Your Top 3 Most Influential Breweries

Three Floyds
Founders
Sierra Nevada

 

I feel like you HAVE to mention stone and DFH. Stone lead the way in creating the beer styles we know and love today with insane hoppiness, high ibus, and more. DFH set the standard and continues to do so on experimental beers. Sure at this point some seem unnecessary, but it's better to have the option than not, and some incredibly brews I'm sure can be attributed to the influence of DFH.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and also say ayinger. They have a bunch of approachable eurostyle beers and can really help a newbie in the craft world expand their palate.

 

Founders
Bell's
Kuhnhenn

 

3 Floyds - 2012 Dark Lord Day incredible bottle share
Hill Farmstead - How to stand in a beer line
Dogfish Head - a sense of history

 

Dogfish Head
Stone tied with Sierra Nevada
Odell

 

Cantillon: because they offer self-guided tours at the brewery so that if you already sort of understand brewing you can really think about, and improve your understanding of their traditional brewing process and then sample their beers fresh at your own pace and in your own way.

Dogfish Head: because they make dependable flagship beers, interesting experimental beers, and collaborate with a molecular archeologist to help us learn more about the methods and diversity of how our forbears and distant ancestors made one of human kind's oldest fermented beverages and then give us a chance to taste or even regularly drink some of those "Ancient Ale" beers.

Victory: because of their consistent, diverse line up of different styles of well-made beers that I can get fresh and in good quantity either seasonally or when I want to have one if its part of their flagship beers.

 

SN
Deschutes
Shiner/Boston - DRAW...for my roots, have drank many of both back in the day and still will grab a sixer of either's line-up for those times you feel like walking down memory lane...usually with friends around a BBQ grill, seafood & music.

 

Stoudts. For getting me into it and their Fat Dog Stout
Lagunitas. For starting me on IPAs
Dogfish. For perfecting IPAs

 

Dogfish Head
Sam Adams
Stone

 

5 Stone showed me how to incorporate new ingredients correctly when experimenting, and redefined accountability for their product,
Anheuser-Busch showed me how to alienate a customer base,
Sixpoint showed me how to make amazing beers, market and distribute widely, succeed, and not lose touch with their customer base.

 

Founders - impeccable
Olde Hickory - barrel ages better than anyone imo
Wicked Weed - giving love to the new guy with amazing beers and dramatic plans for the future

 

Sam Adams .....introduction
Dogfish........got me hooked
CCB.......ongoing addiction

 

1- Pipeworks
2- Half Acres
3-Goose Island

 

Evil Twin
The Bruery
Westbrook

 

In order:
Victory
SN
Firestone Walker

 

The Bruery
Firestone-Walker
Goose Island

 

Really hard to say. There's so many to include.

Gouden Carolus - For making the Cuvee Van De Kiezer. What got me into beer.
Firestone Walker - For setting the standard and having a killer catalogue of beers
Dogfish - For keeping craft beer fun and interesting. What it is all about

 

Schlenkerla opened my eyes.
Chimay opened them wider (and my wallet too).
Coniston made me lose sleep.

 

1. Dogfish Head
2. Troegs
3. Lagunitas

 

Sam Adams got me into craft and into a billion different styles
Dogfish Head got my curiosity going as to what could be done with beer
Kane got me into really thinking about drinking regionally and how community drives a lot of the fun in beer