Beer drinkers and connoisseurs don't need a reason, but today is National IPA Day, dedicated to the India Pale Ale style of beer. As the folks at Smartmouth Brewing said, "there's nothing better than waking up your taste buds with a burst of hops and bitterness to the face, am I right?"

IPA's are for everyone, in fact, I'm not a big fan of them, but...there's always a but, variations in recent years have even made me a fan of certain types of IPA style beers.

Any discussion of IPA's on National IPA Day has to start with the pride of Kalamazoo, Two Hearted Ale. It's been voted the best beer in the country numerous times. Also from the folks at Bell's, a lot of love goes to Hop Slam, a double IPA.

Bell's competitor from up the road, Founder's has their All-Day IPA, and Centennial IPA. And then there's New Holland Brewing, with Hoptronix. And Perrin brews 98 Problems and No Problems IPA's, but also a Grapefruit and Blackberry IPA among others. Quite tasty. And here's where we begin to get into variants and mutants, and where I jump on the bandwagon.

Just one person's opinion, but Old Nation in Williamston's M-43 is my favorite beer, a New England IPA. (using a blend of citra hops and with a hazy appearance, this style of beer is incredibly good. Most of the brewers now have a New England IPA of some sort in their lineups. Some are better than others. Final Gravity's Hash Juice is very, very legit, as is Bell's Incessant (a double NEIPA) and Juice Bigalow from Rochester Mills.

But before we get too far off course, the folks at Latitude 42 have their I-P-Eh! and Saugatuck Brewing has their Backyard IPA, and One Well has more than a few, including Whoppy. If you're impressed by funny names, Greenbush has Star Chicken Shotgun, Three Floyd's in Indiana has several that will get your attention including Permanent Funeral and Zombie Dust. If you go further west, Chicago's Revolution Brewing "Hero" series are all fine IPA's.

There are many, many IPA's. This is just a quick overview of mostly Michigan beers, to help celebrate a Hoppy IPA day.

More From WKFR