New Jersey Beer Named Best in the Country

Beer lovers take heed: There’s a new king of the taps in town. According to Beer Connoisseur magazine, the best beer in the country is a ‘sour blonde ale' called The Topsail. It’s brewed at New Jersey’s Cape May Brewing Co.

The Topsail came in at number one on the magazine’s list of the best beers of 2017, while Cape May Brewing Co. scored third place on its list of the year’s best breweries. As Nj.com reports, The Topsail has long been considered one of the best beers in America: Last July, it earned the gold medal in the “wood/barrel-aged sour beer category” at the US Open Beer Championships. At the time, one of the contest’s judges praised the beer, calling the aroma reminiscent of “ripe pineapple, green mangoes, red apples, ripe pear and light citrus fruit.”

Ryan Krill, the CEO of Cape May Brewing Co. called the honor an “outstanding achievement,” and said that The Topsail has also received the “World Class beer” designation.

Beer Connoisseur named Heavy Seas Brewing, based in Halethorpe, Maryland, the number one best brewery in the country, while Mother Earth Brew Co., in Vista, California, came in second place.

One 2017 survey found that beer is the preferred beverage of most Americans so this is probably big news to those among us who are constantly on the hunt for the best beer ever. If you’re one of them, you might look toward Detroit, which Food & Wine calls the “next great beer city” in the country right now. Boulder is another American city that is going to be recognized for its great beer in 2018. Meanwhile, craft beer only continues to grow in popularity: These are Food & Wine’s picks for the three craft beer styles you’ll find in mainstream breweries and on liquor store shelves in 2018.