What's your most RESPECTED brewery?

Boston Beer for still reaching out and helping out the craft community no matter how big they are

Stone for doing what they do

Founders for putting out beer after beer after beer that I don't just like , I love

 

Dark Horse. They brew some great beers, and do it with a passion. And them fuckers love to party!

 

Crooked Stave. Just an awesome product.

Honorable mention- Foundation Brewing Co.

 

de Garde for their responsiveness and bottle prices. Someone please tell me how a world class wild fruit beer can cost $10/750ml

...and Ale Apothecary for his unwavering passion to craft as art and philosophical mindset.

 

I will go with DFH. I honestly don't like all their beers and could find a brewery I like up and down their lineup better. My vote goes to the brewery that has done the most for craft beer with integrity and enthusiam. But then I might just be homer.

 

Hill Farmstead for doing what they want when they want, resisting commercialism, using only the highest quality ingredients to create the highest quality products, and trying as hard as they can to deal with all that comes with being perhaps the biggest destination brewery in the US.

Honorable mentions: Russian River (refusing to grow larger than they want, sticking to their guns), New Glarus (keeping to their roots and brewing "boring" styles, fantastically I might add; running special releases really well despite the craziness surrounding them), Cantillon (the history and the fact that they don't brew a beer that's less than great), Drie Fonteinen (history, blending prowess on another level than anyone else doing it).

 

Fremont
Cigar City
Trillium
Hill Farmstead
Firestone Walker
Russian River

in no particular order

 

Hard to choose just one, but the guys that usually get my money are

Founder's
Victory
Stone
Firestone Walker
Great Lakes
Ballast Point
Carton
Troeg's
Anderson Valley

 

Sorry but Chillwave is overpriced. It's $12 for a 4 pack in round here. It's solid but too many good IPA's attainable that are much lower in price.

 

New Glarus.

 

Short's (Michigan) and New Glarus(Wisconsin) for pumping money into their home states and giving the locals a buttload of new beers to choose from

 

Our opinions on the quality of that beer just differ. If you think it's just solid, then $12/4-pack is a little pricey.

Personally, I think it is an excellent DIPA...one worth seeking out. So for me, $12 was money well spent.

 

Great Lakes, Southern Tier, Ballast Point, Lagunitas

 

Dogfish Head. What a triumph from homebrewer to well respected voice for the industry Sam is. They are very innovative and still test the limits at times but also put out very drinkable beers for newbies. I have never had a quality control issue from their beer and their staff gives a nice tour. They put Deleware on the map for beer.

 

St. Bernardus. So few beers, so much quality. Since 1946.

You could argue a Trappist, and you wouldn't be wrong, but St. Bernardus splits the difference between the secular and the sacred perfectly.

 

Dark Horse- They put on a kick ass tour and the vip room always has something awesome to sample. The brewers love to drink beer and have a good time with the patrons.

 

Bell's - Great beer.

 

Sierra Nevada, hands down. Never had a bad beer from them. Solid beers, affordable and widely available.

Great Lakes would be a closer second place for te same reasons if not for the debacle that was Grassroots (?) saison a few years ago. It actually did taste like grass.

 

Dogfish Head for everything they've done, Carton for everything they'll do. The two breweries are very similar in the vibe and excitement at their respective bases.

 

Anchor
Founders
Ballast Point