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Upon the release of Beer Advocate’s “Best of” list for 2008, I was surprised to learn that the top 10 breweries (as voted on by the readers) were all located in the United States. Keeping in mind that the magazine is U.S. based, we can infer that the majority of the readership is as well. With that said, it seems that even American beer snobs are partial to foreign brews, most often citing Europe as the Mecca of the craft. Apparently history and time-honored tradition did not factor into the voting, as the oldest brewery on the list was started in 1988. We have dug up a bit of information on each of these domestic breweries below to give you a background and a few new flavors to try this year.

1. Stone Brewing Company
Location: Escondido, CA
Year Established: 1996
Flagship Brew: Stone Pale Ale

Founded just over twelve years ago by two beer lovers, Steve Wagner and Greg Koch, Stone Brewing Company’s beers perennially rank high on top beer lists. Its most well known beer is the Arrogant Bastard Ale, and nearly all of its beers are notably ‘hoppy’, which is characteristic of the west coast craft-brewing style. Stone’s new brewery location, established in 2006, features an on-site bottling line (a la Laverne and Shirley) and a 300+ seat restaurant and beer garden. In 2008, Stone converted ½ of its operations to solar power, and replaced a majority of its company vehicles with eco-friendly hybrid models. The brewery produced an estimated 88,000 barrels in 2008.

www.stonebrew.com

2. Three Floyds Brewing
Location: Munster, IN
Year Established: 1996
Flagship Brew: Dark Lord Imperial Stout



Founded as a very small operation in Hammond in 1996, Three Floyds was instantly a hit. Due to demand, the company relocated in 2000 to its current Munster location, where it has since implemented a bottling line and a brewpub. The company eschews a policy of limiting its production of each style to ensure that variation is minimal and consistent with the brewer’s intent. Its flagship Dark Lord (13% ABV) is available only on ‘Dark Lord Day’, which is the last Saturday in April. Because of the limited nature of this beer and its high demand, each customer is limited to a six-pack only. As of right now, Three Floyds’ distribution is limited to Indiana, Illinois, and a few online retailers. The brewery caps production at 4,800 barrels per year. 

www.threefloyds.com

3. Victory Brewing Company
Location: Downingtown, PA
Year Established: 1996
Flagship Brew: Prima Pils



Founded in an old Pepperidge Farm bakery by business partners Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski, Victory has grown in a way that is uncharacteristic of a small brewpub.  In about a decade, Victory was able to grow its line to an impressive lineup of over 20 different brews, many of which have won numerous awards such as HopDevil, Golden Monkey and Prima Pils. Recently, Victory’s brewery underwent a renovation that has doubled their brewery’s production capacity. Currently, Victory is available for purchase in 23 US States, and annual production is 55,000 barrels. 

www.victorybeer.com

4. Brewery Ommegang
Location: Cooperstown, NY
Established: 1997
Flagship Brew: Hennepin Farmhouse Saison



Ommegang was established by Belgian beer enthusiast Don Feinberg four miles south of Cooperstown in the tiny village of Middlefield, NY. Ommegang is heralded as producing some of the best Belgian style brews outside of Belgium, and its five styles of beer are all multiple award winning brews, on both the national and international level. Feinberg elected to sell the brewery to Belgium-based Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat (producers of Duvel) in 2003. The beer is available in 45 States and Washington DC, and is now in the nascent stages of international distribution. Each summer, the brewery becomes home to a beer festival known as “Belgium Comes to Cooperstown”, which could be perceived as an upstate New York version of Oktoberfest. 

www.ommegang.com

5. AleSmith Brewing Company
Location: San Diego, CA
Established:  1995
Flagship Brew: Speedway Stout




Originally founded in 1995 by Skip Virgilio, AleSmith was purchased by current owner and brewmaster Peter Zien in 2002. Zien is a highly lauded home-brewer who since 1995 has earned over 400 medals and honors for his brews. Currently Zien holds the distinction of being the only BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) “Grand Master Level 1” beer judge in San Diego County. AleSmith recently won The 2008 Great American Beer Festival award for Small Brewery of the Year; perhaps not surprisingly when taken into account that each member of the staff is an award-winning home brewer. Presently, AleSmith beers are widely available throughout California, and distributed to select states including: Oregon, Arizona, Ohio, New York and Massachusetts. The brewery produced about 2000 barrels in 2008. 

www.alesmith.com

6. Russian River Brewing Company
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Established:  1997
Flagship Brew: Pliny the Elder

Russian River Brewing Company was founded by Korbel Champagne Cellars in an attempt to enter the craft-beer market. To help establish a name for the brand, Korbel brought in brewmaster Finnie Cilurzo, who had received a considerable amount of attention for his creative prowess (Cilurzo is credited with having invented the DIPA or Double IPA) while at the Blind Pig Brewing Company. By 2002, Korbel decided to leave the brewing industry, and the brewery was subsequently purchased by Cilurzo, who with his wife, has run the business ever since. As of right now, Russian River Brewing Company focuses on what they consider traditional, aggressively hopped California style ales, Belgian style ales, and barrel aged beers. In 2004, they moved the brewery to its current location, where the brewpub and brewery are now housed under one roof. Wider distribution is available, but remains limited.

www.russianriverbrewing.com

7. Great Divide Brewing Company
Location: Denver, CO
Established: 1994
Flagship Brew: Denver Pale Ale



Founded in 1994 by Brian Dunn, Great Divide opened doors in the early stages of Denver’s emerging brewpub scene. Today, Great Divide is one of the most acclaimed craft brewers from the Rocky Mountain region. Great Divide brews 13 varieties including ambers, English-style pale ale, strong ales, and more recently has ventured into the production of hoppier ‘bigger’ beers. The brewery premises feature a newly added Tap Room, which is the start and end point of all brewery tours as well as local happy hour favorite. Here customers can try the complete lineup of Great Divide as well as special concoctions that never quite make it to production. Great Divide has definitely experienced this area’s rapid craft-brew boom, with an impressive growth rate of 44% in 2007. 

www.greatdivide.com

8. Allagash Brewing Company
Location: Portland, ME
Established: 1994
Flagship Brew: Allagash White



Allagash was founded in 1994 by Rob Tod as an attempt to fill the void of Belgian-style craft breweries in the U.S.. Tod’s first batch of Allagash White was sold in 1995, and this beer would go on to become the brewery’s flagship beer. Allagash is well known for its two-part fermentation, or bottle conditioning: fermentation first in the tanks, secondly in the bottle. Allagash products are now available in 20 states, mostly on the east coast, but with distribution reaching as far as Texas and California. Allagash has a unique philanthropic component to its operations: the company donates $1 to a Maine-based community development charitable organization for each bottle of beer sold from their tribute series. The Brewery produced 13,000 barrels in 2008. 

www.allagash.com

9. Bear Republic Brewing Company
Location: Healdsburg, CA
Established: 1996
Flagship Brew: Racer 5



Bear Republic was founded by father Richard R Norgove and son Richard G Norgove. The brewpub was founded as a natural evolution of the family’s home brewing success, largely based on artisan brewing. In 2006, Bear Republic expanded to meet the demands of commercial brewing and their growing distribution by opening up a new state-of-the-art facility in neighboring Cloverdale. Bear Republic’s beers are produced in a style characteristic of many west coast craft-brews, and their flagship beer, Racer 5 is undoubtedly a hop-head’s beer. Recently, brewmaster Richard G Norgove won the 2006 Brewer of the Year Award (Small Brewery Company / Small Company Brewer) at the Great American Beer Festival. The family’s brewpub located in downtown Healdsburg is distinctly family-oriented, and remains owner-operated. 

www.bearrepublic.com 

10. Great Lakes Brewing Company
Location: Cleveland, OH
Established: 1988
Flagship Brew: Dortmunder Gold Lager



Great Lakes Brewing was established by brothers Patrick and Daniel Conway in a neighborhood of downtown Cleveland that was once the heart of the city’s historic brewing industry. In the early days, the brothers Conway brought on Master Brewer Thaine Johnson, who had managed Christian Schmidt, the last remaining brewery from Cleveland’s heyday until its closing in the mid-1980s. The original facility first expanded to a neighboring building in 1992, and the Great Lakes campus now consists of six adjacent buildings, including a brewpub, three of which were originally used by the Schalther Brewing Company. As the premier brewer in the region, Great Lakes Brewery’s line is now distributed in neighboring states including: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

www.greatlakesbrewing.com

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