You can only drink beer from one Brewery. You can do this either “location based” or not, meaning it would be disingenuous for me in MN to pick Russian River, which is functionally not available. You cannot pick ABI and have access to all their beers plus Goose Island, etc. Assume the availability question does not apply to restaurants.
My criteria would be: good availability, and a reasonably wide stylistic selection. For example, I can get a lot of Stone around here, but their beers, while good, basically boil down to IPA, DIPA, and Oaked IPA. Not gunna cut it.
For my money, it doesn’t get the acclaim of many craft brewers but the breadth and quality (and local availability) of Summit does it for me. Breweries I think I could realistically pick from include Stone, Bell’s, Goose Island, Surly, Odell, New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, Founders, Boulevard, Rush River, Deschutes, Lagunitas (close 2nd for me).
Oddly enough these are the exact 3 that came to mind for me. Although I’ve been liking Firestone a little less as of late (but they do have a new portion of their tasting room in Buellton dedicated to live yeast sours and barrel aged beers that I’d love to have access to if they decide to bottle them). Don’t have enough experience with the full range from some of these other good breweries that have been mentioned - yet.
I’d say either Ommegang or Blue Mountain. But thinking about it, likely Blue Mountain, as they have a very good IPA which Ommegang does not, and while they generally don’t do Trappist beers, they do a dubel style beer in the Mandolin that is as good as it gets.
Agreed, and while I’m not really a huge sour fan, that’s the one reason I mentioned the sours that Firestone is doing at the brewery because the new tasting-room only stuff is really damn good and gives them a lot more range.
Pipeworks. They make a huge variety of beers, and their core IPA’s are brilliant (the Ninja series, plus Something Hoppy . . .). My only reservation is that I haven’t loved their dark beers. Each new release in their “Abduction” stout series makes a big splash, but I’m not on board yet. On the other hand, they are a newish brewery and always experimenting, so I think it’s only a matter of time before they make a stout (or porter) I really like. Plus barrel-aged beers (and growlers) are around the corner.
I am torn between Anchor and Sierra Nevada with Russian River in third. Now if I could choose RRBC based on what is available at the pub then they would jump to number one.
It was very tempting to go with a brewer that makes many different styles, and does them well. But, at the end of the day, Cantillon is simply miles ahead of all brewers, imo, but for the other Belgian brewers who are making traditional lambics, and Cantillon beats them out, too, albeit by a much lesser amount.
This is a tough one. I’d only pick Summit for the Unchained series, but that’s a very good reason. I like Fulton’s large bottles. I like the variety I’d have with Bell’s. And all three make a very good beer to quaff in the summer months (a must have for whoever I’d choose). At the end of the day, though, I think it would be Bell’s.
Hmmmm…I need a beer right now to think this one through.
Right now I’m leaning towards Firestone or Deschutes. Both have a huge variety of standard, albeit damn tasty, beers that can match whatever my beer drinking needs are at the time. Plus they both have killer barrel programs that can carry me through the winter months.
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