At the L.A. Beer Week fest on October 23, I asked seven of the best Southern California brewmasters, “What’s your top selling beer and why do you think that’s the case?” Their responses might surprise you.

Julian Shrago (Beachwood Brewing)

IPAs tend to be the best selling, and I don’t know if there’s a single one that’s best selling, but Melrose moves really fast. Thrill Seeker moves fast. Hop Ninja moved incredibly fast. We went through an entire serving keg in a little under two weeks. That’s pretty fast to go through a whole beer that’s almost 9%.

Aaron Barkenhagen (Bootlegger’s Brewery)

Our biggest seller is our Old World Hefeweizen and I think it’s probably our biggest seller just because it’s a good crossover beer. It appeals to a wide variety of people. It’s a German style Hefeweizen, so you get a lot of people that are into craft beer that like it, and a lot of people that haven’t been exposed to craft beer like it also.

Mark Jilg (Craftsman Brewing Co.)

That would be 1903 Lager. It makes up a little less than 50% of what we brew. The reason it makes up 50% of what we sell is that it’s a very simple, easy drinking, accessible beer that is inspired by history but is perhaps an original interpretation.

Jeremy Raub (Eagle Rock Brewery)

The top selling beer right now is Revolution. I think probably because it’s very accessible. Even though it’s a very flavorful and hop accented beer, it’s still really easy to drink and accessible for a lot of people. I think that’s probably why it’s the best selling.

Kyle Smith (Kern River Brewing)

The top selling would be the Just Outstanding. In my opinion, probably because it’s a balanced IPA. It’s not over the top. It’s a very drinkable, sessionable beer.

Dave Griffiths (Ladyface Ale Companie)

Our top selling beer right now is the Ladyface IPA, and I think that’s the case because it’s got a lot of flavor, but it’s fairly toned down. It’s not like a very bitter beer. We try to deemphasize the hop bitterness and emphasize the hop flavor and aroma. It’s more on the balanced side as far as the sweetness compared to the bitterness, but there’s still a lot of hop aroma and flavor to it.

Victor Novak (TAPS)

At TAPS, our best selling beer is still the Cream Ale. Even though the craft beer movement is on a massive upswing, we’re a seafood chophouse, and I think a lot of people are still looking for a nice, light, smooth, easy drinking beer. Probably our next best selling beer is our IPA, and that’s because IPAs are massively on the increase. Yeah, Cream Ale, nice, light, smooth. For me, I love the style because I brewed in Philly, it’s a classic Philly style from 100 years ago, so rather than doing a blonde, when I was brewing in Philly, I knew that was going to be my flagship when I came back to Southern California.

This is part of a Food GPS series that shares top selling food or drinks and has craftspeople explain why.