IMHO, Three Floyds belongs in top 5 and North Peak Brewing Company’s Diabolical and Hoodoo should have put them in the top 20; not being named at all is BS.
I liked the list as well, but would mix it up a bit more. Three Floyds is definitely in the top 5 on my list as well - and would probably move Sierra Nevada and Anchor up a bit more. And the list was very heavy in ale producers, and I’m not sure I saw one lager specialist on the list at all.
The majority of Devils Backbone’s medals at the GABF are from lagers and Germanic styles. Not a ‘specialist’, but definitely a strength.
I don’t know if GI qualifies since they’re owned by InBev now. The omission of TG reduces the lists credibility significantly.
Devil’s Backbone cannot hold a candle to their neighbor, Blue Mountain. Seeing Ommegang at 20 is nice, but IMHO they are easily top 10 or top 5.
Not a bad list, but surprised by a couple of them (at least that I’m familiar with)
- HUB (Hopworks Urban Brewing) didn’t make it, but Cascade did? I hate sours, so hey, go figure
- Stone at 2, much less over RRB is a bit of a surprise; I’d get it if it was all-Pliny all-the-time, but RRB kills it across the board.
- Lagunitas seems high, as does Ballast Point. Can drink Sculpin until I’m blue, but the rest of their beers I’ve tried are good, but not great.
- No Bear Republic? Racer series, Hop Rod Rye?
- Was pleased with inclusion of both Avery and Firestone Walker, and their respective rankings.
- I enjoy Epic, but thought it was ranked a little high.
- AleSmith was ranked way lower than I would have expected.
- I would not have included Sierra Nevada. They have some good beers, but I don’t see them as a craft brewery? Maybe because I’m from the Bay Area?
- Would love to have seen Boneyard on there, but guess they get hammered for no bottled product and low distribution.
some thoughts as I peruse the list:
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I enjoy these lists. Like PeterH, I simply read them as the author’s “recommended drinking” list. They’re fun, and should be treated as such, imo.
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I cannot believe Short’s made the list at #48. I recently tried about 5 or 6 of their beers, and they’re pretty horrible, for my preferences.
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I’m happy to see Surly & Dark Horse get mentions at #42 and #41, respectively.
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Also glad to see Jolly Pumpkin get some love at #37; I worry their sour ship set sail too early — it amazes me that they don’t get more attention for their sours, given the sour craze that seems to be happening right now.
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surprised to see Flying Dog on the list; I think their beers range from o.k. to good. A couple times – at most – I thought one of their beers was actually excellent (and low-level excellent, at that).
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and I’m very surprised to see New Belgium on the list, although they might have made it on the strength of their Lips of Faith series, which has included some mighty tasty brews.
I visited them 5-6 years ago and thought they made nice beers, and had them again at the Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison WI a couple of years ago and thought they were pretty consistent as well. Wonder what happened.
AND - I would have listed BREWERY VIVANT from Grand Rapids before Shorts though - they haven’t been around as long, but man they are really nailing it with various offerings.
And also very surprising that very few Southern Breweries made the list - nothing from Texas (Real Ale Co?), North Carolina (Highland Brewing?), two up and coming hotbeds for craft beer.
Hahaha … +1
Really good list even if I don’t agree with all the positions. The top 10 was pretty disappointing. I don’t know how anyone could put Stone in the top twenty. And Lagunitas would be the same. But I guess the attract the Mollydooker/SQN/Saxum crowd.
Jason
Let’s try doing our own- top 20
- Hill Farmstead
- Russian River
- Alchemist
- Boneyard
- Alpine
- Lawson’s
- De Garde
- Toppling Goliath
- Logsdon
- Three Floyds
- Societe
- Anchorage
- Barley Browns
- Firestone Walker
- Goose Island
- Fremont
- Sante Adarius
- Propolis
- Ale Apothecary
- Block 15
I’ll play, except I won’t rank, just list some of my favorite breweries who I think are putting out great beers. In no particular order:
Alchemist
Russian River
Goose Island (possible disqualification cuz of the inbev purchase)
Hill Farmstead
Lawson’s
Cigar City
Alpine
Beachwood
Founder’s
Bell’s
Three Floyds
Toppling Goliath
Westbrook
Surly
Bruery
Maine Beer Company
Firestone Walker
Dark Horse
Deschutes
Santa Adarius
Prairie
Central Waters
Funky Buddha
New England Brewing
Pipeworks
Perennial
Societe
Alesmith
Jack’s Abby
Foothills
Great Lakes
I’m sure I missed some that I really like.
I would say that KDS & BBomb are as good or better than any other BBA stuff not called BCBS. Summer Ale as a single hop Amarillo would get ridiculous hype if produced at a bigger brewery. I’d put Brother & Sister in a lineup with any DIPA out there. The Sour Weisse was as good as the litany of Berliners & Gose released this year & that’s as a kettle sour. Have you ever been there for Peach Wheat?
Oh & Interurban rocks.
Because Beer Matters
Seattle, Earth.
I concur. I live a block away so not completely objective. Don’t forget their Cowiche Canyon Hop Lab #2 IPA and Cowiche Canyon Fresh Hop, which are phenomenal beers IMO. Also dig the regular Dark Star and 77 Select session.
I don’t drink much outside of NW except when travelling - call it lazy or a focus on freshness - but I’ve been drinking a lot of the following breweries over the past year and loving them:
Fremont
Logsdon
Commons
Upright
Crux
Double Mountain
pFriem
Heater Allen
Jolly Pumpkin
As for HUB - very solid but I’ve yet to have a wow beer. Currently drinking their Saison. Solid, but does not favorably compare to ones from the preceding breweries.
Will be in Bend next weekend and can’t wait to hit up Boneyard.
I thought awhile about what my Top 20 American craft brewers are, and couldn’t even come up with 20. Of course, I’m limited to my own personal experience, and I place a premium on quality throughout (at least most of) the entire lineup.
In no particular order, other than this is the order in which I wrote them down:
Crooked Stave
Almanac
Jolly Pumpkin
Russian River Brewing Co.
Beachwood
Port Brewing
Pizza Port
Alesmith
Bell’s
Founders
Southern Tier
Surly
Bear Republic
Cascade
Stone
Victory
… really, this should probably be a separate thread.
I think Three Floyd’s is terribly overrated.
Founders and Bell’s are great and I’d definitely have them top five. Prairie is great, love to see them in there. I think Stone is too high (they’re good at what they do, but do they make anything decent that isn’t a total hop-bomb?), as is Dogfish Head. Some of those hardly seem “craft” brewers. Boulevard is fairly huge.
Stone imperial Russian stout is legit. Stone gets my vote not because they make the best beers, but are one of the few that make really good beers in mass quantity. I can’t think of a larger market beer with better quality than enjoy by
For me, Short’s is really, really inconsistent. I think part of the problem is that they make a f*ck-ton of limited releases. It seems like there’s a new release every single time I’m at the grocery. Some are great. The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster was one of my favorite beers of last year and there are a couple of others I’ve enjoyed. The Bellaire Brown and Controversi-ALE are decent year-round offerings, but certainly not the best in the state. The rest of their portfolio ranges from “meh” to “WTF??” I don’t think they’d even crack my top 10 of Michigan list. Add in the fact that they don’t distribute out of state, and I’m really surprised to see them here.
Brewery Vivant is great if you like Belgian/French/farmhouse style beers. I don’t drink their beers too often, since I’m not usually in the mood for that style, but I almost always enjoy them when I do.
I agree with you on those & would add Old Guardian. Cali-Belgique, Ruination/Ruinten , SSR & all the bastard variants as good a value out there & are always accessible.
The new ventures have drug them down. The collaborations are hit & miss to say the least, the BA bottles are crazy expensive & I’ve found them to be poorly executed. The last two anniversary beers (16 & 17) didn’t make me excited for 18 for sure.
They’ve become very hit & miss for me.
i think all BA bottles are expensive now with every brewery, but I agree, other than the stouts for barrel age, the rest have been dumpers to me.