölsch, nonalcoholic beers, and every mass-produced lager you can name. For this article, I refreshed my palate by trying dozens of beers over a two-month period.
In addition to my own evaluations, this guide features insights from our panel of industry experts: Advanced Cicerone David Nilsen (writer and publisher of Final Gravity and Bean to Barstool); Em Sauter (cartoonist, founder of Pints and Panels, Advanced Cicerone, and beer judge); Jenn Klein (certified cicerone and resident beer expert for Yard House); Shane Monteiro (chief operations officer for Brooklyn bar Queue Beer); Allo Gilinsky (hospitality and education manager for Fieldwork Brewing); Mark Medura (founder and CEO of Level Crossing Brewing Company); and Eric Steen (founder of Forest Green PR and creator of Earth to Beer).
