At the previously referenced event, one conversation came up about the 10 best breweries in the US. Now that Bells Brewery is finally here in GA, would Bells make the cut?
I tried to figure it out in my head...top 10 breweries...what a task! And I am someone who leans towards dark beers and IPA, so my list may be biased, but here's what I figure:
* Stick to breweries you have tried (therefore, the elusive Russian Hills cannot compete)
* US based breweries only
* They don't have to make every beer insanely good, but they do have to make excellent special beers. (Hence why Bell's is in the competition in my mind, their Hop Slam and Expedition Stout are amazing, but their other beers come in at a "decent" level in my mind.
But I really don't know if Bells IS in the top ten. Here's my list, in a sort of order but not really:
1. Avery
2. Dogfish Head
3. Great Divide
4. Duck Rabbit
5. Three Floyd’s
6. Rogue
7. Stone
8. Brooklyn
9. Victory
10. Weyerbacher
11. Flying Dog
12. Founders
13. Port Brewing Company (I have had a limited selection, all of which are excellent)
14. Moyland’s (I have had a limited selection, all of which are excellent)
15. Bridgeport?
16. Terrapin? Only their special brews like Rye Squared, Big Hoppy Monster, potentially Dos Cocoas, and anything Oak Aged. Well actually maybe Bells beats Terrapin.
Now surely not everyone will agree, but that's my list and I'm sticking to it. Maybe I just think Bells is overrated, but I don't think they'd take a cut in my top ten. Maybe in the top 16 they could bump someone out.
But not surprisingly, someone has already made a listing of the top 50 breweries. Not surprisingly, that someone is Beer Advocate. And their list of 50 does not include Bells.
Not sure I really agree with their listing at all, actually, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the delicious Snake River Brewery in Jackson WY make the list. Harpoon at #49 I can see, but does that trump Bells?
So...where does Bells fit??
Bell's is actually #12 in the BA list. Kalamazoo Brewing Company was the name of the brewery until a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteHave to think they need a place in your Top 10.
I think Bell's deserves to be mentioned when talking about quality breweries, but I also notice the strong locational bias in your list. The majority of these are available and sold here. I have to think that we are missing so many West Coast breweries that are turning out quality brews but we don't know them. Deschutes is a good one and Alaskan is another one that has good distribution throughout the west and would likely make the list of someone from out there.
ReplyDeleteDean, you are right! Kalamazoo is Bells...tricky. I just can't bump any of MY top ten out for Bell's.
ReplyDeleteVargo, the list is biased based on what I can get here and I mentioned that in my criteria ;) But there is some some geographical representation overall in the list, though I am sure Deschutes will be on my list after I try it. 3 Floyds isn't available here, but I've had enough of it to put it on the list. We need more beer clubs with beers you can't get here.
For comparison, RateBeer's 2009 best American breweries are:
ReplyDelete1. 3 Floyds
2. Lost Abbey/Port Brewing
3. AleSmith
4. Hair of the Dog
5. Russian River
6. Founders
7. Stone
8. Surly Brewing (Minnesota)
9. Bells
10. Great Divide
They seem to have far more midwestern breweries and small brewpubs in their list overall.
For me, a "best brewery" has to have a broad and consistently good flight of beers in different styles. (And, I have to have tried them - there's the rub, as Katy and Vargo point out). So here goes for me:
1. Victory (Storm King, Prima Pils are best in class)
2. Rogue (so many kinds, so little time)
3. Stone (The Russian Imperial puts them this high, since their other stuff is all excellent but rather similar)
4. Avery (killer lineup)
5. Great Divide
6. Founders
7. Souther Tier
8. Bells
9. Allagash
10. Dogfish Head
11. Oskar Blues
12. Lagunitas
So I haven't tried enough of many breweries (3 Floyds, Alesmith, Russian River, Hair of the Dog, and Midwestern stuff are the most conspicuous absentees) to rate them. But for me, these are my go-to breweries.
Just to clarify, I'd put Bells in the top ten because of their top-notch Expedition Imperial Stout, their fantastic Two Hearts IPA, their Kalamazoo Milk Stout, and the Old Ale, which if you haven't tried, you should. And can you name a better American Wheat beer than the Oberon? It's best in its class for me, unless you allow Double-wheats and then also make an allowance for the Schneider-Brooklyn combo HopfenWeiss. (Can't get Livery or New Glarus to compare).
ReplyDeleteActually, Southern Tier's wheat beer is damn good. May be better than Oberon.
ReplyDeleteBrennan, these are excellent points. I agree that Bells has lots of special beers, I think it's just been a while since I've had any of those...hopefully soon the good ones will make a special appearance at Cook's.
ReplyDeletePort is incredible--I love their Old Viscosity and their Red Ale and their IPA. I also just found out that Port and Stone are both in San Diego area...where I plan on visiting a good friend in the next few months. Yeehaw!