2016 Up-and-Coming Breweries

I'm going to give a shout out to Wooden Robot, I toured just about every brewery in Charlotte this weekend and they are doing some really good stuff with their What He's Having IPA leading the way. I think Orpheus, Creature Comforts, and Burial are destined for big years. My last brewery is going to be Mekong/Answer in Richmond Virginia. Answer is absolutely killing IPAs right now but their hype might be held back by them only doing growler/crowlers.

 

Maybe they'll ask Dave at Proclamation why he doesn't update when a beer kicks on his website or Twitter, when people have driven hours to get a brew listed as avaliable or doesn't respond to customer inquiries. Figuring out how to brew Tendril will be the least of his worries if he wants to ever reach the level of Trillium or Tree House who have the highest level of interaction and respect for their loyal customers.

 

Jackie O's
Creature Comforts
Hoof Hearted
Rhinegeist

 

Not sure if anyone is in Chicago is familiar with Haymarket, but they are set to start canning soon. I would greatly recommend the brewery tour. For the size, a solid barrel aging program.

 

Word, where did you try their stuff? Just wondering, not that I thought their stuff was amazing, but not close to awful. But I think RAR, Union, and burley oak all kill it

 

Really hope to see more more more distro for both in NE Ohio, especially Columbus, they've never managed more than the mighty Columbus IPA & the occasional Summer Teeth sighting which has been a warmer weather favorite of mine. I'd love to see SOHIO up this way & Bodhi in the stores & not just draft.

 

i'm looking forward to more offerings from Hailstorm in tinley park Ill.

 

RAR, Union, Burley Oak....Manor Hill is above all these IMO. Burley Oak a close 2nd.

 

I'm just hoping for more distribution in the NE are in general. What I mean by that is that I'm hoping to see more breweries that just had major renovations or relocations to larger spaces with their beer being available to me within short driving distance. I'd love to see Treehouse, Trillium, Jacks Abbey, Two Roads available in the 603 or in some cases the 802 at least. I also hope that those markets can continue to thrive and grow with the ability to branch out into the rest of NE. Tons of great beer in New England, but it's only available at the brewery or within close proximity to it. Ya I know, I could always hit up the trade boards....

 

Finback, Other Half, Grimm and Singlecut from NYC
Kane and Carton from NJ
Foundation, Tributary, Oxbow, Rising Tide and Bissell from ME, not sure if Bissell wants to blow up anymore than they already have.
Bog Iron, Bldg 8, Nightshift and Abonded Building from MA
Kent Falls, Beerd and Firefly Hollow from CT
Zero Gravity, Hermit Thrush, 14th star, Fiddlehead and Burlington Beer from VT
Kelsen and Stoneface from NH
Proclamation and Tilted Barn from RI

 

Agreed on the Tributary!
All the VT ones are pretty available to me as are the NH ones.

 

What other NH, VT and ME beers am I missing that should be on my radar?

 

The last 2 IPA drafts I drank from "Big Ditch Brewery" in Buffalo NY were incredible. One was a small growler my son brought for Christmas and the other was at a small restaurant in Lockport NY last night. They were both shockingly excellent. They are perfecting that east coast IPA taste. Big Ditch is getting it together very quickly.

 

You have a solid list. Have you had anything from Garrison City, Throwback or Henniker from NH? Everything from them I've tried hasn't disappointed. As for VT and ME, I agree with your list and don't really get enough ME beer to know which ones I would like to try more of...

 

Was there in October and your friend is correct. Some really good brews to be had there. Another place doing well and already bottling was Fat Point up in Punta Gorda. Pretty good stuff as well. Cheers!

 

Was out there for work last year and drank a lot of Hayburner. An excellent IPA!

 

Was in Atlanta in 2014 and Orpheus impressed me. Would love to see them continue to grow.

 

My buddy was saying that the craft scene is still gaining traction in Florida. When he walked into Ft Myers they asked "are you familiar with craft beer?" A funny question for those of us in the northeast, but maybe more appropriate down there. Also of note, he's a big guy with a giant beard, so your stereotypical beer geek look.

 

Two local breweries putting it out there are Mother Road Brewing in Flagstaff Arizona and Dragoon Brewing in Tucson AZ. Both are canning and turning out very drinkable IPA's: Dragoon IPA from Dragoon, and Tower Station IPA from Mother Road. Also a shout out to Modern Times out of California. Turning out some really good beers. As soon as their product begins to reach others across the country I think they will be in high demand much like Alpine was.