Which brewery or brewer do you consider to be the current" face" of craft beer?

In terms of someone who would be recognisable to people other than inner-circle beer geeks, I'd agree

 

Met Sam recently and I would have to agree. Super nice guy and very passionate about his product.

 

Those two are certainly the face of what has been craft beer for the longest time. Props to them for what they have grown from seedlings into the thing we all love and enjoy today...Thank god we live in the time we do, imagine if you were a craft beer drinker in the 70's and 80's...All imports if you want a tasty beer.

That being said, I think the new generation of brewers such as Cory King, Troy Casey, Shaun Hill, etc. that are pushing the boundaries of what an American craft brewery can be, should deserve the torch next.

 

Jim Koch of Boston Beer. Mainstream craft.


DFH is comparatively far more niche market focused, imo.

 

Greg Koch of Stone.

Apparently having "Koch" as a last name helps you brew beer..

 

Hard to say for everyone, this country is state based, don't want to discredit Sam, Greg or Jim or anyone else; for us in the Sunshine state, Wayne Wambles is doing it, he's held the door open for everyone else here until now, it's wide open now.

 

Tony Magee

 

Among brewers, like it or not, the answer is Jim (to the extent he actually brews, which I'm guessing is a small extent at most these days). Tens of millions of people have watched him extol the virtues of Sam Adams beers in a bunch of different commercials. Heck, the only guy who's even close probably is Bob Cannon, Boston Beer Company's heavily bearded head R&D brewer from the same commercials, who represents the stereotypical brewer appearance better than his boss. Few people know his name, but I'm sure he gets recognized constantly.

After those two it's probably Sam, in no small part due to his short-lived TV show from a few years ago. Garrett Oliver gets a lot of exposure, probably more than Greg. James Watt and Martin Dickie have to be up there because of their show and perhaps Michael Ferguson as well because of his show, but I have no idea what sort of viewership figures those shows get.

 

Sierra Nevada
Mr Grossman

 

Nationally and to the general public, Jim Koch with Calagione a distant but visible second. Regionally... well, a bunch of big names from the regions - John Hall before he sold out, John McDonald, Deb & Dan Carey, ... . I think most of the folks BA's think about aren't really well known outside our circles. Shaun Hill is like the craft beer messiah, sure, but who outside of a pretty small group of folks know that?

 

I would say Sam Calagione and Greg Koch. Those are the two that come to my mind first. Being in DE may bring Sam more to mind but his enthusiasm is hard to beat. Jim Koch has to be in the discussion too.

 

Brett Porter has to make the top 20 on the value of his name alone.

I'd like to think that Mitch Steele would be mentioned as well, but you can't argue against Sam/Jim

 

Let's face it - Jim Koch is the only individual brewer who can be picked out of a line-up by an average craft beer drinker. So, if the question is about an individual then the answer is him.

If the question is more about what brewery epitomizes the contemporary craft beer movement, I say Stone. The reason is that the first word I think of when I hear craft is "hoppy." Subsequently, when I hear hoppy, I think Stone.

 

Amongst the craft beer community I think Stone has the best combination of having a historically strong portfolio, wide distribution, and being on the front end of innovation. It's really an amazing feat to hit high in all three of those criteria.

 

Greg Koch and Sam

 

I don't have to imagine. I turned legal drinking age in 1980... and you're right, it was all about imports... when we could afford them.

 

Coming from Chicago, I have to go with Lagunitas.

 

Sierra Nevada..