Grand Rapids in Running in 'Best Beer City' 2025 USA Today Poll

We've been calling Grand Rapids "Beer City USA" for a good, long time... well over a decade!

To back that up, we should probably keep scoring these national honors, right?

👇BELOW: DISCOVER THE TOP BEER IN EACH STATE👇

Well, Grand Rapids is in the running for a national contest. Once again, it's USA TODAY asking, "What's the Best Beer City in America"?

UP NEXT: New Taproom Opens at Grand Rapids' Airport

Grand Rapids totally nabbed the No. 1 spot the last FOUR years in a row - can we do it again? Your vote can help keep Grand Rapids "Beer City USA"!

Greyline Brewing, City Built Brewing, Kusterer Brauhaus, Founders Brewing Company, Broad Leaf Brewing, Arvon Brewing, Brewery Vivant via Facebook

Grand Rapids Up for Favorite Beer City in America in USA Today Poll

We must defend our title! In 2024, and in previous years, Grand Rapids took the No. 1 spot in USA Today and 10Best's "Favorite Beer City in America" poll.

Brass Ring Brewing, Harmony Brewing, Perrin Brewing Co. via Facebook

In 2025 GR is once again duking it out with other beer-centric cities. Grand Rapids is among 20 U.S. cities chosen by a panel of beer experts as having the best beer scenes in the nation.

That means stellar selections of established and up-and-coming breweries, beer bars, brewpubs, beer festivals and even thriving homebrewing communities where novice brewers can get their foot in the door. -USA Today

Well, that sure sounds like Grand Rapids to me! And now it's up to us to vote for the Top 10. You can vote for Grand Rapids once per day here until voting ends on Monday, Feb. 24 at noon.

Here's USA Today's praise for GR:

"Michigan’s second-largest city sports the state’s strongest beer scene, thanks largely to the presence of the world-renowned Founders Brewing Co.

Inside Founders Brewing Co. - Founders Brewing Co./ Facebook

Not to be outdone, there are several other brewing operations around town, most notably the Belgian-inspired Brewery Vivant. The city’s official “Beer City Ale Trail” lists more than 80 breweries in the surrounding area, and the local calendar is constantly filled with beer festivals, events, and promotions. Throw in exceptional beer stores such as Siciliano’s Market, and it’s easy to see why Grand Rapids proudly stakes its claim as 'Beer City USA'."

So who are we up against this year?

Cities in the Running for Best Beer City in America 2025

Here are all the cities in the running for Best Beer City in America:

Asheville, North Carolina
Atlanta, Georgia
Austin, Texas
Boston, Massachusetts
Charlotte, North Carolina
Chicago, Illinois
Columbus, Ohio
Denver, Colorado
Fort Collins, Colorado
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Minneapolis, Minnesota
New York City, New York
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Portland, Oregon,
Richmond, Virginia
San Diego, California
Seattle, Washington
St. Louis Missouri
Tampa Florida

Again, you can vote for Grand Rapids here!

LOOK: Best Beers From Every State

To find the best beer in each state and Washington D.C., Stacker analyzed January 2020 data from BeerAdvocate, a website that gathers user scores for beer in real-time. BeerAdvocate makes its determinations by compiling consumer ratings for all 50 states and Washington D.C. and applying a weighted rank to each. The weighted rank pulls the beer toward the list's average based on the number of ratings it has and aims to allow lesser-known beers to increase in rank. Only beers with at least 10 rankings to be considered; we took it a step further to only include beers with at least 100 user rankings in our gallery. Keep reading to find out what the best beer is in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C.

Gallery Credit: Angela Underwood

Source: Can Grand Rapids Defend Its Title of ‘Beer City USA’?