Austin’s (512) Brewing Company was founded in 2007, at the front end of a wave of new brewery openings in the Texas capital. The brewery has benefited both from Austin’s thirst for local product and from its burgeoning community of brewers.
Today, Shrago’s still working a day job. But he’s also in the brewhouse on nights and weekends, churning out creative takes on American and Belgian styles for Long Beach, Calif., brewers Beachwood BBQ & Brewing. It’s a long way from the stovetop he started on.
When Daniel and David Kleban started the Maine Beer Company, they were brewing their hoppy American ales one barrel at a time in an industrial park on the outskirts of Portland; they’re now on pace to do 1,500 barrels a year, and that quantity doesn’t come close to meeting consumer demand.
Alex Ganum places Upright Brewing Company in the Belgian/French farmhouse vein, in the sense that the brewery is cranking out beers that can stand on their own, without getting hung up on style.
During the day, Doug Dozark runs production for Cigar City Brewing. And when he’s not working the production line, he’s in Gulfport, Fla., churning out beers in 35-gallon batches for the family restaurant.
The jump from employee to owner-brewer is an expensive one. But for Jason Meyer, co-founder of Driftwood Brewing Company in Victoria, British Columbia, the really hairy stuff came in the months after his brewhouse got cranking.
Carl Melissas, brewmaster at Asheville’s Wedge Brewing Company, brews up unpretentious ales and lagers inspired by the classic style benchmarks. It’s a simple-sounding proposition, until you account for the stiff competition all around town. The city knows quality and craftsmanship.
The guys at Barrier Brewing Company don’t think of themselves as nanobrewers. They’re just brewers who happen to be producing beers at the ridiculous rate of two kegs per batch.
Brad Clark has wanted to push the envelope since the first beer he ever brewed. At Clark’s Athens, Ohio, brewpub, Jackie O’s, he’s pushing boundaries in several directions.
Since 2006, Ashman, a barrel aging pioneer, has plied his trade at Truckee’s FiftyFifty Brewing Company. And for the brewer, the barrels are still the draw.
At his environmentally conscious Philadelphia brewpub, Earth Bread + Brewery, guest taps outnumber Baker’s own beers by nearly two to one. That way, customers looking for an American IPA can drink somebody else’s, and Baker’s taps are free for his more unusual and experimental beers.
Shaun Hill runs his brewery with a profound sense of purpose. He brews his beers with well water from the farm that’s been in his family for generations.
Will Hamill has one foot in each faction of the craft brewing community. He built Uinta Brewing Company on the strength of solid, approachable session beers, and he’s also cranking out giant specialty recipes.
The Baltimore-based brewer, who produces adventurous ales on both sides of the Atlantic, sees some advantage in not having a home. Nothing about his Stillwater Artisanal Ales project is straightforward, from the beer in the bottle to the labels outside.
The Green Flash Brewing Company brewmaster touts his wide stylistic résumé—he cranks out Stouts, Belgians and barrel-aged oddities. At the same time, he says, he knows where demand in the craft market is going, and he’s more than happy to help lead the way.
California boasts a number of premier brewing regions; the base of Sequoia National Forest hasn’t traditionally been one of them. Kyle Smith is working to change that. His small brewpub, the Kern River Brewing Company, is cranking out buzzed-about beers at the edge of the wilderness.
COAST Brewing is a tiny brewery run out of an old navy yard in North Charleston, S.C. Its founders, David Merritt and his wife, Jaime Tenney, can only crank out big, hugely creative beers because they first led the campaign to liberalize South Carolina’s brewing regulations.
Dave Fleming, head brewer at Portland’s New Old Lompoc Brewery, commands respect in a town full of respected brewers. He does it by combining an openness to new flavors with a simple, straightforward brewing ethos.
Wayne Wambles of Cigar City was a cook before he was a brewer, and he applies the lessons he learned in the kitchen to the brew kettle. Now, the young Tampa brewery is taking Florida by storm.
Stephen Hale of the Schlafly Tap Room has been brewing for over 30 years, and he oversees a brewing portfolio that’s both strongly traditionalist, and freewheeling and experimental.
Thirsty masses still look to Plymouth for sustenance. And the Mayflower Brewing Company, brewers of traditional and hyper-fresh ales, are happy to oblige.
Patrick Rue founded his California brewery, The Bruery, to make the types of high-quality beers he enjoys drinking. They’re also the types of beers that challenge the palates of the most passionate craft beer drinkers.
Dark Horse puts its own unmistakable stamp on whatever comes out of its tiny seven-barrel system, whether it’s a brawling IPA, an experimental Belgian brew or an old-school craft classic bearing a new twist.
