Less than two years ago, Southern Star was a new brewery outside Houston that few had heard of. Now, Dave Fougeron’s killer recipes have caught fire, and he “can’t make beer fast enough.”
Move beyond the strip clubs and the discos and you’ll find a warm, cultured town that’s immensely proud of its heritage and its future. And, increasingly, that pride is centering on the region’s burgeoning brewing scene.
In a single year, Jon Curtis of The Tap Brewing Company will churn through more recipes than some pub brewers would get to in a decade. He revels in the variety.
The city is home to well over two dozen breweries and brewpubs, and scores of good beer bars. It’s got more breweries than any one city in the world, and its citizens drink more, per capita, than anybody.
Christian Ettinger founded Hopworks Urban Brewery on the idea that radical sustainability should be commonplace. The organic, Portland, Ore., brewpub has taken environmentalism further than any brewpub in the country.
As Belgium’s capital region, the Brussels area is awash in the nation’s unique beer styles, from the Oud Bruins of Flanders to the bounties of Belgium’s far-flung abbeys.
BrewDog Brewery commands a global audience from a tiny outpost on Scotland’s northeast coast. Its beers have inflamed critics and ignited a debate about what beer in the UK can and should be.
Put in a little work and a bit of forethought, and scratch beneath the surface. If you do, you’ll find a beer scene that’s quietly burgeoning. It’s been an organic growth, and it’s about to take the rest of the country by surprise.
Since the day McIlhenney opened Alpine’s doors, demand has outstripped supply—by a long shot. The tiny brewery is now readying an expansion that will include a new BBQ pub and a tripling in brewing capacity. Only triple? That won’t be nearly enough.
San Francisco wasn’t much of anything until 160 years ago, but in that relatively short time, the city has left an indelible impact on the nation’s culture. And the same goes for its brewing palate.
Eighteen years ago, Al Marzi was hauling kegs for Harpoon. Now, he’s the guy filling those kegs. He’s in charge of two breweries, in Boston and Windsor, Vt. He’s nurturing regional flagship brands and springing one-offs on an expectant populace.
In many ways, the Denver/Boulder region is the capital of the modern craft brewing renaissance. Whether in their kitchens or their brewhouses, the brewers of the area have been pushing craft beer forward for more than three decades.
OK, so, yes, St. Louis is home to that really big scary beermaking corporation that shall not be named. But wait! St. Louis has much to redeem itself with, you judgmental beer snob. Give the city a shot. Here’s how.
Why is Arcadia Brewing Company growing rapidly and gaining fans far outside its Michigan home base? For one, its head brewer, Josh Davies, goes to work at 3:30 in the morning to make sure his yeast is happy.
Austin is home to the state university, some legendary BBQ, musicians, artists and other assorted weirdos. Which is to say, it’s a city that’s perpetually overrun by professional drinkers of every sort.
Tonya Cornett is about to celebrate her eighth anniversary as the Bend Brewing Company’s brewmaster. She’s also the sole creative force behind the Oregon brewpub’s ever-evolving portfolio of beers.
A crop of serious young brewers and a mammoth lineup of bars boasting huge craft beer selections, modest prices and liberal liquor laws that let bars serve bottles and mini-kegs to go, and you’ve got, perhaps surprisingly, one of the country’s best beer towns.
Kjetil Jikiun once found inspiration in American craft brewers’ powerfully flavored ales. Now, his brews are a global sensation. But there’s a better line on his résumé: When he founded Nøgne Ø, he brought flavor to Norway.
Antwerp boasts one of the world’s highest number of pubs per capita. There’s no legal closing time. And the breweries of Belgium’s countryside know something about rewarding thirst.
Great Adirondack Brewing Company is a tiny, 450-barrel-a-year brewpub cranking out great beer in the reaches of upstate New York. Hutch Kugeman is the man who makes it happen. And he may be one of the best brewers you’ve never heard of.
Richard Norgrove used to brew a brutally hoppy Red Ale for his mountain biking buddies. Then the cycling company he worked at was sold, and he figured he’d make a run at brewing for a living.
