I don’t get it…
Since, literally, Day One of writing The Pour Fool, I’ve had requests for “Best Of” lists. I know we all enjoy making ’em, reading ’em, getting irritated by ’em, and endlessly debating the irrational things but…there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight; no rational limit at which we say, “Okay, I think I have enough lists.”
“Best Of”, unless you have every existing example of those things you’re judging, is never really going to be the Best Of it. It will always be incomplete. GABF, for all its huge rep and massive interest, doesn’t reflect the “best” beers made in the US, simply because there are always breweries out there doing work that’s equal to or better than what’s there on the judging tables in Denver.
But we want lists and I get a tsunami of emails asking for them, so….
For the next couple of weeks, I’m going to roll out lists. After that’s done, probably the only one you’ll find here is Best of The Northwest, my annual roster of the best of what I’ve tasted in the previous year. That comes about mid-November/Mid-December…ish, and is one of the most popular things I do in this bloglet. Also sticking around will be an annual list of Top Emerging Beer Towns, as The Pour Fool is all about making sure you don’t miss new producers, new regions, new styles and people, and those newly-revealed wonders that get overlooked in the headlong rush to praise only the anointed beer, brewery, or brewer. Those two will continue. Random list making, probably not.
So, starting off with the one most requested, here’s The Fool’s List of America’s Top 40 Breweries. Why forty? Because I thought it would be more fun than doing 25 or even nine, as with the list I read yesterday, on another website. Some you’ll agree with, some you’ll read and say “Whaaaaat?“, and some will make you say, “Who?”
Remember, as always: This is ONE guy’s opinions and, while it’s certainly based on more experience than many, many such lists, it’s still just opinions. Whatever you think of it, you’re more than welcome to give me feedback, either below or via the email button on the front page.
AMERICA’S TOP 40 BREWERIES
Cigar City brewmaster Wayne Wambles (r), on the scent
1. Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, Florida
Patrick Rue, blending another miracle
2. The Bruery, Placentia, California
3. Crux Fermentation Project, Bend, Oregon
4. Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Oregon
Tie-5. Stone Brewing, San Diego, California
Tie-5. Anchorage Brewing, Anchorage, Alaska
Tie-5: The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, California
6. Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, Denver, Colorado
7. Reuben’s Brews, Seattle, Washington
Jester King “Detritivore”
8. Jester King Brewing, Austin, Texas
9. Great Divide Brewing, Denver, Colorado
10. Bells Brewery, Kalamazoo, Michigan
11. Dogfish Head Brewing, Milton, Delaware
12. Perennial Artisan Ales, St. Louis, Missouri
13. Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, California
14. 21st Amendment Brewing, San Francisco, California
Ninkasi classic, “Tricerahops”
15. Ninkasi Brewing, Eugene, Oregon
16. The Alchemist, Waterbury, Vermont
17. Troeg’s Brewing, Hershey, Pennsylvania
18. Maine Beer Company, Portland, Maine
19. Allagash Brewing, Portland, Maine
Dave Logsdon, where the Magic Happens
20. Logsdon Farmhouse Ales, Hood River, Oregon
21. Victory Brewing, Downington, Pennsylvania
22. pFriem Family Brewers, Hood River, Oregon
23. Sound Brewery, Poulsbo, Washington
24. Founders Brewing, Grand Rapids, Michigan
23. Devil’s Backbone Brewing, Roseland, Virginia
25. Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland, Oregon
26. Arizona Wilderness Brewing, Gilbert, Arizona
27. Boulevard Brewing, Kansas City, Missouri
28. Three Floyds Brewing, Munster, Indiana
29. Green Flash Brewing, San Diego, California
Boneyard Brewing; That’s Dedication!
30. Boneyard Brewing, Bend, Oregon
31. DeGarde Brewing, Tillamook, Oregon
32. Toppling Goliath Brewing, Decorah, Iowa
33. Half Acre Brewing, Chicago, Illinois
Three Taverns brewmaster, Joran Van Ginderachter
34. Three Taverns Brewing, Atlanta, Georgia
35. Tired Hands Brewing, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
36. Jackie O’s Brewing, Athens, Ohio
37. Great Lakes Brewing, Cleveland, Ohio
38. Fort George Brewing, Astoria, Oregon
39. Epic Brewing, Salt Lake City, Utah
BUBBLING UNDER
Bend Brewing, Bend, Oregon
Peg’s Cantina, Gulfport, Florida
Foothills Brewing, Asheville, North Carolina
Hill Farmstead Brewing, Greensboro Bend, Vermont
Upright Brewing, Portland, Oregon
Wrecking Bar Brewpub, Atlanta, Georgia
Jack’s Abby Brewing, Framingham, Massachusetts
Funky Buddha Brewery, Oakland Park, Florida
Funkwerks, Fort Collins, Colorado
Holy Mountain Brewing, Seattle, Washington
Grimm Brothers Brewing, Loveland, Colorado
Strange Craft Beers, Denver, Colorado
Yazoo Brewing, Nashville, Tennessee
Hoppin’ Frog Brewing, Akron, Ohio
La Cumbre Brewing, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Rapp Brewing, Seminole, Florida
Selkirk Abbey Brewing, Post Falls, Idaho
River North Brewing, Denver, Colorado
Old Schoolhouse Brewing, Winthrop, Washington
Smuttynose Brewing, Hampton, New Hampshire
The Pour Fool 
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To John’s point about Jolly Pumpkin: They certainly should be, as much as I love most of their beers. But there are a few that I really think just didn’t work and what all the breweries on this list have in common is consistency. JP just misses, for me. As for Dave’s pointing out Lost Abbey, I blew it. It absolutely SHOULD be on the list, and pretty far up. I’m going to fix that now (one of the perks of the job: I can keep from looking like a jackass forever) No disrespect at all meant to Tomme Arthur, a guy I’d put in my top three American brewers.
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Thought for sure I would see Jolly Pumpkin on here.
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4 Hands Brewing, St.Louis, MO. Their Lupulin Carnival is the best, and the beer is darn good too.
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Lost Abbey/Port Brewing of San Marcos, Ca.
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