Breweries that have NOT lost their way.

Let's start with Allagash. Allagash White is THE witbier. I feel like other breweries don't want to compete with it because it's so good. They've done a tremendous job of defining what they want to do. The coolship beers and wilds are great. They unfortunately stopped making Hoppy Table Beer but brought us delicious River Trip. I'm excited to try the new beers like Darling Ruby which started as a pilot beer. They've given opportunities to younger brewers. They continue to innovate. I am looking forward to drinking Little Brett this summer.

CBC has done a great job of navigating the changing beer scene. Will has always been an innovator and there is something new and interesting on tap. There are also old favorites, we're going to be entering Hefe season soon. They've started producing more hoppy beers, but they still hit the style spectrum. Just a terrific all around brewery.

Sierra is the national brewery that has remained constant for me. The Beer Camps were a good way to stay relevant by involving popular, trendier breweries, at least from getting people back into the brand perspective. The Oktoberfest collabs have been tremendous IMO. I've had SNPA more this year and it still is a wonderful beer.

 

The BA way is never to pass up an opportunity to make sure everyone is aware you’re drinking all of the best shit.

Thread asking for top 5 fave beers? List 10 with another 15 honorable mentions.

New joiner from North Dakota posts a thread saying they had old rasputin for the first time and do people have any other fave stouts they can seek out? Obvious answer is to mention that the Fundamental Observation (b1) x Assassin (b1) “coovee” you had is fantastic.

 

It’s been 10 years since they crowd-sourced a bunch of money from the lucky members of the OG society, in order to make fruity berliners and sugar stouts? And then failed to deliver on their promises to said society? A shining beacon of integrity in the beer world for sure.

 

There are the cliche Hill Farmstead, Cantillon, etc. All still true, most excellent.
But put me down for a vote for Firestone Walker! Consistency, excellence, and diversity in the portfolio, yet still seem to be under appreciated in beer talk.

 

I for one do not discuss them much since I am unable to find a number of their brands (fresh) anymore. For example, I have not seen bottle/can of Pivo Pils in over a year. It is challenging for a brewery to be very relevant under these conditions.

Cheers!

 

I'm not that far from the brewery and I can't find it fresh either if I can find it at all. I had to adjust my freshness expectations for Pivo akin to German imports and I'm kinda happy to have it at 3-4 months old.

 

To be honest, "Larry's Latest" new sour fruit beers don't exactly seem like Bell's to me.

 

I'm not sure about this. For most of their history Straub made two beers, Straub and Straub Light. Now they're making hefeweizen and dunkel and Maibock and doppelbock... they've jumped the shark!

 

And that is indeed a sad situation.

I used to be a fan of Pivo Pils but.... Lucky for me there are many high quality Pilsners brewed local to me (Root Down Pils, Sly Fox Pikeland Pils, Neshaminy Creek Trauger Pils, Stoudts Pils,...) and I am able to find those beers fresh.

Cheers!

 

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery continues to brew top quality beers in traditional styles without chasing trends. When I see an IPA on their tap list I know it will be bitter. When I see a stout on it I know it will taste like a stout and not candy.

Moreso, their core five beers have been the same, and great for the fifteen years I've been drinking their.

 

Highlands Brewing is better than ever.

 

Tough to say. There are plenty of breweries that have done those things (or at least have tried to) and have still fallen on hard times or have struggled at the very least.

 

Wha?! You don't remember St. Mary's Beer? Does anyone?
(label doesn't look all that old- ad's from 1954).


(A local competitor's brand that Straub eventually bought out - not sure how long they brewed it.)

Pretty sure they had a seasonal Bock (as did most US lager brewers at one time or another). The Straub Light came in the mid-80s - it was sorta shocking when it happened (and not just because regular Straub was pretty light to begin with --- maybe my favorite AAL).

 

Beat me to it.
Still consistently making excellent Belgian inspired beers with a few very good IPA styles and some experiments in the mix to keep things interesting. Duvel was the perfect company to partner with and has wisely kept a hands-off approach.

 

What - no love for Central Waters??? They've got to be the best barrel aged beer producer in WI in terms of both quality and quantity.

 

Yazoo Brewing in Nashville has been very solid over the years. A solid regular line up with interesting seasonals and Sours. Never had a bad beer from them.

 

Oskar Blues hasn't given over fully to the Haze plague, all the beers that made them great (Dale's, G'Knight, Ten Fidy) can still be found easily very fresh.

 

Yup, they make a lot of non-AAL brands now and package them in variety packs (now with the moniker of Adventure Series for some reason):

· Tight Lines Kolsch

· 1872 Pre-Pro Lager

· Smooth Eddy Hefeweizen

· Boulder Bock Maibock

· Odo Pilot German Pilsner

· Stellar Night Dunkel

· Oktoberfest

· Ancient Altbier

· 20 Rock Doppelbock

Cheers to Straub for making these wonderful beers!!!

 

Three Floyds (3 Floyds) Brewing (Munster, IN)

I’m really just starting to sample a variety of IPAs and APAs, and this nearby (I’m in Chicago) brewery hasn’t let me down yet. Good-to-great so far.

 

Russian River and Yards