Unknown Brewery Gems

And an ostrich farm!

 

I've heard of Grand Teton the head brewer there Rob Mullen used to be the brewer at the local brew pub.

 

I'll also say ahnappee brewery in algoma Wisc. Could do well. But they are small right now but have some good beers.

 

Yep, this one gets my vote too. I'll also add Czig Meister in Hackettstown, NJ. Friendly staff, cool taproom with a small outdoor beer garden and the beers are all solid with lots of different options.

Both of these get honorable mention. Couldn't agree more with what you said about hoping that Twin Elephant doesn't fall pretty to the NEIPA culture. Their taproom is one of my favorite places to hang. Tough to call Ramstein "unknown" since they've been around for so long but I appreciate how they've stayed the course and stuck to brewing traditional German styles.

 

Copper Kettle in Colorado has flown under the radar even though their stouts have been pretty impressive for a few years now.

I don't live there, but Pasteur Street Brewing in Ho Chi Minh City is doing some damn solid work.

 

I want something from Wilkes-Barre to do well since I'm from that area, but it's not Breaker. They've been around for some time now and haven't exploded, so I don't think they will at this point.

My 2 would be South County and La Cabra, both from PA.

 

Out of Utah the two that are well known are Epic and Uintah. I think ready to blow up ones include Redrock, who got first place in some beer competition last year for their Zwickelbier and have maybe the greatest IPA I've tried, Elephino. Another brewery poised to get bigger here I think is the Utah brewer's collective, AKA Squatter's, who have had mild success before but last year they had an excellent Duvel ripoff (called hell's keep) that I think they may start shipping to other states this year, also placed high in some competitions.

 

Very good post. I think the bigger breweries will begin to dwindle in size (as we are seeing with a couple now) due to the drink local ideology. It's a good time for the craft beer movement for sure.

 

Laxton Hollow Brewing Works in little Lexington, Ohio is one of only about two or three cask ale breweries in the entire country.

I doubt it will "blow up" any time soon because cask ale is a different experience all together, but it's certainly worth a stop if you're anywhere near the north central part of the state. And the owner/brewer Ken Dudley will talk your head off about cask ale if you're inclined to have a conversation.

 

I think Burlington Beer Co is putting out some excellent brews too!
Frost Bros and Burlington Beer would be my choices. Their distro is excellent in Southern VT. Cheers!

 

I've got a couple of suburban Chicago breweries, Buckledown in Lyons very good IPA's and an excellent BBC Imperial Stout. Also I'll mention Noon Whistle from Lombard. I'm not sure how big their distribution footprint is because I don't see it often enough, but I buy it when I see it.

 

I like a lot of what Great North Aleworks brews. Have some that make it everywhere and a few limited distribution. Tie Dyed is a great all around APA.

A new one in NH that has been pretty popular so far is Kettlehead. I stopped in once and tried a bunch of stuff, great start. Lots of variety that was all done pretty well. Great food at the tap room too.

 

What I am particularly encouraged about is the death of the concept of beer as a trading commodity and the return not only to actually drinking the stuff (instead of tasting the rare bottle someone traded for, split among 20 people, each getting 1 oz pours), but doing so fresh and locally. The healthy rivalries that will pop up will also make travelling to new destinations that much more fun and rewarding. Drinking what the locals drink and understanding why they love their local beers so much is an awesome way to develop true beer community and culture. (Of course, I have been touting these very things about German and other European beer cultures for a while, but I am genuinely glad to see it finally happening here, too. )

 

I was so hyped for Bearded Iris my last Nashville trip, but I was pretty disappointed with what I tried honestly. Southern Grist though....everything I tried was on point across a variety of styles and really was my favorite brewery in the city.

 

Everything I've had at Big Ditch Brewery in Buffalo has been really good and more people should be on the look out for their beers.

The few beers produced by Liquid State in Ithaca have also been solid. Their black lager is incredible. Unfortunately they haven't started canning or bottling yet so you have to visit their brewery.

 

I was lucky enough to have tried Foley Bros Fair Maiden double IPA once and it was fantastic

 

I really like their/his stuff.

 

That is an awesome new avatar!

Cheers to you!!