Breweries that "Have their shit together".

New Braunfels Brewing Company. Their stuff is not for everyone -- Kelly Meyer, their brewmaster, has a specific thing he is doing (sour variations on German styles, mostly hefeweizens). But he seems to hit his target every time and every time I drink one of his beers I learn something. That is important to me.

 

Stone, Sierra Nevada, Founders, and Sixpoint come to mind.

 

Local: GLBC, Fat Head's, Thirsty Dog, Brew Kettle
Nonlocal: New Glarus, Sierra Nevada, Sixpoint, Surly, Bell's, Founders, Stone, Goose Island (yes, I said it)

tl;dr: SO MUCH GOOD BEER

 

Without a doubt it's Shorts in Michigan because of their 'business model'

Out of state would be New Glarus with a similar business model

 

Wonderland brewing. Only local distribution. But putting out great new product all the time.

 

Gonna name some that I'm surprised I haven't seen yet. Ommegang, New Holland, Schlafly, Avery.

 

I feel like this thread doesn't have it's shit together and the OP is only partially to blame. You mention slogans, logo, etc. but don't offer or show any of it or even allude to it.

Then everyone else that jumped into the thread just named breweries they like. It would have been fun to share some of the things that prove these breweries have their shit together.

For me, the breweries that have their shit together 1) interact well with their customers and potential customers. This means at the brewery, there's a nice vibe, friendly staff, and constant efforts to keep things interesting, fun and thus give reason to return. In the virtual world this means constant updating on FB, Twitter and IG and responding to questions and comments and doing the same on these beer sites (Sierra Nevada Bill is great. Grimm Artisan, Jester King and Sixpoint are some notable, highly interactive accounts on here as is to a lesser degree locally Jeff Erway of La Cumbre).

2) Make great beer and can appeal to the tickers and whale chasers while still catering to their core of loyal fans that want a certain same product every single time and expect it to taste consistent and good. ( Deschutes, Founder's)

3) Show some consideration for the world outside of brewing (ie. the environment, community, state, employees, etc.).

4) Cooperate well with others and strengthen the beer community.

As I write all this, one name keeps popping up: Sierra Nevada. That company is an ambassador to the world. I'm not sure their slogan, but their logo is iconic. Not sure if they have a slogan but in that department the only one that really stands out to me is "Beer speaks, people mumble" from Lagunitas, which I love. I'd say Lagunitas is in the realm of SN, but Tony's occasional public meltdowns and foolish lawsuits call into question how much Lag has their shit together.

 

Reminds me of very similar threads but what the hey this is fun. I think beer drinkers in general are really fortunate this day in age to have so many quality brews to choose from. Mine would be:

Cellarmaker
Stone
Lagunitas
Sierra Nevada
Russian River
Knee Deep
Firestone Walker
Alesmith
Bear Republic
Clown Shoes

 

Because of the post above, I guess I need to qualify my response by saying that I am referring to consistently, high quality made beers. Who are you to judge what it means to me for a brewery to have its shit together? With that, my responses are Clown Shoes and Maine Beer Company (and, not because they donate part of their profits, but because their beers are always crisp and clean.) Finding a Clown Shoes stout, especially a barrel aged stout, on the shelf that I have never tried makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. For that reason, they have their shit together as I can expect the same quality every time. The next is Maine Beer. Talk about consistency. I know what to expect with MBC, and it's a crisp, clean, and extremely well crafted beer. That's what having one's shit together means to me.

 

Sierra Nevada.

 

Sierra Nevada
Jackie O's

 

Tree House
Trillium
Jacks Abby
Alchemist
Hill Farmstead

 

Large Lagunitas
slightly smaller Bell's Victory
small Burley Oak Mispillion

 

This..despite all of the great local beers being produced in FL, I still go out of my way to try everything from SN (even styles I dont necessarily "like"). I also look forward to Celebration every year more than any other seasonal brew. In my eyes, Sierra Nevada is like my Grandfather when it comes to breweries. So much wisdom and class that every other brewery can only hope to be like one day.

 

Based on the criteria you mentioned.
Lagunitas
Stone
Ballast Point
Smuttynose
Wide spread, available, good quality, respected, etc.

 

Lah-goo-knee-tuss.

 

Upslope isnt under rated, just unheard of outside CO. We were trying to keep it that way too...

Oh, and odells has their shit together as does oskar blues and lagunitas.

 

Ballast Point, Stone , Lagunitas , Sierra , Sixpoint ,, Founders, Goose Island and Green Flash are coming around.

 

Stone right off the top, great beers, simple innovations that every brewery could and should be doing. Hill Farmstead - supreme execution across the board, they don't even make just a good beer, seems every beer they make is simply outstanding. Opposite ends of the distribution cycle as well, Stone stuff is everywhere, HF stuff is well.... Extremely limited.

 

Cantillon