Vinepair: 35 Most Important Breweries of the Decade

Not bad for a "listicle", can't say any of the breweries listed don't belong.

 

I think New Glarus, Boston Beer Co, Great Lakes, North Coast, Unibroue, Goose Island, Southern Tier, Brewdog, Anchor and Shorts all should definitely belong in this list.

 

My notes:

1. The picture for Ballast Point is absolutely disgusting.
2. I don't know why Grimm is up there. I think they're a very good brewery, but they only opened up their brick and mortar recently (in terms of the decade). I think that they're the only real brewery that I would replace with something else. Probably a brewery forgotten from the middle of the country?
3. Overall, I think most of the breweries up there have a good deal of importance to the way craft beer has shaped up over the last 10 years, even the traitors like Wicked Weed.

 

It is always easy to find the omissions, so not all that earth-shattering to list them. But the ones that I was mildly surprised to not see were;

New Glarus - c'mon, fruit beers can't even be mentioned without noting NG.
Funky Buddha - they were about the first ones I recall doing the Berliner wiesse as a taproom staple
Goose Island - In an era of barrel aging standards, the last 10 years were all about BCBS and its variants.

 

Some I'm not familiar with, but I agree with the rest, except Left Hand. Other than their Milk Stout(s), the rest of the line up is..."meh"!

 

I dislike the word "Important". Maybe most influential would be gooder? Shrugs.

 

I don't understand how Goose Island didn't even make this long list when it's arguably the single most important brewery of the decade.

 

GI should have been included, imho, but Sierra Nevada has been the most influential brewery in the past 4 decades. Again, imho.

 

You just changed the time span.

 

I would have liked to see at least one brewery from a country that most North Americans don’t think of as a “beer country.” Such a brewery is important not just because it introduces North Americans to other markets/beers, but because this brewery is probably influential in growing the scene in it’s home market as well. The exceptional Omnipollo from Sweden and the excellent Bodebrown from Brazil are two that come immediately to mind. I should add that Brasserie Dieu du Ciel has been extremely important, not just for the excellence of their beers, but for elevating the awareness of the Quebec brewing scene, which is vastly underrated and under appreciated.

 

I'm sorry, but Omnipollo is over-hyped/over-rated. Artificially flavored sugary crap!

 

Don’t be sorry, I’m not the brewer. However, I disagree completely and would be curious about what beers you are basing your assessment on.

 

Their dark, high ABV dessert stouts.

 

This listicle is waaay better than the other listicle that is presently being discussed.

Cheers!

 

I’m no expert, but I believe dessert stouts are supposed to be sugary/sweet. It’s always a fine line between enough and too much with that style. Prodromus is exceptional. I’d suggest their IPA’s/DIPA’s.

 

It's all about balance and without artificial flavors/ingredients. People pay top dollar for some of these beers. I'm strongly against anything artificial in food. Especially when it comes to craft beer. Some of these breweries call themselves artisan, craft, etc., charge $10+ a can/bottle, and yet use artificial ingredients.

 

Not a terrible list. I don't have too much experience with Grimm, but I'm a little surprised they made the list.

I also agree that Goose Island should be this list.

 

I'd like to see this list next year, when the decade is over.