Un(der)appreciated Breweries

Tyranena and I second Uinta and Great Divide.

 

I still don't see how no one has mentioned Olde Hickory yet. They have 2 of the best barrel aged stouts that I have come across and those would be Event Horizon and Lindley Park. Recently they did a collaboration with Peabody's Wine & Beer Merchants and created one of the best barrel aged blended barleywine that I have tasted! Grant it their labels may be a little 'corny' but I don't think that should get in the way of top notch brewing. Aside from these 3 beers their regular lineup is phenomenal as well and I think they need all the credit they deserve!

 

Harpoon has two different rye IPAs, and one (Rich&Dan's) a staple that is always included in their mixed 12. Leviathan is their special release series that has had mixed reviews for different releases, but this year's IIPA is exceptional (blue 4-pk)

PS: There are already three corrections for Rich&Dan's, but I thought this was worth mentioning. I also agree that Harpoon is not great overall, but they are very competent with IPAs and dominant around MA. I'd say that makes them underappreciated in the rest of the country.

 

I have two different categories to mention. First, two that have been around longer than most, but are usually left out of discussion because they are taken for granted: Victory and Ommegang. Victory has been mentioned half a dozen times already, but only because of the variety they produce. I'll go further. Victory owned the top 10 a decade ago. They've been brewing "West Coast IPA" before there was a West Coast IPA. And now they are practically forgotten in the shuffle between Russian River and The Alchemist. But that's just at BA forums--it's actually worse on the ground. Every time I walk into a store and see Victory 12s sitting in the corner, I want to grab one (and have done so on many occasions this year), but everyone else just walk by, reaching for more expensive mediocrities. I've engaged with both staff and customers, and invariably find out that they know nothing about Victory. Most never even heard of it despite the cases sitting right in front of them.

Ommegang is forgotten as well although they almost single-handedly defied multiple Belgian styles in the US (with a heavy hand from Duvel) and have been making most of them now for 15 years. Yet, every time Balgian ales are discussed, they are ignored for this very reason--their special releases don't make a big splash (that's if they make any splash at all other than the two Game of Thrones releases) and they are not rare, but their everyday offerings in every category they make are as competent as anyone else's, if not superior.

Two others deserve to be on the list for a different reason. They do get some mentions here, but remain overlooked. Weyerbacher quietly makes some very good beer, particularly in the high-ABV range and they've been mentioned on this thread a couple of times. But I disagree that they are "overshadowed" by Victory and Troegs, both of which have also been brought up here. They are in a very different niche from those two, as they don't try to cover the entire spectrum.

The other one in this category is Boulevard. Some people are going gaga over Saison-Brett, but the rest of the lineup is quite good and, in some cases, exceptional. Yet, in the last three days on this forum, whenever Boulevard beers were mentioned, someone immediately posted something like, "Oh, I didn't know they were very good. I guess, I should give them a try." That really sums up being underappreciated.

 

I have tried to like what they brew and find it all rather meh...

 

Wife and I went on a 250 mile road trip to get Cold Mountain a couple years ago she loved it so much and we couldn't get at home.

 

That should have been "defined", of course.

And completely forgot the third category--underdistributed (hence unknown and underappreciated). Trillium and TreeHouse are up and coming around here and are being noticed, but neither will make a splash until they really hit the market. Both are arguably more consistently good than either NightShift or Mystic, but are just too small to be really noticed. On the opposite coast, my pick is Hair of the Dog. I've seen it mentioned here three times--twice by a guy in Belgium. But it deserves better.

 

I have to second the Dark Horse nod. Incredibly badass brewery that deserves more recognition.

 

Sorry, but Butternuts is straight up garbage. For NY breweries, they should have been replaced with Southern Tier on that list.

 

Pipeworks Brewery, Chicago.

 

I would consider New Belgium to be underappreciated just because of your comments. But that's the perils of putting down someone else's opinions... But why is Dark Horse underappreciated? They are not terribly well-known, I suppose, but those who've tried their wares appreciate them quite a bit.

 

TL;DR

 

Too bad there is no "ignore" button for individual posts. I'm not at the point of ignoring whole individuals.

I know I can be verbose. Don't like it, don't read it.

 

It's open now! Looks awesome and they are pouring an awesome lineup. Can't wait to see what's coming up next from this brewery.

 

Finest Kind is the epitome of an IPA as far as I'm concerned. It was the 2nd IPA that I tried (just behind DFH 60 Min) and I remember it tasting so good that it curled my toes.

 

Solemn Oath and Off Color are pretty unknown but make great brews.

Not saying Pipeworks is bad, but I don't think they are under appreciated. Their ninjas and abductions are pretty well revived all over the country.

 

I'm gonna go ahead and say Samuel Smith's Old Brewery. I know that most of their beers get high marks but I seem to rarely hear them brought up in forums. To me every one of there beers can be considered a standard for the style and Nut Brown is one of the best brown ales you can find and in a surprisingly high number of places.

 

Sweetwater. Sure their a bunch of cocky guys, their since of humor is a bit off putting, and most their beers are mediocre but they do have some good ones that go unnoticed. IPA, happy ending. And theyve done a lot for the beer community here in the southeast.

 

Beachwood BBQ. While it is embraced by local BA's and other beer drinkers, Beachwood doesn't seem to garner the reputation they deserve outside of California. I rarely see them mentioned on the trading forums.