What are your most underrated breweries?

Great beers, but get made fun of every single time about their cans from my idiot friends.

 

+ Referend for falling into that fairly unknown and underappreciated category

 

I'll throw in on a brewery thats not on the radar yet but thats only because they've only been open just over a year but Ten Mile Brewing in Long Beach/Signal Hill Ca is as far as making beer goes, they haven't made a bad batch yet. They continually bring back old school, and harder to fine (at least in my area/shelves) styles like BIPA and Kentucky Common and they nail it each time. Great beers all around.

 

As much as it pains me as a Michigander to say something nice about Ohio, you're right. Great Lakes has always been solid for me, and I've enjoyed sipping on some Maumee Bay while in Toledo watching the Hens.

 

I've had some great stuff from them for my palate and preferences, Lip Ripa, Hexagenia, porter, IPL, and Widowmaker. But their hazies have lots of room for improvement.

Their prices definitely make them less hip. They make good stuff, but are often overpriced. YMMV

 

Mother's in Spri gfield, MO and Two brothers I ILL. mother's have some amazing barell-aged beers, and Two Brothers have a number of solid beers, including revelry.

 

I’m with @beardown2489 about Brickstone, but I think the most underrated/under the radar brewery in Illinois is Penrose, out of Geneva. Looking at their entry on this website, they’ve been around over five years (which seems to be middle aged in beer terms). They made their bones doing Belgian style ales and American Wild Ales, and while I had heard the buzz about them as a brewery doing really well with a less mainstream approach, I didn’t get a chance to try them until they started getting wider distribution with their more accessible pale ales. I’d really like to try the Belgians and Wilds, but I’ll tell you, every one of the nine ales I’ve had from them has been 4+. I’m thinking their other styles have to be just as good.

 

I'm guessing a lot of us have thought about posting but don't want to give up local favorites so that the beer is still obtainable and priced correctly.

 

I've only had one 3 Magnets beer so far, but I gave it a 5 - WOOHOO! Xtreme.

Have you had any of the Eel River anniversary barleywines? I was eyeing them at my local shop and didn't buy yet because I've been buying too many other barleywines.

 

Cambridge Brewing Company gets my vote. It's probably because they don't make a lot of ipa.

 

Made a trip home to San Diego a few years back and was excited about returning to America's Finest City some 14 years after I left. The craft beer scene is absolutely booming, so I was thrilled to have half a day to check out some of the breweries downtown in North Park. I decided on Modern Times, as it was one of the closest to the the airport, followed by Stone Liberty Station. Then it was onto the Miramar area with Mikkeller, AleSmith, Mike Hess.

But the BEST of the weekend was found in North County. Rancho Bernado is home to Abnormal Beer Company. It's co-located with The Cork and Craft, the bar area is tiny, as the taps back up to a large glass wall that looks into the brewery. Their tap selection was very extension with an excellent array of local beers.

I was fortunate enough to have pints of their Turbidity (4.23 on BA), an 8.5% hazy IPA brewed with Nugget and Cascade with rotating dry hops. The other, Boss Pour (4.22), a 7% American IPA brewed with Cascade, Simcoe, Nugget, Citra and Mosaic Hops.

This was a San Diego brewery I never heard about, but one that will be first on my stop when I get back home later this year.

You can check out my #30SecondBeerReview of both beers. Cheers!

Turbidity Review


Boss Pour Review

 

Thanks for all the recommendations!

Not seeing any from the SE.

I'll throw out Creature Comforts (Athens GA) and Reformation (Woodstock GA).

I live in Jacksonville and Veterans United and Wicked Barley aren't bad.

 

Excellent point regarding Half Acre. I was out with friends who wanted to try a great beer recently. I suggested Half Acre's Deep Space or a Daisy Cutter if the Deep Space didn't work. When the server returned one of them said I can get this at Walgreens (Daisy Cutter), this isn't quality beer.

Daisy Cutter is a great beer. Deep Space is outstanding. It is at the point where bourbon was 5 years ago; there is a perception developing that if it is readily available it can't be that good.

 

Granted I'm far from unbiased, but Olde Hickory doesn't get the recognition I think it deserves. Their big stouts easily go toe to toe with the competition from Bells, Founders etc. Even their standard fare regularly surprises me in the best way possible.

 

As far as New York breweries, I think Ommegang in Cooperstown has been producing the best beer I've been drinking lately. I know they are part of Duvel but given the quality of their recent beers, I for one welcome our relatively new Belgian overlords.

 

I would have to go with Big Timber out of Elkins, WV. I love their porter, which I first tasted in a restaurant-bar in Charleston, WV while on a weekend road-trip with my wife. Perhaps they would receive some acclaim if they were in a 'hipper' state (WV is fine with me). Ah, if only I could get that dark brew in Charlotte ...

 

We have a few out in the Chicago burbs that don't get a ton of love since they aren't in the city. A few that come to mind are Noon Whistle which is doing some great things with NEIPA and Hazy IPA, Scorched Earth which has a solid range off offerings from stouts to sours, and even Pollyanna which also has a Chicago location...