ISO: Exceptional breweries that opened in 2020

Black Flannel Brewing Company opened on July 1, 2020. https://www.vermontbrewers.com/breweries/black-flannel-brewing-co/ Looks like a great place. Going to have to give it a try whenever I get to Vermont.

 

A mostly German brewery in Rochester (Fairport) NY. Only 3 hop-centric beers (only one of them a hazy) on the menu and one is a classic red ipa with rye that is reminiscent of Ithaca Cascazilla meets Founders Red’s Rye. Everything else is European in style with styles like Alt, Schwarz, Rauch, and Patersbier that breweries just aren’t making anymore. During Oktoberfest season they had an Amber style and lighter Fest style that they served directly from the cask after tapping it traditionally with a a spigot and mallet, complete with alpine horn players to kick off the festivities. The three owners (one German born) did extensive traveling and research in Deutschland and brought back their spoils of knowledge and it reflects in the clean tasting, clear lagers and other styles as well.
This brewery is everything I want, right in my home town.


Spinning Gold, Munich Helles
Munich light colored lager, 5.9 %
Devils Treasure (Hefeweizen, 5.3%)
Juiceful (NEIPA, 6.4%)
Three Way Switch (English Porter, 4.6%)
Glover Perrin (NYS Pale Ale, 5.8%)
Iron Hearth (Rauchbier, 5.5%)
Knick Knack Patersbier
(Belgian Patersbier, 6%)
Kassel Kölsch
Kölsch, 5.9% ABV, classic lager, top fermented
Mother Gothel, Maerzen
Traditional Oktoberfestbier, amber color, 5.5%
Autumnal Ale, PETREV
Copper color, aromas of Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger.
Lucy's Local, Red Rye IPA
(6.9%) Hazy red color, grapefruit & tangerine, toasty malt, light caramel sweetness.
Old Sinner, Altbier
Copper color, toffee malt aroma forward and toasted bread, dry finish with gentle touch of hop bitterness.
Raven's Ring, Schwarzbier
Black Lager, 4.5%, dense beige foam, aroma of toasted dark bread and subtle coffee notes, rich dry malt flavor.

Hard to beat a line-up like that.

 

My best friend lives in Fairport. Definitely going to have to peep this next time I am visiting!

 

Urban South opening in Houston. While the brewery has been open in New Orleans and Houston is the second location, it’s almost like a completely different entity. Their beer lineups, menus, and releases are completely different

 

Right now it’s just crowler/growler fills and pints in the parking lot when weather is cooperative but hopefully by the time you visit, they Should have the inside completed. German fare coming out of the kitchen too.

 

Great Awakening Brewery in Westfield, MA really impressed me. Solid takes on several styles. Beautiful taproom by a waterfall too.

 

Any new brewery that was/is able to open this year has to be considered 'exceptional' in a different kind of way. Handmap Brewing was scheduled to open on St. Patrick's Day but had to delay a couple months thru the stay-at-home period, sold beer from the curb, finally opened, closed again and is now trying to sell beer on a small patio and via carry-out. I'm doing my best to support them. I hope they make it.

 

Ben's previous brand, Enlightenment, was churning out some of the best farmhouse ales in New England. Happy to hear that there are BAs appreciating his stuff in Washington. I really miss his beer.

 

That sounds great!!! I really want to check this place out!

 

Perhaps we could do a “Foreign”drinking exchange program? I’ll live at you house and tour bourbon distilleries and eat Burgoo, hot brown sammies, bourbon bread pudding and derby pie. You can stay at my house and drink German beers. Local brewery Rohrbach brewing co has a core line up of German beers too and we have some great old world style German/Eastern European-restaurants and delicatessens here too.

 

This gets my vote as well. My wife and I are usually IPA drinkers, but the last few times I've been to Human Robot, I've been all about their lagers and pils. They've been super cool every visit and the sandwich place inside is amazing.

Drinking a can of Il Cielo now, so good.

 

Opened on 12-17-19 (just before 2020)

DSSOLVR in downtown Asheville. They seem to nail alot of different styles really well. Worth checking out if in Asheville, not sure if they are getting attention yet (my guess is yes).

 

I would definitely consider that!!! Not sure if my wife would agree though...

 

2 in my neck of the woods....Drowned Lands in Warwick, NY...and Tin Barn in Sugarloaf...very good beers, great spaces, and great people.

 

Definitely have my attention and I’m guessing people using this site are well aware of them.

 

Torch & Crown Brewing in New York. Technically speaking, they are not new having been brewing at a remote location for a few years now. In October they finally opened their brewpub in Manhattan which had been the long-term goal. Are they exceptional? That’s hard to say with all of the solid competition in New York City these days. That said, they make excellent beers in a variety of styles. I guess what makes them exceptional in my mind is that they are the first quality brewery in Manhattan in many years.

 

I am going to throw my diminutive (~ 150#) weight behind the extremely-new (mid-Septembeer) Our Town Brewery (OTB) here in LanCANster, PA.

Please be aware that I am alluding to the big, bad city of Lancaster & NOT the greater county of which it is the county seat. I grew up in Lancaster (city) & it really rankles to hear people say that they are "from Lancaster" when they are actually from the county! I have (unsuccessfully) twice run for mayor & when they evoke "Our Town", I am probably more vested than almost anyone else as a lifelong (double-nickels & ticking) resident.

The brewery brought a failing building back to life! As a kid, I remember it as a PP&G outlet, but over the years, it closed & got split & divided endlessly, finishing as an awning shop on one side & a CANbined Phô & billiards hall (!) before it all closed & was renovated into today's iteration. As it turns out, the structure's origin was as an early auto showroom & the brewpub's design showcases that open, looky-loo feel. It is literally right on the corner of N Prince (a major southbound corridor - US 222S) & W Walnut (a major westbound corridor - PA 23W) Streets so that you CANnot miss seeing it during a visit to the city.

I held my breath during the reno & opening since its failure would be a real blow to the city. It is in a great beer location, less than a block from the site of the original pre-Pro (& briefly post-Pro) Wacker Brewery, as well as a block off of N Water St, where a surreptitious hose ran from the Prohibition-era Rieker Brewery to a speakeasy!

I will readily cop to being a cheerleader of theirs, having signed up for their membership club early on. Why? They release a new beer seemingly EVERY week & I am a COVID-19 Crowler CANvert, eschewing sitting at a socially-distanced bar in favor of getting a Crowler for takeway & CANming home to drink it in relative peace! I have yet to garner a clinker as evinced by my reviews.

They have done a really good job from the jump & I look forward to my weekly visit (usually on my day off) to do a grab & go. My only failure has been to get a picture for inclusion on here. 8=( Take my word for it, the building DEF grabs your attention.

Okay, I think that I have answered OP's ISO. I will happily try to clear up any fog & CANfusion that may exist, either via B/M or a response here. In the interim, I gotta make a run for this week's Crowler!

 

Woven Water in Tampa. Opened in a tough time for opening a brewery but I think they will do well. Nice taproom with a good vibe and really solid beer from what I have tried. Tampa area has lots of options that are good to great but I expect these new players will be part of that scene for the long run.

 

I wanted so badly to love Human Robot . . . I really like their design aesthetic, variety of styles, and overall vibe. I'm totally willing to believe that the three beers I took home in crowlers weren't necessarily representative, but I found them pretty unremarkable. OTOH, I was drinking a lot of Brew Gentlemen for the first time that very same weekend, which I'm sure skewed my perception. Will definitely revisit once I'm back in Philly, and hopefully once we're past Covid.

 

Remember which ones you had? Try any lagers?