The 30 Best Breweries in the Country Right Now, According to Beer Pros (2025)
Everyone knows the main characteristic of a good brewery is good beer. But what are the features of the very best breweries? Is innovation more important than reliability? Can a traditional producer rank as high as the hot new thing?
People who work with beer often see things differently from the rest of us, armed as they are with insider knowledge. For this list of the 30 best breweries in the country, we asked for takes, hot or otherwise — as well as justifications — from the people who sell, serve, write about, and brew beer.
Some of these entries chosen by beer pros are obvious. Some are oddballs. Many are well established, while a few are new arrivals — tenderfoots that have hit their marks so perfectly in their first year of existence, they turned heads among folks who truly know great beer. The names are literally all over the map, covering 14 states and one U.S. territory, including producers working in a wide range of styles.
If there’s one through line on this list, it’s great people, on both sides of the bar. So the next time you’re at your favorite brewery, raise a glass to the folks who make the stuff — and to the local communities that love and support them.
2 Row Brewing
Midvale, Utah
Credit: 2 Row Brewing
“2 Row Brewing helped usher in the next wave of Utah craft beer when it opened in 2015. The family-owned Midvale brewery immediately made its mark with well-crafted IPAs and eye-catching bottle art. Random Double IPA, which checked both boxes, filled my glass and my dreams the year it hit the market. Though 2 Row’s beer portfolio extends far beyond hop-forward brews, my current go-to is Flashback, a sturdy West Coast IPA showcasing a trio of hops that beautifully blend citrus and pine. What started as a small brewery featuring a bottle shop selling beer to-go has evolved considerably in its first decade. In 2023, the brewery moved a mile south into a space that is nothing short of a massive adult playground. Patrons sip pints while shooting pool, throwing darts, flinging cornhole, or playing board games. TVs hang above the partial wrap-around bar and a stage sits in one corner of the 16,000-square-foot space. Near nightly events keep the place pumping and a full kitchen delivers elevated bar food. A friendly staff and a cast of regulars live and breathe 2 Row’s slogan that ‘good people drink good beer.’ All that and world-class beer? It’s a recipe that makes 2 Row one of the country’s best breweries.” —Tim Haran, founder of Utah Beer News
Alvarado Street Brewery
Monterey, Calif.
Credit: Alvarado Street Brewery
“Alvarado Street Brewing has always stood out to me. For over a decade they have been pleasing my palate with their hoppy beers as well as making perfectly clean lagers that have me constantly going back for another. And any time I come across their Mai Tai Pale Ale, I enjoy at least one pint of it.” —John Gaugler, head brewer, Ghost Town Brewing Co.
Bierkeller Brewing Co.
Columbia, S.C.
Credit: Bierkeller Brewing Co.
“For many years, family trips to Columbia, S.C., didn’t hold forth much of a prospect for great beer, especially not great beer in the styles that I love to drink most — a.k.a. lager. Thankfully, that has changed in recent years, and leading the charge for authentic Central European beer styles is Scott Burgess and Bierkeller Brewing. My first encounter with them was Thanksgiving 2021, when they were renting brewing space with another brewery, selling their wares only in crowlers on a Thursday evening, and you had to reserve your cans before heading over to pick them up. That first collection of cans consisted of a Czech-inspired 10° pale lager, a braunbier, and a kellerbier, as well as a Carinthian-style steinbier that was a revelation. While collecting them, I got speaking with Scott and discovered he lived in Bamberg for a decade and is a fellow rauchbier lover, so he gave me a glass of one that he had lagering at the time — think Spezial and you are in the ballpark. I knew then that this was a brewery I would become a massive fan of. Since then, Bierkeller has opened a beer hall and beer garden in the heart of Columbia, overlooking Riverfront Park, where you can get superb Central European beer as well as food that actually tastes as though it has come straight from Bavaria or Bohemia, all in a location that feels just like you would find in Bamberg, Pilsen, or any other of the towns dotted throughout Mitteleuropa.” —Alistair Reece, author of “Virginia Cider: A Scrumptious History” and blogger
Boxlab Brewing Co.
Aguadilla and Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Credit: Boxlab Brewing Co.
“Boxlab Brewing launched in 2012 as one of Puerto Rico’s original craft breweries and has been leading in innovation ever since. The northwestern beach town brewery not only operates one of the island’s first satellite taprooms, right in Old San Juan, but leans into experimental hop products, creative beer-food combos like hops and salt blends, and relatively early all-women’s brew fests. Visit either taproom or select Puerto Rican bars and restaurants for beers brewed with fresh local fruits, island rarities like barleywine and Brut IPA, and entertaining beer cocktails like the IPA Old Fashioned and the toasted coconut milk stout Espresso Martini.” —Tara Nurin, food and drinks journalist, educator, and author of “A Woman’s Place Is in the Brewhouse”
Cheluna Brewing Co.
Aurora, Colo.
Credit: Cheluna Brewing Co.
“I was struck by Cheluna the moment I stepped inside, and frankly this rarely happens when you visit breweries so often, to some extent as part of your job. The vibe felt less ‘taproom,’ more ‘your favorite local Mexican spot where you know you’re always going to have a good time.’ While Cheluna opened in 2016 and everything about it is purely authentic to founders Javi and Jen Perez’s vision, it just so happens that this atmosphere is especially well timed for 2025, when many people are looking more for a unique experience and community gathering place over another cold, industrial taproom. But most importantly, there’s the beer: Cheluna has one of those tap lists that make you think, ‘Surely, they can’t do all of these styles well.’ But incredibly, they do, weaving a rich diversity of culinary inspirations and different flavors across styles, like an exceptionally well-balanced mango habanero hefeweizen, a bright tepache gose, and a rich yet easy-drinking chocolate coconut porter.” —Courtney Iseman, drinks writer and consultant
Cohesion Brewing Co.
Denver
Credit: Cohesion Brewing Co.
“Cohesion is the result of obsessing over all the small things that collectively make a good beer great. Open fermenters. Horizontal conditioning tanks. Spunding valves. Cohesion even works with a local maltster to have custom malt made that will create the best flavor under decoction mashing. Beer is served in glasses that have been kept in a temperature-controlled water bath. Side-pull taps? Of course. Do any of these things make a difference? Maybe. Maybe not. But collectively, they make some of the best Czech-style lager in America.” —Don Tse, The Don Of Beer, beer writer and judge
de Garde Brewing
Tillamook, Ore.
Credit: De Garde Brewing
“One of my favorite U.S. craft breweries has to be de Garde. Before I moved to Portland, Ore., from St. Louis, Mo., in late 2013, Cory King — who at the time was still brewing and blending at Perennial Artisan Ales, pre-Side Project — told me I needed to check them out once I got out there. It wasn’t long after that I ran into de Garde co-owner/brewer Trevor Rogers at the old Upper Lip in downtown Portland, above the now-also-closed Bailey’s Taproom. He was in the middle of a bachelor party pub crawl and I’d had a few myself, but we chatted a bit, exchanged numbers, and within a few weeks I was down in Tillamook at the old de Garde production brewery and cellar on the edge of town. I tasted a few things there that day, and everything was amazing. Trevor kindly sent me home with a few bottles, but the one I just keep going back to is a boysenberry sour that just blew me away. I took it to a friend’s house for Christmas dinner and it was the hit of the party — just an incredibly delicious beer. I visited de Garde and their awesome new downtown brewery often over the next few years, until I moved to Seattle in 2019, but I still buy their beers to this day when I see them out in the market. Really fantastic, imaginative beers made by really nice people.” —Joel Winn, regional sales manager for north/west Colorado and Wyoming, New Belgium Brewing Co.
Dovetail Brewery
Chicago
Credit: Dovetail Brewery
“We brew good lager in D.C., some of which will be served at the Czech embassy in January. But none of our lager brewers ferment in open fermenters or use a coolship for every single batch of beer brewed. These things and more make Dovetail my favorite lager brewery in Chicago. I have several favorite lager breweries, but none of them have a holding vessel — a piece of equipment that holds wort, which allows brewers to brew more than one batch a day — from circa 1905. Above the bar at Dovetail is a bust of John Edwald Siebel, the man who founded the Siebel Institute, the oldest brewing school in the country. The holding vessel came from the old Weihenstephaner teaching brewery, and when it was found, it was in two pieces. Dovetail asked a welder in Milwaukee who had done welding work with Miller Brewing Company for help. Dovetail’s lead brewer Andreas Billers’ father was a brewer trained at Weihenstephaner, who brewed on the same copper kettle that Dovetail now uses as a holding vessel. Not to be tied entirely to the past, in the last two years Dovetail has been producing Hopfenlager, a wet-hopped lager that is hoppier than most lager brewed in 1905. This year’s version was hopped with pellets, with wet Michigan-grown Super Saazer hop cones going into the coolship. You may never find an IPA at Dovetail — they jokingly refer to IPA as an acronym for ‘I Prefer Altbier’ — but you will find exceptional grodziskie, Czech-style dark lager, and Baltic porter, amongst others.” —Michael Stein, writer and president of beverage research firm Lost Lagers
Eckhart Beer Co.
Brooklyn
Credit: Eckhart Beer Co.
“Eckhart Beer Co. certainly merits personal consideration for the best brewery in 2025, as this Bushwick newcomer is focusing on making some excellent lagers to be found in coolers and on draft in the five boroughs of NYC. Owner Nick Meyer and director of operations Justin Sirois have fostered an internal culture that emphasizes the importance of incremental improvement with every detail considered, a philosophy that head brewer Adam Wolfe and his international brewing pedigree echoes in creating examples that are technically sound — clean in profile, but with expressive character that continues to be refined and improved upon with each successive batch. Virtually their entire portfolio utilizes whole-leaf hops in the lauter tun, which imparts a more three-dimensional profile to their beers. Alongside a stringent approach to proper conditioning times prior to lagering, dedication to exacting pH levels in the mash and during sparge, and utilizing spunding/natural carbonation for mouthfeel and calibration to specific fermentation characteristics, Eckhart flat-out delivers. Whether it is their German Pils displaying crisp perceived bitterness and fresh sulfur character, or a recently introduced altbier with its rich baked bread malt notes and smooth expression, there really is no wrong decision when choosing among the brewery’s classic offerings. The attention to this detail-oriented sensibility also extends into the taproom and kitchen, with a clean and comfortable aesthetic that truly belies the amount of thought that went into its execution. From the stunning horizontal serving tanks situated above the bar, to a deceptively straightforward beer hall menu — created by chefs Fred Maurer and Jesse Ferguson — displaying refined technique, there is a whole lot more than meets the initial eye with Eckhart Beer.” —James Tai, writer and principal, Beer Acolyte
Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co.
Charleston, S.C.
Credit: Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co.
“The Edmund’s Oast team are some of the most passionate and intense people in the industry that make awesome beers. The reason so few talk about them is they mostly concentrate on traditional styles that don’t get much attention. They execute those styles amazingly and deserve more praise for it!” —Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, founder, Evil Twin Brewing, NYC
Fonta Flora Brewery
Nebo, N.C.
Credit: Fonta Flora Brewery
“At Fonta Flora, beer doesn’t start in the brewhouse, it starts with the ingredients. Co-founded by creative director and brewer Todd Boera, the brewery isn’t just sourcing local, they became the farm. Their Whippoorwill Farm in Nebo, N.C., is a nine-acre former dairy farm-turned-working brewery where heritage grains and fruit begin their journey from soil to glass. What struck me when visiting isn’t just the commitment, but the intent. Hearing about Appalachian ingredients like pawpaw and persimmon, then stepping into the fields to see them firsthand, made it clear this isn’t trend-chasing. Fonta Flora is preserving food traditions through beer. Their beers reflect that purpose and range. They’re creative and genuinely delicious. Carolina Gold Lager highlights heritage rice, Jitterbug features local plums in a wild ale, Wolf Spit layers hickory bark into a Baltic porter, and a West Coast-style IPA brewed with kudzu flowers shows their versatility. While the Nebo farm takes a scenic drive, the experience defines the brewery’s soul. Their Morganton and Charlotte locations bring that same sense of place closer to home, pouring beer that truly tastes like North Carolina.” —Michelle Turner, beer educator and founder of Excited to Feast
Geisthaus Brewing Co.
Sacramento, Calif.
Credit: Geisthaus Brewing Company
“In just 10 months of operation, Geisthaus has quickly made a name for itself. The all-lager brewery opened in February and by the time I visited in April, their beers were so dialed-in that you’d think they’d been open for years, not weeks. Geisthaus’s lagers run across the spectrum, from German pils to schwarzbier to cold IPA to dunkel, some with a nod toward tradition and others breaking with it. It’s a lager lover’s dream come true. On top of producing some of the best liquid I had this year, their taproom is a beautifully polished space, yet it feels incredibly welcoming. Even on a busy Saturday afternoon, the staff took time out to help me decide on a beer and then expertly poured it from their all-Lukr tap system. Others are taking notice, too — their Progenitor kellerbier won Best in Show at the Brewers Cup of California just days after I visited, and their Palingenesis German pils won Gold at Great American Beer Festival. Geisthaus is destined for great things.” —Chris O’Leary, editor, Brew York
Meanwhile Brewing Co.
Austin
Credit: Meanwhile Brewing Co.
“With more than 40 breweries in the Austin area, choosing a favorite is never easy. I usually think about which beers I order most often or keep stocked in my fridge. Meanwhile easily comes to mind for their consistently clean, crisp lagers — Darlin’ is my current go-to — along with their award-winning IPAs and delicious seasonal styles. Meanwhile opened its doors in South Austin in the fall of 2020, founded by brewmaster Will Jaquiss of Portland’s Breakside Brewing, and it was an instant hit with the beer community. Since then, they’ve earned multiple awards at the World Beer Cup, Great American Beer Festival, Texas Brewers Cup, and more. Beyond brewing exceptional beer, Meanwhile has created a unique, modern, and welcoming space. Their brewery and taproom feature a large outdoor area complete with a live music stage, playground, multiple food trucks, and, believe it or not, a soccer field. If you’re in Austin, make sure to carve out an afternoon at Meanwhile. And the best part? It’s only about 10 minutes from the airport.” —Pam Catoe, owner, CraftBeerAustin.com
Mieza Blendery
Alexandria, Va.
Credit: Mieza Blendery
“There are nearly 10,000 breweries in the United States and only a handful do what Alexandria’s Mieza Blendery does. Brewer and owner Alex Lynch’s medium is mixed-fermentation beer, often utilizing fruit and spices, layered and blended with a culinary mindset. Curious about the effects of first- versus second-use fruits in beers that would impress a Pajottenlander? Mieza has a blonde ale base with second-use blueberries and mace. Another uses two kinds of cherries, star anise, and a rye barrel. Mieza was the best kept secret inside the Washington, D.C., beltway, but this year the secret is out.” —Jacob Berg, editor and co-owner, DCBeer.com
New Glarus Brewing Co.
New Glarus, Wis.
Credit: New Glarus Brewing Co.
“It’s almost hard for me to imagine the time before New Glarus Brewing existed. Founded in 1993 by Deb and Dan Carey, it has become an icon of everything that’s good in the brewing industry. New Glarus brews a wide variety of beer styles, and they do them all really well. That’s rare in today’s craft beer landscape. Whether it’s Spotted Cow, Moon Man, or any of the Thumbprint Series, you can always be assured you are going to enjoy a beer where every ingredient and every process was given serious thought. Dan is what I refer to as a ‘brewer’s brewer.’ His attention to detail and love for brewing science shows in every beer his team makes. New Glarus is constantly investigating processes to improve shelf life to ensure the consumer is getting the best tasting beer every time. It doesn’t just stop with their beer, however. It’s not uncommon to see Dan sharing his wealth of brewing knowledge with others in the industry.
Working at a brewery whose existence has been so important to the local community, I’m always interested in the impact other breweries have on their own communities. I think most people would be surprised that New Glarus Village has a population of less than 2,500. The number of tourists the brewery brings to ‘Americas’s Little Switzerland’ each year has helped it thrive. The brewery has also created a charitable arm, Only in Wisconsin Giving, which has a long history of giving generously to organizations in the local community. All the above easily puts New Glarus as one of the best breweries in the United States, in my opinion. Add to that the final pièce de resistance: New Glarus sells every drop of beer they make in — and only in — Wisconsin. That in and of itself is an incredible accomplishment, and it demonstrates the Careys’ emphasis on both quality and community.” —David Berg, brewmaster, August Schell Brewing Co.
North Park Beer Co.
San Diego
Credit: North Park Beer Co.
“One would expect a brewing company founded by the designer of the most award-winning homebrewed beer of all time to turn out pretty good. So it wasn’t surprising when Kelsey McNair launched his passion project, North Park Beer Company, with quality offerings headed by the pro iteration of his medal-magnet West Coast IPA, Hop-Fu! What did come as a pleasant shock was the growth of his business during the most challenging period for modern-day craft brewers: the Covid-19 pandemic. While most operations scrambled, McNair and his team developed a well-formulated weekly production, canning, and release schedule that allowed NPBC to not only survive, but grow its fan base. Matched with the perpetual manufacture of droves of award-winning and otherwise impressive beers — particularly immaculate lagers and vibrant IPAs of all strengths and textures — critical thinking and strategic long-term planning have allowed the company to expand, adding on an offshoot taproom in nearby Bankers Hill as well as an NYC-inspired pizza shop in Pacific Beach. Despite growth of its footprint and runaway demand for its products ranging well beyond San Diego, at its core NPBC remains an authentic, family-run local business prizing beer quality above accolades and fanfare.” —Brandon Hernández, founder & executive editor of San Diego Beer News
Odd Colony Brewing Co.
Pensacola, Fla.
Credit: Odd Colony Brewing
“It’s always an honor to be asked to give someone else their flowers. During the first few years of opening, I worked a day job traveling the East Coast for a software company. While working an extended role in Pensacola, I fell in love with Odd Colony. Their grodziskie was a thing of absolute perfection: low ABV, laser precision with respect to smoke flavor components. They have a robust tap list with something for everyone and utilize local ingredients. They recently expanded to a second location, but I’ve not had the opportunity to revisit — yet!” —John Hoolihan, founder and meadmaker at Brewlihan
Old 121 Brewhouse
Lakewood, Colo.
Credit: Old 121 Brewhouse
“Old 121 Brewhouse has solid beers in a wide range of styles, excelling in technique and quality, with standout award winners Old 121 Lager and ESB, which took Gold at the 2024 World Beer Cup. Beyond the beer, they maintain a unique neighborhood charm, and the taproom culture evokes memories of the early 2010s and the beginning of the craft beer boom with a genuine welcome that is further reflected in their proactive community engagement. In keeping with that vibe, they have opened a second taproom and brewery this year to keep up with innovation while maintaining that small-batch soul. Accessible and beloved, Old 121 Brewhouse is proof that there is still space for the quality, heart, and vision that drove the craft beer industry for decades, reminding us that the brewery down the street can still be your third place.” —Frances Tietje-Wang, lab overlord at Fermly and chaos creative at Fermentable Solutions
Off Color Brewing
Chicago, Ill.
Credit: Off Color Brewing
“Off Color does so many of my favorite things well. Their best-selling saison, Apex Predator, is one I buy every time I can and save for when I’m especially homesick for Chicago. As or more important than their beer, though, is the fact they know who they are and, more to the point, who their customers are. Several years ago, they launched their ‘Beer for’ series — incidentally, a great line for gifting beers to people who don’t know what they want to drink; I recently introduced a whole bachelorette group to Beer for Ballgames, a cream ale, at a White Sox game — featuring beers such as Beer for Power Plays, Beer for Bowling, and my own favorite, their winter seasonal Beer For Dealing With Your Family. This tongue-in-cheek marketing and their whimsical pencil-line artwork — and their brave little mouse mascot — allow them to stand out in their local market while garnering attention and affection around the country. Like I said, they’re great.” —Melinda Guerra, editor, Final Gravity
Other Half Brewing
NYC and other locations
Credit: Other Half Brewing
“In a beer world where hazy IPAs are everywhere, there are countless mediocre ones and then there is Other Half. With whimsical names of vegetables and cheeses wrapped in colorful art, the bright hop bouquets chosen impart exactly the flavors I love: tropical fruits and citrus. (Broccoli DDH IPA does not include broccoli, thanks to the marketing team for the warning.) As a kid growing up in the farmlands of Pennsylvania, Philly, D.C., and New York always felt giant and far away. Now actually living far away, I enjoy visiting the East Coast whenever I can. With New York City, it’s so easy to stop at the Rockefeller Center taproom, right in the middle of everything. It was at this one that I got to visit with my parents, while mingling with a crowd of off-the-clock professionals and other visitors alike. Domino Park feels like a neighborhood bar, with groups of friends laughing after a long day, while the Manhattan skyline twinkles in the distance. Centre Street is their main location, and despite thinking I already tried everything on tap at the other spots, I was pleasantly surprised by being wrong. There’s nothing like talking about beer with passionate bartenders, as pallets of freshly filled cans swirled around us. In D.C. I got to share my passion for beer with one of my best friends in life; he even tried one of their excellent NA hazies. It’s visiting these taprooms that I realized just how talented their brewers are: crisp lagers, bright pilsners, dark and rich stouts, and oddball styles all make an appearance and exclaim that Other Half tries to perfect all they make, not just hazies. Their list of collaboration breweries is a who’s who of the best around the world. Each location is unique, yet consistent in celebrating diversity in geography and people, while pouring well-made beer that keeps me coming back.” —Alexander Gates, freelance contributor to Frolic Hawai’i by Honolulu Magazine and advocate of Hawai’i-made beer and the people who brew it
pFriem Family Brewers
Hood River, Ore.
Credit: pFriem Family Brewers
“pFriem Family’s Belgian Blonde must feel like humorist George Gobel when he said, ‘Did you ever get the feeling that the world was a tuxedo and you are a pair of brown shoes?’ Though it is as perfect as a beer can be — pear dust layered on top of not-yet-ripe bananas, perfectly balanced by earthy, spicy hops — it gets overshadowed by pFriem Pilsner, the other lagers, the Brett beers, the barrel-aged beers, and, of course, the IPAs. The welcoming pub’s wide and deep beer lineup is matched by a menu brightened by dishes made with ingredients local to the Columbia River Gorge. Visit in the fall, when the pumpkin curry and Belgian Blonde are a perfect match.” —Stan Hieronymus, journalist and author of “Brewing Local: American-Grown Beer,” among other titles
Pinthouse
Austin
Credit: Pinthouse
“Pinthouse stands out even within one of the most spoiled beer cities in the country. Consistently, the IPAs I try from this brewery blow me away and are among my favorites of the year. I’m not the only one who thinks this, of course: The brewery has a trophy case of Great American Beer Festival, World Beer Cup, and other competition medals dating back more than a decade. It’s wonderful to watch a brewery continue to refine its beers and stay ahead of the curve in a style as ubiquitous as IPA without resorting to gimmickry or pure novelty. I’m still dreaming about my most recent taste of Mosaic Takedown.” —Kate Bernot, lead analyst, Feel Goods Insights
Russian River Brewing Co.
Santa Rosa, Calif.
Credit: Russian River Brewing Co.
“I’d argue that no other brewery has been as influential for today’s craft brewers, even while staying at the peak of the game when it comes to both quality and character. I’ve lost count of how many times brewers have told me their flagship IPA began as an attempt to brew Russian River Pliny the Elder. When Vinnie Cilurzo shared the recipe at the 2004 National Homebrewers Conference in Las Vegas, it would prove to be a major inflection point in the history of craft beer: Many of the American IPAs we know today were essentially born right then, before — like Pliny itself and Russian River’s other beers — they continued to evolve and improve. This was a year in which I got to drink multiple STS Pils, a personal favorite; I had one too many sneaky-drinkable Pliny the Elders at the great Live Wire bar in San Diego; and I even got to enjoy the Simcoe 25 West Coast IPA in the Yakima Valley hop fields, right where the Simcoe hop nearly disappeared before Cilurzo took a liking to it. And yeah — that 2004 Pliny recipe that influenced the world had Simcoe in it, too.” —Joe Stange, executive editor, Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Chico, Calif., and Mills River, N.C.
Credit: Sierra Nevada
“Sierra Nevada has been at the forefront of the U.S. craft beer movement since its very early days, and it continues to stay cool, relevant, and in demand. The brewery pretty much created the American Pale Ale style, and while perhaps best known for that, its porter, stout, and Bigfoot barleywine also helped define the American take on those styles. Its Celebration Ale, brewed since 1981, remains a highly anticipated annual release. But Sierra Nevada isn’t just about a great history and legacy. The company has continued to innovate with new hopping techniques, and newer releases like Torpedo Extra IPA, Hazy Little Thing, Narwhal Imperial Stout, Hop Bullet Double IPA, as well as annual collabs for Oktoberfest, barrel-aged beers, and so much more! With excellent quality and adventurous beers, Sierra Nevada has been one of the best U.S. breweries for decades.” —Ron Smith, beer judge and guide at Beer MBA Europe Tours
Spiteful Brewing Co.
Chicago
Credit: Spiteful Brewing
“When Chicago’s Spiteful Brewing was operating out of a 600-square-foot room in the early to mid-2010s, filling 12-ounce 6-packs one can at a time with a single-head filler, you’d probably assume those beers would’ve been expensive. Not the case. You could find them around the city for $9.99 back then, even after going through a distributor. ‘How is this possible?’ I’d ask myself as the numbers guy, enjoying their high-quality beers whose pricing just didn’t seem to match the size of their operation. Eventually I got to know them, and then it all started to make sense. They simply weren’t willing to price their beer at a level they wouldn’t personally pay as consumers. So they priced themselves based on where they wanted to be once they scaled, not where they were in that moment. That same thoughtfulness shows up in every decision they make, and it’s why they consistently punch above their weight, both in the market and with their distributors. Spiteful is rarely first to a trend, though they were early to the lager and radler resurgence. But when they do jump into a new style, you can assume they’ve thought about or even agonized over it for years to make sure it fits their long-term goals.” —Doug Veliky partner at BrightBev and creator of Beer Crunchers
Sundial Brewing & Blending
Barrington, Ill.
Credit: Sundial Brewing and Blending
“I have no shortage of favorite breweries across Chicagoland, but I might give the top spots to producers that continually occupy my mind week after week. Sundial Brewing & Blending is one of the small-batch producers just northwest of Chicago, a specialist in saisons and related blends, but well-made lager is a constant. It takes a lot of lager to make good saison. Fresh in my mind are two wet-hopped entries reflecting those two brewing heritages and reflective of Sundial’s soul: The Saazerous Supreme is a wet -hopped and barrel-fermented saison that I look forward to every year. Zuper Pils is a wet-hopped Czech pale lager that sings in a well-poured mug. Both are made with locally sourced Zuper Saazer hops from Hop Head Farms in Michigan, and Midwest-grown malt from our local maltster Sugar Creek Malt out of Indiana. Beer is already so communally made, with a wide variety of people involved in the preparation of ingredients before they make the brew kettle. There are few things better in life than a well-poured beer reflecting the locality of its region, given time to develop into the best version of itself. Sundial handles the logistics so well.” —Zigmas Maloni, curator at Beermiscuous in Highwood, Ill.
Tenma Beer Project
Oakland, Calif.
Credit: Tenma Beer Project
“Beer Project. Not ‘Brewing Co.’ Not ‘Brewery.’ At Tenma Beer Project, which opened in 2023, co-founders Dana Martindale and Brennan Perry emphasize that they want their beers to evolve constantly — always a project. They can’t guarantee their Great American Beer Festival award-winning German-style pilsner, Don’t Fear the Answer, will always be on tap. And if it is, it won’t be the same as the last batch you tried, courtesy of Perry’s constant tinkering, tweaking, and perfecting. They can’t ensure that their Bistro IPA, gold medal-winning, and People’s Choice Award-winning West Coast IPA, The Infinite Self: Nelson, will always be pouring. At Tenma Beer Project, everything is constantly moving, transforming, and growing. And you should be OK with that, because here’s what we can promise: Whatever beer you choose from the glowing neon-colored clipboards above the bar in their Oakland taproom will most likely be outstanding. I’ve loved every single beer I’ve tried there, and when you can say that about a place, that’s when you know it’s one of the best.” —Grace Lee-Weitz, senior content editor of Hop Culture
UPP Liquids
Bend, Ore.
Credit: UPP Liquids
“Led by Tonya Cornett, 2024’s recipient of the esteemed Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing, UPP Liquids is instantly the must-hit brewery in Bend, Ore., a small-mid-sized city synonymous with craft beer. The brewers that constituted 10 Barrel Brewing’s innovation team had earned a record-tying six GABF medals in 2024. Despite their pedigree — Cornett, Ian Larkin, Jose Ruiz, and Ben Shirley, who collectively accounted for a total of 25 GABF medals and 17 more at the World Beer Cup — 10 Barrel’s post-Budweiser corporate owners sacked the entire team. In the following months, they formed an ownership alliance with Bend’s Immersion Brewing and rebranded as UPP, ‘Uniting People and Places.’ At the 2025 GABF competition, brand-new UPP earned five medals — two gold, two silver, one bronze — en route to being named Best Brewery of the Year. Though UPP’s two best-selling beers are America’s two most popular styles, an IPA and a Mexican lager, visitors shouldn’t skip UPP’s approachable sour beers, such as Moments Made, featuring blueberry and rose tea, and Flower Child, a gose brewed with peach, chamomile, and cardamom.” —Brian Yaeger, head honcho at Grand Craft Beer
Westbound & Down Brewing Co.
Lafayette, Colo.
Credit: Westbound & Down Brewing
“There are a lot of great local breweries in Colorado, but Westbound & Down is firing on all cylinders right now. They’re growing and using that as leverage to continuously improve what is already award-winning beer. From lagers to IPAs, stouts and barleywines, they craft some excellent beers that are best-in-class. When you throw in the food component at their two brewpub locations, as well as the experience of sipping beers in the alley at their downtown Denver bar, they’re truly one of the very best breweries in this country.” —Ryan Pachmayer, beer writer, brewery marketing and events director
Wunderkammer Biermanufaktur
Albany, Vt.
Credit: Wunderkammer Biermanufaktur
“I don’t think most people fully grasp the magic that Vasilios [Gletsos] is able to create at Wunderkammer simply with a copper kettle, a wood fire, and a decommissioned cheese cave. Twelve-hour brew days, toting wort to a grass-covered cave surrounded by neighboring sheep down a rural road in northern Vermont, and a magnificent affinity and respect for time and the essence of the local environment — Vasili pours so much passion into his beers, and you can taste it. He forages local flora, uses local malt, and coolships a portion of his beer utilizing local microbes to inoculate his wort. His creativity and love for what he does is truly inspiring and always reminds me why I got into making beer. There’s a type of romance about making beer the way Vasili does, and it always leaves me truly believing that beer is very much alive and well each time I have the pleasure of enjoying a Wunderkammer beer.” —Amanda Cardinali, founder, owner, and production lead at The Seed: A Living Beer Project
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