2016 Up-and-Coming Breweries

Assuming you mean comparable in terms of production capacity, the only reason comparably sized places are distributing is that they can't sell everything in the taproom. There's zero reason to package when you can sell it all at your facility.

 

I've listened to almost no one else for the past 4 months, haha. My fiance even got me a custom hand-etched XTC tulip glass for Christmas with the English Settlement logo on it. It's amazing. Best gift I've ever received.

 

Oakshire is going to be on the rise in 2016 me thinks. Especially now that they've been canning some of their seasonal releases, i.e Gose To 11, Hopollo, Drop Bear.

 

But with Matt Van Wyk leaving to focus on his own venture ... you've gotta be somewhat worried that their best stuff is going to go with him, no?

 

Mmm...Yes and No. Don't get me wrong, I think Matt is an incredible brewer and I have immense respect and love for his work. Seems to me though that Oakshire is in capable hands when it comes to their new brewmaster. 2016 will be the tell for sure though. My original comment was meant to showcase the fact that Oakshire seems to be pushing their single batch offerings to cans which will greatly increase their exposure in an already saturated PNW market. The artwork on their rotating seasonal cans is pretty good a and for people new to the scene that can make all the difference when it comes to purchase something they've never had before. Cans in general are the new wave. I can't tell you in the last year how many breweries who for a long time have only done offerings in 22's have been switching to the 12oz can. Cans are the future of having a successful presence in the market in my opinion.

 

Dragas Brewing from Rocklin California. Just picked up their first expansion on tanks. They will be tearing it up in 2016!

 

Wow super cool!

 

I realize that. Doesn't bother me really. But I also think those beers are easier to get and more widley distributed that their sours.

 

Highland Park Brewing in Los Angeles operates out of a bar called The Hermosillo and absolutely kills the fresh IPA game and has stellar sours. I love living so close...and with Golden Road selling out deeming it skippable, this place is only a hop, skip, and a jump away. They haven't been bottling too long and you can already find their beer at City Beer in SF (perhaps more of a testament to CB, but hey, that's a long way away for a small brewery!).

 

English Settlement is a classic. I play it often. Great to sing to..not that you want to hear that.

 

I'm actual glad I stumbled upon this thread...

It's always a worry in a brewery when you lose someone like the brewmaster, especially to consumers. What is often overlooked is that while yes, someone like Matt is in charge of overall brewing operations, there is a whole team under the brewmaster who is day in and day out making the beer and ensuring the quality of the beer. So when you have Matt Van Wyk overseeing the brewery the whole brewing and packaging team learns from the quality of making great beer. And it's great here at Oakshire, because it was never just Matt tasked to design beers. All of us on the brewing staff are allowed creative freedom in various outlets. Arguably some of the best beers that we have released in the past 2 years were from the lead and shift brewers, while others were definitely Matt. That's the thing, we have always worked as a team. Now with Matt gone we all have the ability to push the envelope on our creativity even more. Even while Matt was here some of the more well known beers that had Matt's name on it IE, Hellshire were done by the other brewers. The upcoming Hellshire, while put into barrels well before we knew Matt was leaving, was a collaborative brew between our new Head Brewer Tyler, and myself. Everything from the recipe development, to brewing, getting the beer into barrels, and in a couple months blending, has been done by us, because Matt trusted our ability as brewers.

And as I sit here drinking this years reworked recipe for Perfect Storm, I can personally say that we are going to be just fine. And seriously thank you for the concern and the comments. It's these thoughts and sentiments exactly, where rightfully justified, have made us push to brew the absolutely best beer that we can everyday since Matt left. He did a lot for our company and our beer, and it would be a real dishonor to him if we did not continue to strive to make the beer better ever single day since he has left.

And thanks @BigfootBaby for the kind words. Hope to see you at Hellshire in March.

Cheers guys,

Dan

 

For Georgia, my vote goes to Burnt Hickory Brewery. They are really putting out some phenomenal beers and with the expansion of the amount of beers being bottled and canned, I think 2016 will be a big year for them.

 

Crane Brewing in Raytown, MO. Can't wait for their club beers to come out this year.

 

Anyone know a good place to grab food and a beer on McKnight road

 

Singlecut, Bldg8, OEC and Kent Falls really impressed me on a recent trip up north. Burial is making some great beers out in Asheville.

Oh, and Threes Brewing in Brooklyn. Had a few saisons that if you told me they were HF, I'd have believed you.

 

A Chicago brewery I'm looking forward to seeing more of is Mikerphone (recently split off from Slapshot from what I know). I've loved their double IPAs in the 24 oz cans. They're expanding right now and can double production, so hopefully I'll be able to see more of their beers out here in the 'burbs in the next 6 months.

 

You don't have to be a New Englander or whale chaser to get Treehouse, and your visual repulsiveness to Hoof Hearted is that they are cloudy beers than it has all the relevance to Treehouse. I'm not sure what part of Northern Ohio your from? But i have seen Rhinegeist in Canton.

 

Barrier Brewing is coming out with some pretty solid stuff too out on Lawwwwnng Island.

Haven't had too much of their stuff yet but Money and Atypical are pretty solid brews.

 

Ok, but I'm not tracking down Treehouse. I'm not going to track down Treehouse (unless you're offering? I'd be delighted to give it a try). I've never seen a Treehouse beer. So maybe you see a connection between the two, but I don't, and it's not relevant to me or anything I said. I won't comment positively or negatively about a beer I've never seen or tasted.

Anyway, you're all hung up on my insulting the appearance of Hoof Hearted beers, but you haven't said a word about any of my other points about why they're still playing in the JV league until they prove they can step up their business. I'll just assume that you're conceding those points, then. I wish them well, really. I hope they grow into a brewery with a strong portfolio of beers, consistent quality, a marketing strategy that gives them the appearance of functional adults who can run a business rather than stoned frat boys making dick jokes.

They could become great, but they have a long way to go. It isn't going to happen in 2016. (I hope I'm wrong.)

 

FWIW, Hoof Hearted beers are quite a bit uglier than Treehouse.

Don't get me wrong, I think some HH are quite tasty - had one batch of Musk that I thought was incredible. But Roller Blabe is one of the uglier beers I've had. And for others reading, I will disclose I do like some clarity - the smoothie appearance is a novelty, tacky window-dressing imho - but the ugliness I'm talking about with some Hoof Hearted isn't just that they are hazy. The color is sometimes dull and skewing to brown instead of vibrant yellow / orange tones, the head can be lazy ... apricot runoff.