What are your most underrated breweries?

Sorry: That should be Licking Hole Creek Brewery

 

We went to Electric during a visit to Temecual three years ago and I'm not surprised they blew up with the haze crowd as I remember thinking their IPAs were impressively similar to Treehouse. The crowd there also stood out as super friendly and enthusiastic, as if they all had a personal stake in the brewery. We had a great, low key, time. Bummer it's a shitshow there now, though I'm sure their wallets are happy.

 

The brewery that mostly came to mind when I read this thread is Stromcloud Brewing here in Michigan. It's a small brewery but they recently expanded by building a production site separate from the taproom and were supposed to start canning beers. It's a 3 hour drive for me to get there, so I hope their cans show up in my store soon.

This thread also got be thinking about the definition of 'underrated' , and being the numbers person that I am, I decided to look at my numbers to develop an answer to the OP's question.

My wife and I have visited over 500 breweries (only 400 or so Breweries are in the BA database because many were visited prior to my joining BA), and I can say there are a lot of breweries coast-to-coast-to-coast making great beer and they are under-visited/under-rated. However, I looked at my rating numbers to see which ones that I have reviewed/rated that have an rDev above zero, meaning that my numbers conclude they are underrated.

There are 121 places in the US, Germany and Belgium (a few do not have the Brewery classification here on BA) where my rDev ranges from +0.2 to +25.3 thus 'underrated' by BA members on average, and some of the names in the highest 50 in the rDev list are likely recognizable to many BA members. (These numbers reflect the overall Places rating which will differ from the Beer rating that I assigned, but you can look up any place as see what the Quality rating is for a Place, and that is by Beer rating.)

Five recognizable places in my top 50 are:

1. Delirium Taphouse - Brussels (classed as a Bar on BA but could be a Brewery category because there is a Delirium brewery location)
2. Buffalo Bill's - CA
3. Weissbrauhaus - Regensburg, Germany
4. Jackie O's - OH
5. De Halve Maan - Brugge, Belgium

(By the way, my r-Dev for Stormcloud Brewing is -2.6 so I even underrated it! )

 

I really like Icarus, and I think they can attribute a lot of their success and growing hype within NJ to the ease of finding their beers. Hooray for (in-state) distribution.

 

Since moving to Alexandria I have fallen in love with Port City. Nothing flashy but everything they make is solid to excellent. Just a good brewery who makes great beer, whether it be an IPA, a traditional Helles, or a doppelbock.

 

Mother’s Brewing - Springfield, MO

 

Recently in San Diego - think Eppig was amazing, and agree with previous post that Pariah also great. To top it off they are next to each other....

 

Made a trip to South Bend, IN a few years back and as luck would have it, we were late arriving into ORD. We rented a car and ended up driving through Munster, eating dinner and enjoy 3 Floyds, the day befor Dark Lord Day.

While that was the highlight of our trip, we also made a roadtrip to Cabela's, located in Hammond, IN. On our return trip, we were searching BA for craft brew spots and ended up in Michigan City. Never knew Michigan City wasn't in Michigan, nor had I ever heard of Burn Em Brewing. Now it really wasn't off the beaten path, but we drove by the brewery....twice. Located off the main road in a two-story house.

It's tiny, but the guys behind the bar and beer was excellent! I remember getting a flight including Siesta, Rye Ale, Gawd Loves Fugly and Boarder Allies. All excellent selections and was pleased with the variety. Also picked a few to go cans. Lots of good beer in Indiana!

 

Two worth mentioning. North Coast in Cali. Some solid beers and great barrel aged, but nobody talks about them. Yes they're bigger than you realize but that isn't a bad thing. Thirsty Dog in Cleveland - haven't been there but their Siberian Nights Imperial Stout is an incredibly well made "nailed it" beer. That and the barrel aged aged version make me wish it was local.

 

Parish brewing probably gets the most hype nationally with Ghost in the Machine, but one of the best in the area is probably Courtyard Brewing. Pretty much any IPA especially their NEIPAs are gold, sour program is solid as well

As an aside, I think New Belgium as a whole is underrated. Pretty much every beer is solid, and reasonably priced. Decent Imperial IPA in 6 packs for <$10? Awesome Triple and Dubble in 6 packs <$10? Solid sours? Sign me up. Yeah most of their beers arent crazy or the best/top/hype but they're solid/safe examples of their respectful styles.

 

I know a lot of people are shouting out their locals, and there’s a lot of undersung breweries in my home state of unsung everything. But I’m gonna broaden my scope and make a bit of a stretch, but...

I don’t think Boulevard gets as much credit as they should. They’re turning 30 this year. One of the OGs. And they still crank out such timeless and extreme stuff. Tank 7? A classic go-to. The Calling? Blew my socks off last times I had it, totally unexpected. I just had their BA Grand Cru today, and it was every flavor I had been craving for the past month.

Every time I chance another visit with one of their beers, I fall in love all over again. I’ve been nothing but impressed by their stronger offerings. And their barrel program is pretty damn good.

Cheers to them.

 

Agreed! Their Bourbon Barrel Quad and Whiskey Barrel Stout are two of the best year-round BA beers you'll find. I feel like breweries such as Boulevard and North Coast are hiding in plain sight. I just hope they are able to survive the current industry/craft trends that make their brands passé to many consumers.

 

I have a feeling those two have a good chance standing the test of time. Since they both have always kept slightly left of the center of the limelight, quietly brewing their timeless flagships in addition to unsung and brilliant small batches.

Boulevard and North Coast are like that old friend you have, that one you always drop the ball on keeping up with, but when you finally pull through you just pick up where you left off. Everything feels in its prime again for that moment.

I’d definitely call those two some of the true “sleepers” in craft beer.

 

Une Année and Hubbards Cave are both making incredible beer

 

I would say kettle head brewery and lone wolf brewery out of NH. Kettle head has definitely made some noise in the local area but lone wolf hasn’t in my opinion.

 

Fargo Brewing Company (ND)
Melvin Brewing (WY)
Grand Teton (ID)
Bent Paddle (MN)

 

I'll go full-on homer and nominate Dry Dock and the Bull & Bush. They're both home to a crazy number of awards in a ton of different styles.

Elsewhere, I don't think I can stress enough how good New Glarus actually is. Since they don't leave Wisconsin, I think they still fly under a lot of radars.

Internationally, I'll nominate the entire town of Bamberg that isn't named Schlenkerla

 

Sad to say, I'd go with Stoudt's in Adamstown, Pa. They have been making world-class beer for decades, but everyone just wants to talk about the latest IPA, wack Saison, or pastry stout. Do yourself a favor and go for their Pils or Gold.