Bell's Two Hearted Ale has won the American Homebrewers Association's Best Beer in America poll more times than any other beer. That single fact tells you something important: this is not a beer that marketers made famous. Drinkers did.
Brewed by Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Two Hearted is an American IPA built on a single hop variety – Centennial – and a clean, dry malt backbone that keeps the hop character front and center without turning aggressive. It is, in the best sense, a straightforward beer that is very difficult to make this well.
Flavor Profile and ABV
Two Hearted Ale clocks in at 7% ABV – a figure Bell's has held steady for years, and one worth knowing because it sits higher than many session-adjacent IPAs while drinking considerably lighter than the number suggests. The carbonation is lively, the body medium, and the finish dry enough that you want another sip almost immediately.
The flavor is defined almost entirely by Centennial hops, used generously both in the kettle and as dry-hop additions. Centennial is sometimes called a "super Cascade" – it shares that variety's floral, citrusy character but pushes it further, adding a more pronounced resinous quality and a touch of pine. In Two Hearted, the result is a pronounced grapefruit and orange-peel aroma, a clean bitterness that lands somewhere around 55 IBUs (verify current figures with Bell's directly), and a long, resinous finish that fades cleanly rather than coating the palate.
The malt is present but deliberately restrained: lightly toasty, faintly caramel, never sweet enough to compete with the hops. This restraint is the beer's quiet genius. Many American IPAs use malt sweetness to soften bitterness; Two Hearted uses dryness to amplify hop aromatics instead. The result is a beer that smells more intensely hoppy than it tastes bitter – a distinction that matters enormously to drinkers who find heavily bitter IPAs fatiguing.
For those curious about the broader IPA family this beer belongs to, our guide to India Pale Ale styles covers how American IPA diverged from its English ancestor and why single-hop beers became a proving ground for craft brewers.
Why It Keeps Winning
Consistency is an underrated virtue in craft beer. Bell's Two Hearted Ale has been brewed since 1997, and the beer in a can today is recognizably the same beer it was a decade ago. That kind of stability requires discipline – in raw material sourcing, in fermentation control, in quality assurance – that many smaller breweries struggle to maintain as they scale.
The single-hop approach is also a genuine differentiator. Using only Centennial means the beer's character rises or falls on how well Bell's sources and handles that one variety. There is nowhere to hide a mediocre harvest behind a blend of four other hops. Year after year, Two Hearted demonstrates that Centennial, treated well, is one of the great American hop varieties.
Distribution matters too. Bell's – now part of Lion Little World Beverages following a 2021 acquisition, though it continues to operate with significant independence – distributes across a large portion of the United States. Finding Two Hearted Ale near you is rarely difficult in states where Bell's has distribution; most well-stocked bottle shops and many grocery chains carry it. If your local retailer doesn't, apps like Untappd or your state's beer distributor listings are the most reliable way to locate it.
The beer also arrived at exactly the right moment in American craft brewing history and then survived the style wars that followed. When hazy New England IPAs became the dominant trend, Two Hearted didn't pivot. It remained a clear, West Coast–influenced American IPA at a time when the category was briefly unfashionable among trend-chasers – and came out the other side with its reputation intact, arguably stronger for having held its ground.
The Hemingway Connection
The name Two Hearted Ale is a nod to Ernest Hemingway's 1925 short story "Big Two-Hearted River," in which a veteran named Nick Adams travels alone to fish the Two Hearted River in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The story is spare and precise – Hemingway at his most controlled – and it carries an undercurrent of recovery and solitude that has made it one of the most analyzed pieces of American short fiction.
Bell's chose the name not as a marketing exercise but as a genuine tribute to a Michigan literary landmark. The Two Hearted River is real, running through the Upper Peninsula before emptying into Lake Superior, and it remains a destination for trout fishermen. The label art – a brook trout, rendered in clean illustration – extends the reference without belaboring it.
The connection suits the beer. Hemingway's prose valued economy and precision; Two Hearted Ale values economy and precision. One hop variety. A clean malt bill. No unnecessary complexity. The beer and the story share a certain refusal to show off.
Variants Worth Knowing
Bell's has extended the Two Hearted line carefully rather than prolifically.
Bell's Light Hearted Ale is the lower-calorie, lower-ABV sibling – brewed to deliver recognizable Two Hearted character (Centennial hops, that familiar citrus-resin aroma) at roughly 3.7% ABV and significantly fewer calories. It is a genuine attempt to make a light beer that tastes like something, rather than a marketing vehicle, and it largely succeeds. For drinkers who want the Two Hearted experience across a longer afternoon, it is worth seeking out.
Double Two Hearted Ale – sometimes called Double Hearted – takes the original recipe and amplifies everything: more Centennial hops, more malt, higher ABV. It is a Double IPA in the truest sense, brewed to showcase what happens when you push a single-hop concept to its limit. The citrus and resin character intensifies dramatically; the body fills out; the bitterness becomes more assertive. It is an excellent beer, though a different experience from the original – less about balance, more about intensity. Check Bell's current seasonal availability before hunting for it, as release schedules can shift.
A brief word on a beer that sometimes appears in the same conversation: Firestone Double Barrel Ale is an entirely different beer from an entirely different brewery (Firestone Walker, based in Paso Robles, California). It is an English-style pale ale aged in oak barrels – malt-forward, low bitterness, nothing like Two Hearted. The names occasionally cause confusion in search results; they share no lineage.
Food Pairings
At 7% ABV with assertive hop character, Two Hearted Ale pairs best with food that can match its intensity without fighting it.
Grilled or smoked meat is the obvious starting point. The beer's resinous bitterness cuts through fat; its citrus aromatics complement char. Burgers, grilled chicken thighs, smoked sausage – all work well.
Aged and sharp cheeses pair naturally with hop-forward IPAs. A sharp Vermont cheddar, a well-aged gouda, or a hard sheep's milk cheese will find the bitterness a complement rather than a challenge. If you want to understand why hops and aged cheese work together at a chemical level, the short answer is that both contain compounds that interact with fat and protein in complementary ways – though a good cheesemonger's instinct is worth more than the biochemistry.
Spicy food is a classic IPA pairing, with one caveat: very high heat can amplify the perception of bitterness, making the combination feel harsh. Medium-heat dishes – a well-seasoned taco, Thai larb, a gochujang-glazed wing – work better than the hottest preparations.
Pizza deserves a mention not because it is exotic but because it genuinely works. The combination of bread, tomato acidity, and melted fat gives Two Hearted's hop character plenty to interact with.
For a deeper look at how hop-forward beers interact with food, our article on beer and food pairing covers the underlying principles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Two Hearted Ale's ABV?
Bell's Two Hearted Ale is 7% ABV. This figure has been consistent for many years; confirm current specs at Bell's Brewery's official site.
Is Two Hearted Ale an IPA?
Yes. It is an American IPA, brewed with 100% Centennial hops and a clean malt base. It pours clear (not hazy), finishes dry, and sits firmly in the West Coast–influenced American IPA tradition rather than the New England style.
What does Two Hearted Ale taste like?
Expect prominent grapefruit and orange-peel aroma from Centennial hops, a moderate-to-firm bitterness, a faintly toasty malt backbone, and a dry, resinous finish. The bitterness is assertive but not harsh; the overall impression is aromatic and clean.
Why is it called Two Hearted Ale?
The name references Ernest Hemingway's short story "Big Two-Hearted River," set along the Two Hearted River in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The brook trout on the label extends that fishing-and-wilderness theme.
What is Bell's Light Hearted Ale?
Bell's Light Hearted Ale is a lower-ABV (roughly 3.7%), lower-calorie version of Two Hearted, brewed with the same Centennial hop character. It is designed for drinkers who want recognizable Two Hearted flavor at a more sessionable strength.
What is Double Two Hearted Ale?
Double Two Hearted (sometimes labeled Double Hearted) is a Double IPA that amplifies the original recipe – more hops, more malt, higher alcohol. It intensifies the Centennial citrus-resin character considerably. Availability varies; check Bell's current release calendar.
Where can I find Two Hearted Ale near me?
Bell's distributes across a significant portion of the US. Most well-stocked bottle shops, craft beer bars, and many grocery chains in Bell's distribution territory carry it. Use Untappd's "Find This Beer" feature or contact your local Bell's distributor for the most current retail locations.
How does Two Hearted compare to Firestone Double Barrel Ale?
They share nothing beyond the word "ale." Firestone Double Barrel Ale is an English-style pale ale from Firestone Walker in California, malt-forward and oak-aged, with low bitterness. Two Hearted is a hop-forward American IPA. The confusion is purely a search-result artifact.
Has Two Hearted Ale won awards?
Yes – it has won the American Homebrewers Association's Best Beer in America competition more times than any other beer. It consistently appears on critics' and readers' lists of the best American IPAs. Specific award years and counts are best verified at the AHA's official site.
Two Hearted Ale's staying power is not complicated to explain, but it is hard to replicate. Bell's found a recipe that works, chose a hop variety capable of carrying a beer on its own, and then did the unglamorous work of brewing it the same way, year after year, at scale. In a craft beer landscape that rewards novelty almost reflexively, that kind of commitment to a single, well-made thing is rarer than it should be – and worth raising a glass to, in moderation.
