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The best breweries in America have disrupted the very idea of what it means to go to a bar. Breweries have become a huge player in the traditional ‘bar scene’ – they’re small businesses, live music venues, and general gathering places. Major breweries like Budweiser have been giving tours to the public forever.
But, over the past few decades all of the craft and micro breweries across America woke up and realized they have awesome spaces that can be used to brew beer AND to serve beer to customers looking to chill out in a non-traditional bar atmosphere.
Where can you find the best breweries in America?
In some cities, the best bars are actually also the best breweries. Cities like Portland (Oregon), San Diego, and Asheville come to mind. In honor of National Beer Day on April 7th, this Friday, the folks over at Yelp sent me a list of the 50 best breweries in America right now and I’m a little bit surprised by the top 10. I’m not the world’s biggest beer snob but I’m certainly tapped into the craft beer culture. So I was shocked to see #’s 3 through 5 on the list were breweries I’d never even heard of.
Something of note is the state of California is absolutely dominating these rankings. Now, without further ado, here’s the list of the 50 best breweries in America right now, according to Yelp:
1. Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, ME — Rating 4.5, 368 Reviews
2. Samuel Adams Brewery, Boston, MA — Rating 4.5, 1099 Reviews
3. Pure Project, San Diego, CA — Rating 4.5, 198 Reviews
4. Alameda Island Brewing Company, Alameda, CA — Rating 4.5, 163 Reviews
5. Ocean Sun Brewing, Orlando, FL — Rating 5, 81 Reviews
6. Oceanside Brewing, Oceanside, CA — Rating 5, 68 Reviews
7. Florida Keys Brewing Co, Islamorada, FL — Rating 5, 124 Reviews
8. Strand Brewing, Torrance, CA — Rating 4.5, 96 Reviews
9. Broken Compass Brewing, Breckenridge, CO — Rating 5, 162 Reviews
10. Koholā Brewery, Lahaina, HI — Rating 4.5, 99 Reviews
11. Longship Brewery, San Diego, CA — Rating 4.5, 69 Reviews
12. Dutch’s Brewhouse, Long Beach, CA — Rating 5, 37 Reviews
13. Rob Rubens Distilling & Brewing, El Segundo, CA — Rating 4.5, 87 Reviews
14. Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Anaheim, CA — Rating 4.5, 273 Reviews
15. Rök House Brewing Company, Upland, CA — Rating 5, 114 Reviews
16. Draughtsmen Aleworks, Goleta, CA — Rating 5, 39 Reviews
17. MacLeod Ale Brewing, Van Nuys, CA — Rating 4.5, 217 Reviews
18. Bear Roots Brewing, Vista, CA — Rating 5, 98 Reviews
19. Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI — Rating 4.5 1079 Reviews
20. Ferment Drink Repeat – FDR, San Francisco, CA — Rating 5, 48 Reviews
21. Rock Cut Brewing Company, Estes Park, CO — Rating 5, 66 Reviews
22. Lagunitas Brewing Company, Chicago, IL — Rating 4.5, 404 Reviews
23. Burgeon Beer Company, Carlsbad, CA — Rating 5, 30 Reviews
24. Unsung Brewing Company, Anaheim, CA — Rating 4.5, 79 Reviews
25. Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL — Rating 4.5, 560 Reviews
26. Road Dog Tours, Seattle, WA — Rating 5, 182 Reviews
27. Culver Beer Company, Carlsbad, CA — Rating 5, 40 Reviews
28. Avery Brewing, Boulder, CO — Rating 4.5, 359 Reviews
29. Sidellis Lake Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe, CA — Rating 4.5, 90 Reviews
30. Helio Basin Brewing, Phoenix, AZ — Rating 4.5, 126 Reviews
31. Goldwater Brewing Co, Scottsdale, AZ — Rating 4.5, 87 Reviews
32. Pint & Plow Brewing Company, Kerrville, TX — Rating 5, 42 Reviews
33. Shadow Puppet Brewing Company, Livermore, CA — Rating 5, 34 Reviews
34. Mt. Lowe Brewing Co., Arcadia, CA — Rating 4.5, 56 Reviews
35. Boulevard Brewing Tours & Rec Center, Kansas City, MO — Rating 5, 34 Reviews
36. Crux Fermentation Project, Bend, OR — Rating 4, 419 Reviews
37. The Shop Beer Co, Tempe, AZ — Rating 4.5, 50 Reviews
38. Junk Ditch Brewing Company, Fort Wayne, IN — Rating 4.5, 74 Reviews
39. Cascade Brewing Barrel House, Portland, OR — Rating 4, 659 Reviews
40. AquaBrew, San Marcos, TX — Rating 4.5, 139 Reviews
41. Tenaya Creek Brewery, Las Vegas, NV — Rating 4.5, 82 Reviews
42. Bruz Beers, Denver, CO — Rating 5, 35 Reviews
43. Karl Strauss Brewing Company, Temecula, CA — Rating 4.5, 594 Reviews
44. Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling, San Antonio, CA — Rating 5, 144 Reviews
45. Pecan Point Gastropub & Brewery, Texarkana, TX — Rating 4.5, 73 Reviews
46. Ale Industries, Oakland, CA — Rating 4.5, 86 Reviews
47. Sweeten Creek Brewing, Asheville, NC — Rating 5, 68 Reviews
48. The Alchemist, Stowe, VT — Rating 4.5, 44 Reviews
49. Bottle Logic Brewing, Anaheim, CA — Rating 4.5, 449 Reviews
50. AleSmith Brewing Company, San Diego, CA — Rating 4.5, 208 Reviews
Am I the only one shocked that the Dogfish Head Brewery isn’t on a list of best breweries in America? I’ve never been there in person but I’ve always heard stellar things, and they brew some of the best beer in America.
If you’re wondering what constitutes ‘best’ in this case, here’s the methodology Yelp used to compile this list of the 50 Best Breweries in America:
This is a list of the best breweries in the United States according to Yelp. All the businesses on this list are in the Breweries category on Yelp and serve their own brewed beer. “Best” is measured using an algorithm that looks at the number of reviews and star rating for a business.
San Diego is home to so many of the best breweries in America according to the list. I guess I need to check out Pure Project ASAP. It’s been a few years since the list time I was in San Diego, but I’m hoping to get there within the next couple of months for vacation, so I’ll have to hit a bunch of the breweries on this list.