Best All Around Brewery?

Of the choices I only have enough experience with firestone walker and with dogfish head to choose them and none of the others . SO firestone walker . Homering I would say Ommegang.

 

Why is Clown Shoes even listed here?

 

kind of a weird list but made for good replies - nice job OP! Agree on the CS comment. They contract brew about 8 miles down the road from me -- and although I've had a few of their beers -- I wouldn't place them in the top 5 breweries within a 15 mile radius of my house let alone the country.....

 

Three Floyds. They have something for everyone (yes, they finally made a decent sour... shock)

 

@Dansac posted: "Hill Farmstead really makes everything at the highest possible level. It's insane how good they are." I agree 100% with that statement.

If it is required to consider the aspects of packaging (bottling/canning) then my vote is for Sierra Nevada. Sierra Nevada has been producing some very, very good beers of late to go along with their very good core beers.

Cheers!

 

Ditto on the SN. Though, I guess it's too readily available for some people...

 

This list isn't complete without Avery.

 

They do now.

 

Boulevard

 

New Belgium isn't on that list? Odd or Deschutes. Of that list for me, The Bruery.

 

Gotta be founders. So many great beers in all the styles.

 

Your list and all, but for me Victory kicks the crap out of Clown Shoes right off the bat. Clown Shoes is totally overrated. I might also make a very valid argument that Victory beast DFH too in overall quality lineup.

 

Honestly, I think that Cantillon or Samuel Smith would win for me. Making a lot of styles somewhat to very well is not necessarily as impressive as making fewer styles at a world class level.

 

Deschutes.

Then in no particular order: New Glarus, Firestone Walker, Fremont, Troegs, and Smuttynose.

 

Sierra Nevada?

 

Did I walk into some alternate thread universe where Hills Farmstead doesnt exist?

Hills Farmstead
Russian River
Firestone Walker.
Deschuttes

These breweries all:

• package their beers well
• play with wild yeast
• make more than just English inspired styles
• make beer at the top of their styles

Honorable mention to Fremont and Fort George

 

To be fair, Russian River hasn't done much in the way of darker beers, or liquor barrel aging beers. Mainly European styles.

Hill Farmstead does literrally everything I can think of at the top of the food chain.

Firestone Walker is pretty remarkable in terms of how big they are and yet how amazing they are: Wookey Jack, Pivo, Double Jack, Parabola, Succaba, DDBA, Lil Opal, Agrestic, Sour Opal, Feral Vinifera, Feral One, Rose, Velvet Merkin...

They just make everything well. But HF is on another level, imo. They are just that insanely good.

 

I gave clown shoes the vote out of the ones in the poll. Based off I've only had one founders beer ever, I've had two completely contrasting styles from clown shoes and both were very good and I don't particularly like dogfish head. Never had anything else on that poll or even seen it available for that matter. Adding Sierra Nevada or Victory and it would have been much harder for me.

 

Sweetwater and Highland could have made the list.

 

missing Hill Farmstead, Russian River, Lost Abbey, and of course Side Project.