What US state has the best breweries?

Chicago is a great place to live in for beer. We get quite a diverse range of beers from both coasts, and to top it off, we have a lot of amazing brews right in our backyard. Lets be honest, 3Floyds is chicago beer, Munster is basically a suburb of Chicago. And New Glarus territory is a 45 minute drive away. My fridge is always stocked with something by them. Then theres all the awesome Michigan beers... Yea we can't compete with California, but that state is huge! its basically a region. I think the two best areas for beer are the greater chicago area and Colorado. Damn do they love beer in CO.

 

I gotta go with Michigan, California, and Colorado. They encompass so many damn good breweries, it's a little insane.

 

As evidence of why I believe Michigan is the US state that has the best breweries I would like to submit the draft list for the Michigan Winter Beer Fest.

http://www.mbgmash.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2013_WinterFestival_Program.pdf

 

Come live in/near Wisconsin.
New Glarus is one of the few breweries from WI that gets any play (and rightfully so!).
You can't find a better range of high-quality brews ANYWHERE. And when I say, "anywhere," I mean it. I can't even get 80% of WI's treasures 15 minutes south of the border in Illinois. There is just SOOOO much going on, but you HAVE to be here to even get at it. And I'm not talking about snobby "whales," I'm talking about must-have, delicious, wonderful, smooth brews that blow your mind, without crushing your palate or getting you buzzed.
Name me a SINGLE West Coast lager that even comes close to what New Glarus, Lakefront, and Capital churn out for their regular line-up.
Bocks? Doppelbocks? Oktoberfests (hell, I noticed, out west, breweries don't even brew Oktoberfests!)? Schwarzbiers? ANYTHING German? Okay, I had a good Kölsch once.
Nothing. Maybe you get a Hefeweizen here or there.

BadgerRed hit the nail on the head; WI brews it all. BA is waaay too Ale-centric because the bulk of the country lives on the coasts; ale country. You cannot touch Midwest/Great Lakes lagers, and WI is the crowning jewel (not to discredit any of the other states in the region).
They have the tradition, too. It's not JUST that they currently brew amazing stuff, it's been going on for quite some time in Wisconsin.

Even if you don't think it's THE best state, it is EASILY one of the best.
You COULD argue about other places with better IPA's or APA's or what not (even here, I prefer the Midwest approach; aromatic, medium bitterness, malty). But the SECOND we turn to the lager side of the discussion, you're going to be hard pressed to find a single state that beats Wisconsin.

I used to LOVE to bring lagers back out West to blow people away. The sheer refinement of malt, balanced with a touch of hops is mind-boggling. Even after adjusting to West Coast biers after a couple of years, everytime I'd get to Wisconsin and have a real lager, I couldn't believe what I had drinking. I brought a bunch of "good lagers" from Full Sail (who I think EASILY makes the best lagers in the West), and side-by-side to Wisconsin lagers....I felt foolish for wasting the suitcase space. Sitting around out West, I was CONVINCED they were AMAZING. Getting back to Wisconsin, I realized they were pretty okay. Not bad, but not great.
I remember when some German friends of a friend were complaining about American bier, so we sat around trying some WI brew I had brought back West. They were beyond impressed (To be fair, they also were impressed with Oak Creek's [Sedona, AZ] hefeweizen).

There is just something to that malt-centric, refined Wisconsin character. It's quite alluring.
It's soooo easy to ignore it or denigrade it. It's also sooo easy to mistake hoppiness for excellence.
ANYONE can hop bomb. It's the easy way out. It's delicious, and fabulous, but it doesn't mean it's better than a smooth, silky Wisconsin lager.

Sometimes I think, without REAL SEASONS, people can't appreciate the full range of bier. Right now, getting a bit of the cabin fever, the Maibocks just released are PERFECT! So, maybe part of the magic of Wisconsin biers is the beauty of Wisconsin in all her lovely seasons.
I dunno, I think it's more all these German-Americans around, hahaha

 

And don't forget Watson's Finest out of Vermont .... little known but check their ratings

 

For some reason, your avatar cracks my shit up. Is it because I picture that cat saying "Hay guys" in a very whiny and flamboyantly gay voice? I think so...

 

I would say PA not only because I live here I really like our variety from large breweries like Yuengling to mid-size ones like Victory to small brew pubs like Union Barrelworks.

 

Haha that's what I thought when I first saw it. It still cracks me up

 

That...
If you get tricky and group in New England... Then it would be New England

 

If you want to talk groupings, I'm throwing in the I-94 corridor from Chicago to Detroit....

Goose Island, Pipeworks, Revolution, Three Floyd's, Greenbush, Bells, Arcadia, Dark Horse, Kuhnhenn...

Literally, every 45 minutes you drive down the Highway is another great brewer. That doesn't even count Founders...

 

I would have to say Cali, with Sierra Nevada and Russian River. That state is doing amazing things with not just beer, but wine as well.

 

Deschutes for the larger brewery and Seven Brides for the smaller one..
Both brew an excellent IPA

 

Cali or Michigan

 

Is this a joke? California. Then California. And finally California.

 

CALIFORNIA : Ballast Point, Anderson Valley, Stone , The Bruery, Russian River,Green Flash, Firestone Walker,Bear Republic, Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, etc, etc, etc no other state comes close!

 

G

Goose Island is ABInBEV

 

You must be kidding Alchemist Makes Headdy Topper and nothing else, Anderson Valley, Stone , Ballast Point, Bruery, etc etc world class brewers

 

California
Michigan
Illinois
Minnesota
Vermont
Florida

 

CA and VT have such a huge presence at this point that it's actually nice to see all the other answers on here. Good to know there's a lot of awesome beer out there that most of us have never tried!

 

No, still West Coast