What are your most underrated breweries?

Nobody on here has probably heard of them since it is a small brewery in rural PA, but Shy Bear in Lewistown, PA. I have had 17 different beers from them and can't say I have had one I didn't like. My favorite from them is probably Redd Up, which is a Belgian style Dubbel. But, their IPAs are hands down some of the best I've had. They also own a coffee company, so their stouts and porters have been pretty tasty as well.

 

I don't think breweries few people have heard of can be "underrated." Under the radar, maybe. As far as underrated breweries, I might go Rogue. They take a lot of crap for being "out there," but I've never had anything from them that wasn't well made and enjoyable.

And, no, I have not tried Beard Beer. Yet.

 

These three are all very highly regarded, but I still think they are not recognized for how good they really are.

1) Cellador - I would argue they are making the best barrel fermented beer in the US right now, and doing some experimental stuff that is genuinely next level (Equus Mulus, Chapeau...). Particularly Chapeau, I think, was my favorite beer from the last year or longer. It blew my mind.

And that pilsner... maybe my favorite pilsner brewed in the US.

I think their work with fruit is only comparable to the standards by De Garde, Floodland, and SARA. Their smoked sours (Peche Fumee, Gourde Fumee) are the greatest smoked beers I have ever had. Their stone fruit sours are also the best I have ever had (Slide Down my Cellar Door, Fuckified, Mas, Synchronicity...). And some of their rarer stuff, like their beet sour, or berry stuff (Firsts, Fraises & Roses)...) are absolutely glorious as well.

Considering the ridiculous shitshow that Monkish releases have become for endless clones of the same beer (not to mention Three Chiefs...) I think Cellador deserves a lot more praise than they get.

2) Alvarado Street / Yeast of Eden - As far as 'modern' breweries doing the hip urban styles of the day (hazies, sour ipas, jammy kettle sours, sludgy stouts...) these guys are top tier. And on top of that, their YOE program is doing genuinely elegant barrel fermented stuff that stands toe to toe with the best of them. They are extremely well rounded, and do experimental and traditional stuff as good as any. If SARA is the Hill Farmstead of the WC, Alvarado St is the Other Half of the WC.

Biggie's Blueberry Bonanza might be my favorite kettle sour, ever. And I hate the style.

Nelson Baby was one of the best hazy IPAs I have ever had in the WC. And their IPA game is probably overall my favorite in California, both WC and NE style.

3) Homage - Widely respected, and a lot of hype, lines, etc. But I would argue they are standing up to SARA for nuking every style, and so deserve the highest praise. Their pilsners, wilds, and NE style IPAS are world class. Their berry sours are magnificent. I don't know of another brewery in the WC that does so many style to this level, beside SARA, as I mentioned.

Honorable mention goes to Kent Falls, but I haven't tried enough of their stuff to make a more detailed claim.

 

Fine point, I could name 5 or more breweries in NJ that make excellent beer but very few people even know exist.

 

Rogue is downright terrible.

 

Streetside Brewery out of Cincinnati is hitting all 10s lately IMO.

 

Sam Adams: solid beer all around

 

Cape May?

 

No, Cape May Brewing is one of the best known ones,

 

SingleSpeed, Waterloo/Cedar Falls, IA. They do a bang-up job across a wide variety of styles and stylistic variations (a la Sixpoint). Regionally, I'd say August Schell. They offer lots of great stuff that probably isn't too well known.

I'll double down on Rogue. I probably never would have been able to try braggot or roggenbier if not for them. Also, their Santa's Private Reserve was one of my highest-rated Twelve Beers of Christmas 2018.

I'll also double down on the Buckeyes. Cheers to 2019!

 

I’ve really enjoyed the beers I’ve had from Stoneface out of NH and they seem to get ignored in relative to the established Maine and Mass brewers.

 

Little Miss, Deft, and Longship in San Diego.

 

A lot of the ones in Ohio don't get very much love on here from people outside of the state compared to other midwest breweries.

I honestly think that Jackie O's is a much better brewery than 3 Floyds (although 3 Floyds is still pretty good). Who Cooks For You is a better tasting pale ale to me than Zombie Dust for example.

 

Straub... Known for making AALs in western PA since 1872, but a few years ago they also started making fantastic German style lagers that can compete with the best in the world.
http://straubbeer.com/adventure-series-craft-beers/

Generally, I think most regional "legacy" craft brewers are underrated. Most of them can make wonderful examples of almost every beer style, but are ignored by fickle craft beer drinkers because they have difficulty making New England or "milkshake" style IPAs stable enough to survive distribution. Even then, the NEIPAs legacy brewers make may not be "the best" but are usually still good to very good.

 

Oh, it's on now! I'll have to hunt down some freshies next time I'm in Cbus and do a side-by-side. ZD is one of my 5's. Stay tuned!

 

I had them both back to back the other night actually

I'm out of WCFY tho I still have 3 ZDs in the fridge

 

I would totally agree with you on this one. Occasionally when I have a conversation with someone who isn't all that experienced with craft beer but they express interest, I am quick to recommend trying everything from Sam Adam's and Sierra Nevada.