Hometown Breweries

Good question. For me, it would have to be where the brewery hosts its main operation. I agree with you on the Lagunitas example. To me they are a Cali brewery because that's where their main operation is. I consider Three Floyds to be an Indiana brewery, but that's because I was not aware of any Chicago roots/involvment.

 

The Chicago brewery will be much bigger when in full production.

BBC only has a small brewery in Boston. Big ones in Cincinnati and Lehigh Valley.

Yuengling 's largest brewery is in Tampa, not PA.

It has more to do with the location of the home office to me.

 

Interesting topic. Fat Head's is brewing at two locations now in Cleveland(may soon be three), but their food franchise started in Pittsburgh and soon they will be opening a location in Portland. I have mixed feelings about the expansion, but as long as they keep brewing good beer in Ohio and Matt Cole sticks around to make sure that is happening, It is all good.

 

Kind of the same thing happens here on BA, i/e. a brewery that has a satellite location in a nearby town, but no brewing at that site, is classed as a Beer Bar (Eatery optional), thus beer fans in that satellite city may not adopt the place as a Brewery since it's officially not one. Lagunitas, BBC, etc. all brew at each of their satellite locations, so it's a bit different, but the OP's question asks about "Hometown Breweries." So the 'home office' part can apply to big and small breweries and by the way they are categorized.

 

Hometown/roots play a huge role in defining any brewery or brand, Lagunitas...They are CA all the F'in way. I don't percieve BBC as a midwest company due to the fact most beer is brewed in Cincy nor will i think of Sierra Nevada as a southern brewery due to the satellite operation in NC.

I have no problem calling FFF a Chicago and/or Northern Indiana brewery, Munster is literally on the border of both states?

 

Living in Waterbury we've been proud to claim the Alchemist as our hometown brewery, but with it now being closed to the public and the new brewery going up in the more ritzy, touristy Stowe it'll be interesting to see which town will "claim" it more. It definitely feels a bit more removed from Waterbury not being able to buy it whenever from the brewery and having to seek it out on the right days. First world problems, I know.

 

Or the example of Bells, which was started in Kalamazoo by a guy from Ill. They now brew most of the beer in Galesburg.
Or the example of Arcadia, which was started in Battle Creek by a guy from Kalamazo. They now have a bigger brewery in Kalamazoo.

 

^^^same with Vinnie, Temecula?, but RR is most certainly a Sonoma County establishment.

I always associate Bell's with K-Zoo

 

Epic recently opened a brewery in Denver, yet I'll always think of them as being a SLC brewery. That's in spite of the fact that they've really embraced the area and their Denver brewed beers are better...or at least most of us think so.

Whenever I think of Denver breweries, it's hard for me not to immediately think of Great Divide.

 

BBC's so-called "Samuel Adams Pennsylvania Brewery Company" in Breinigsville, PA (built by F. & M. Schaefer in the 1970s with a final capacity of 5m bbl/yr and later owned by Stroh, Pabst and Diageo) is their largest brewery. After acquiring it in 2008 their annual report noted they went from brewing 35% of their own beer to nearly all of it - so Breinigsville produces roughly twice as much of BBC's beer as the old Schoenling brewery in Cincinnati.

But, back to the original point - no, no one would consider BBC a "Pennsylvania brewing company" - not Koch, nor Dick Yuengling - yet their beers have been brewed at more breweries IN Penn. than any other state - in Pittsburgh (original contract brewery), Latrobe (under City), in Breinigsville (under both Pabst and their own ownership) and their old Philly location, Samuel Adam Brewhouse (or whatever it was called).

 

At one time in history maybe, possibly, they were brewing a lot of Boston Lager in Cincinnati!?!

 

Yes I associate Bell's with Kalamazoo. The Eccentric Cafe is there, and the General Store.

 

To me, I claim a brewery if it brews in my town or close to it. Some here think that is heresy, or that they will never view it as anything more than the original home town brewery. But, in my opinion, if they brew it at a location, and you can go sample, drink it there, then it is claimable by that location as being a brewery. So, yea, Asheville can claim Sierra Nevada and soon, New Belgium in its growing list of breweries.

 

To me it has more to do with the home office mentality being discussed, or where the brewery was based when they "hit it big".
I hear Troegs I think of Harrisburg and/or Hershey not Colorado where they were originally based.

Also, love @jesskidden post!
Breinigsville is 5 minutes away from where I live (applied for a job there a few months ago, never got a call though) most locals aren't even aware that Sam Adams is there. BBC invested a ton of money installing a huge canning line there as well. But of course no one is going to think Sam Adams = PA.

 

I grew up in Milton, DE which is home to Dogfish's production brewery, open since 2003 I believe. Before that, in 1995, Sam started the original brewpub in Rehoboth Beach which is only 8 miles away but still two quite different towns. His roots are in New England since he grew up in Maine (Dogfish Head is an island off Maine's coast where Sam spent summers as a kid) but was born in and began brewing in NYC. So, while you should never forget where you came from and where you travel along your journey, where you end up is equally as important. That being said, since I now live in Asheville and Oskar Blues, Sierra Nevada and New Belgium are creating second homes here, I'm very excited to be a part of this next chapter in each of their stories. Gettin' all sentimental and stuff, I know.

 

Full Tilt Brewery is a Baltimore based operation in which both founders grew up in the area. All of their beers are Baltimore themed and appeal to the local population...very tasty might I add haha