The greatest asset of this industry is its people, and at breweries from Stockholm to San Diego, I met some of the friendliest, unique, and creative people I’ve come across in my travels. But the culture of craft beer is stronger than ever. Perhaps there was only concern on my part that the explosion in craft beer’s popularity - and the sheer number of breweries - would water down what I had experienced in the small craft beer industry in the decade prior. The culture of craft beer is still strong Ontario’s archaic beer laws have prevented much craft beer from the states from entering the market, so places like Bellwoods and Indie Ale House have taken to making diverse styles for the local market.ĥ. Sthlm Brewing Company is brewing, among a diversity of beer types, American-style beers. Sweden’s scene was so strongly influenced by Brooklyn Brewery’s distribution there that they opened a brewpub there. In the two other countries where I visited breweries this year - Sweden and Canada - American craft beer’s presence is being felt in the beer brewed in these countries. Those days are behind us (though we think the Czech president could still use some schooling on this). Not long ago, Europeans boasted about their own beer while putting down American beer as watery and flavorless. The geographic diversity of craft beer is now its biggest asset.Ĥ. And yes, Los Angeles, a city that was long-struggling when it came to craft beer, impressed me, too. I visited nearly every brewery in the Providence, Rhode Island area over the course of the year, and came across some gems in Philly and Chicago. With just a three-hour layover in Pittsburgh, I was able to visit two breweries (and an excellent beer bar). In Albuquerque, New Mexico, I visited seven craft breweries in a day. The same cities often come up in conversation about “Beer Cities:” Portland, Denver, San Diego… but with the reality that 90% of Americans now live within 10 miles of a craft brewery, nearly every city has a beer scene distinguishable by a handful of local breweries. Tiny breweries aren’t necessarily financially sustainable, but it’s clear that for most, starting small is a stepping stone. For example, Night Shift Brewing in Massachusetts just upgraded to a 20-barrel brewhouse… from a glorified homebrew system that yielded less than a tenth of that. There were plenty of tiny, Macguyvered breweries that I visited this year (the garage-sized NW Peaks Brewery in Seattle was one such operation), but many of them were already in the growth phase, upgrading to a much larger brewhouse. As quality was a running theme at the Craft Brewers Conference this year, it’s troublesome to think that brewers who don’t focus on their product could turn off future beer drinkers and the health of an entire industry. Some of these had been open for only months and have time to hit their stride, but some have been open for years. But there are also plenty of breweries on the list that disappointed me and seemed to have trouble with the very basics of brewing. There are a lot of great breweries on this list that can produce high-quality beer. And in visiting the 150 I did, I learned even more about the craft beer industry than I thought possible by drinking beer, talking to brewers, talking to consumers, and taking in craft beer culture. While I don’t know whether to be embarrassed or proud of this feat, it’s small compared to these guys (who came up in conversation at several breweries I visited), and it’s surprisingly easy to do when you visit places that are so densely populated with breweries that you can barely spit without hitting one. And on December 27th, while visiting Boston, I celebrated my 150th brewery of the year, Harpoon Brewery. So I decided to move the goalposts to 150 breweries. Turns out, it was too doable, because I hit #100 on September 13th when I visited Marble Brewery in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It seemed like a lofty goal, but with over three thousand now around the country (and countless more around the world), it was doable. If this data is unavailable or inaccurate and you own or represent this business, click here for more information on how you may be able to correct it.I had a crazy idea when the year started: I should try to visit a hundred breweries this year. VIEW ADDITIONAL DATA Select from over 115 networks below to view available data about this business.
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