BA, Rate Your Top Three Breweries

Stone
Sierra Nevada
Lagunitas

 

I
Yea....thats what happens when i drunk-troll. In all seriousness though:

1. Firestone
2. Sierra Nevada
3. Bells

 

1. Oskar Blues
2. Green Flash
3. Firestone Walker

 

Founders
Firestone Walker
Boulevard

 

Just looked at the list I made. Tough to decide but have narrowed it down:
1- Odell (easy #1 for me)
2- Founders
3- Firestone Walker

Troeg's 4th, Descutes 5th, but the only one I can get in NC is Founders. Sucks. That's how much I love the others. Plus I can't get any of these Maine/Vermont/Cali awesome beers I hear about, or Three Floyd's or Cigar City. So can't rate those.

That said, NC has some great options locally and nationwide. If I had to add those I can get, Stone, Sierra Nevada, and Bell's would be next. NoDa Brewing & Wicked Weed are the top 2 in NC imo.

 

Founders
Stone
Sierra Nevada

 

Sierra Nevada
Great Lakes
Bells

 

Russian River
Firestone Walker
De Garde

 

Going with the locals:

Smuttynose
Maine Beer Co.
Rising Tide

 

Belgian:
De Struise
Brouwerij St Bernardus
Brasserie Caracole

US:
Sierra Nevada
Tallgrass
Boulevard

Schell missed the cut by *this much*. They have been steadily upping their game...watch out....

 

I love your avatar. Cornetto Trilogy FTW. Can't believe I didn't think of using it first...

 

No particular order....

Stone
Lagunitas
New Belgium

not on my list, but nice showing by Deschutes, having a Fresh Squeezed right now

 

1. Goose Island: No matter how much you hate inbev or ab, they make BCBS and varients, amazing sours, and their regular schwill. Available almost nationwide, and of the highest quality. You will be looking for some on Black Friday and you know it.
2. Founders: Every day of the year I can find a Founders beer that is better than most anything on the shelf next to it, all around the country. Also producing some of the best seasonals of any brewery anywhere.
3. Three Floyds: Should probably be #1 on my list. Zombie, Dreadnaught, Gumballhead, Arctic Panzer, Alpha King, PF, ever changing amazing beers available daily or not. My favorite BAR in America. Never know what your going to get, unless you know how to know.

 

Man, over 100 posts before the first vote for Boulevard. They have a great regular portfolio, an outstanding line of "big" beers (Smokestack series), and are reasonably priced. Their primary shortcoming is a smallish distribution footprint (17 states get full distro accordingly to SeekABrew), but I think the fact that they don't have any beers that are downright impossible to get might impact their inclusion on this type of list as well.

Maybe if the Duvel purchase helps them expand their distribution footprint, there will be more votes on this type of list in 5-10 years.

At any rate, I've waxed ecstatic long enough...

1) Boulevard. What can I say, I'm a bit of a homer--if someone told me I could only have beers from a single brewery's lineup for the rest of my life, it would be an easy choice, given the breadth of Boulevard's lineup.

2) Deschutes. Another brewery that has an outstanding diversity in their lineup.

3) Anchorage. This is where having a top three comes in handy, because while their lineup isn't extremely large, all of their beers are innovative, and I have yet to sample one that I haven't liked.

 

Pyramid
Magic Hat
Saranac

Wait. What was the question? Oh.

Russian River
Hair of the Dog
Avery

 

BA's can't count.

1. Hill Farmstead
2. Cantillon
3. Struise

 

1 Sierra Nevada
2 Brooklyn
3 Victory

 

1) CCB
2) Firestone Walker
3) Bells/Founders - impossible to break the tie, sorry

Really tough to leave some of my favorites off, but familiarity and access are a factor. For example, I think HF is top notch, but have only had two of their beers, whereas I can get virtually every special release from CCB.

 

Left Hand Brewing
Great Lakes Brewing
Great Divide
Brooklyn Brewery
Ommegang
Hill Farmstead

I drink far to much beer to squeeze this down to three. In no particular order, and I feel wrong for selecting just those 6 as I know there are others that I am sadly forgetting or omitting.

 

Stone
Sam Adams
Southern Tier

There are other breweries I may enjoy more over time, but I can't accurately judge a brewery when I've only had 2-3 of their offerings. All the above I've tried many by, and have enjoyed most them.