The Top 100 Brewers In The World: 2008

http://www.ratebeer.com/RateBeerBest/Be ... 012008.asp

here's the top 25. Nice regional representation.

1. Struise (Woesten-Vleteren, Belgium)
2. Three Floyds Brewing Company (Munster, Indiana USA)
3. Port Brewing/Lost Abbey (San Marcos, California USA)
4. Bells Brewery (Kalamazoo, Michigan USA)
5. Närke Kulturbryggeri (Örebro, Sweden)
6. Mikkeller (Copenhagen V, Denmark)
7. Founders Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, Michigan USA)
8. Russian River Brewing (Santa Rosa, California USA)
9. Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, California USA)
10. AleSmith Brewing Company (San Diego, California USA)
11. Surly Brewing Company (Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA)
12. Ølfabrikken (Roskilde, Denmark)
13. Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus (Westvleteren, Belgium)
14. Great Divide Brewing Company (Denver, Colorado USA)
15. Hair of the Dog Brewing Company (Portland, Oregon USA)
16. Kuhnhenn Brewing (Warren, Michigan USA)
17. Southern Tier Brewing Company (Lakewood, New York USA)
18. Goose Island Beer Company (Chicago, Illinois USA)
19. Captain Lawrence Brewing Company (Pleasantville, New York USA)
20. Great Lakes Brewing Company (Cleveland, Ohio USA)
21. Brasserie de l’Abbaye des Rocs (Montignies-sur-Roc, Belgium)
22. Alpine Beer Company (CA) (Alpine, California USA)
23. Nøgne Ø (Grimstad, Norway)
24. Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery (Flossmoor, Illinois USA)
25. Brasserie Rochefort (Rochefort, Belgium)

Of course, lists are for arguments: have at it...

New Glarus just missed the top 25 at #29.

I think it's an interesting list, especially since they're using aggregate, weighted numerical rankings from their entire community. Whether or not this is perfect is debatable, but I certainly think it does a good job of summarizing their communities overall opinion.

It's nice to see that there's such strong recognition for Flossmoor, among others.

Best,
Michael

midwest represent!

I was surprised to see Piece in the top 100. Maybe I'll have to get back there and try them again.

A lot of ratings go in to that list that's for sure! No list is perfect but it beats the typical arbitary list some guy conjures up for USA Today or someother online blog.

Three Floyd's is rated way too high, but they are a hype machine so it is not surprising.

nr706 wrote:I was surprised to see Piece in the top 100. Maybe I'll have to get back there and try them again.

Their Kölsch is the best micro in that style I've had. Delicious and refreshing.

I think it is a pretty good list, actually. Most of my favorites are there (Rogue, Dogfish, Weyerbacher, Three Floyds, Bear Republic, Great Divide, Tröegs, Victory, Southern Tier).

What is shocking is that mediocre breweries like Goose Island and Rock Bottom place so highly. There is no accounting for taste, I suppose.

RAB wrote:...What is shocking is that mediocre breweries like Goose Island and Rock Bottom place so highly. There is no accounting for taste, I suppose.

The Goose Reserve beers are really nice. Rock Bottom's inclusion is a bit puzzling...it's a franchise.

jmc wrote:The Goose Reserve beers are really nice.

Yeah? I guess I'll have to give the Goose another chance. I've had their 312, Honkers Ale, IPA, and Nut Brown. Which of their beers should I be on the lookout for?

jmc wrote:Rock Bottom's inclusion is a bit puzzling...it's a franchise.

This thread addresses the independent nature of the brewmaster at Chicago's Rock Bottom.

RAB, I really like Matilda & Pierre Jaques, the former is their take on my all time fave, Rochefort. I think it is named after Rochefort's brewmaster. I usually don't enjoy the "Belgian style" American craft ales, but I think the Goose nailed it w/these two beers.

I may have to stop by Rock Bottom one of these days...

RAB wrote:What is shocking is that mediocre breweries like Goose Island and Rock Bottom place so highly. There is no accounting for taste, I suppose.

Goose Island is FAR from mediocre. They put out some of the most interesting and varied beers of any brewpub in the area (and beyond). They consistently have about 14 beers on tap and add new ones weekly. Generally half of them are exclusive to the pub and not sold in bottles.

If you can't make it to their pub, grab a 4 pack of Matilda (an homage to Orval that is better than the original) and any other Reserves that seem interesting to you.

Personally, I think the regular Harvest Ale is fantastic this year as is their IPA. Frankly it is one of my favorite IPAs.

Jamie

BTW, FFF = 3 and Rochefort = 25
WTF?

Outside of their IPA, Goose Island's everyday lineup is pretty mediocre in my opinion. However, the Reserve Series is top notch. Bourbon County Stout is one of my favorite beers. Pere Jacques, Matilda, Demolition and Imperial IPA are very very good as well.

Jamieson22 wrote:Goose Island is FAR from mediocre.

Right on. Goose's heavily distributed beers are quite generic, but the list in their brewpubs is generally quite interesting. They have several beers I find near undrinkable (312!) but their IPA is solid (altho generic) and their draft beers at the bar are quite excellent. Last time I was there they had a Blueberry Sour ale and a Blueberry bourbon stout that were both excellent and very unique.

I find 3 Floyds lives up to the hype-machine. I really enjoy their Gumball head and Dreadnought. The gumballhead is one of the best and most unique wheat beers I've found.

One beer I can't wait to see distributed via bottle is Surly. I really enjoyed their Cynicale Saison style brew last time I tried it.

Wheattoast wrote:One beer I can't wait to see distributed via bottle is Surly. I really enjoyed their Cynicale Saison style brew last time I tried it.

Actually it will be via can Surly cans all their retail beers.
Jamie

Well count me in. =)

Wheattoast wrote:I find 3 Floyds lives up to the hype-machine. I really enjoy their Gumball head and Dreadnought. The gumballhead is one of the best and most unique wheat beers I've found.

I agree. Gumballhead is my favorite summer beer by a long shot. You can also add "Pride & Joy" to my list of favorites--an excellent ale that I can drink all year round.

As far as Goose Island, I agree that they are far from a mediocre brewery--they simply brew for a very wide audience. It's impossible to enjoy everything that they do.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:
As far as Goose Island, I agree that they are far from a mediocre brewery--they simply brew for a very wide audience. It's impossible to enjoy everything that they do.

Best,
Michael

I think this is very well put. The majority of the Goose beers people see are the "standards" like Honkers, Nut Brown, etc. While these may not be as exciting as some other things on the shelf, they are each an excellent example of the style. Might just be that style doesn't excite some people as much, but it is a far reach to call them mediocre.

Jamie

I'm a little surprised that Surly was ranked so highly -- I like what I've had (maybe 4-5?) but... I don't know. Most of them seem aggressively hopped for the sake of claiming "we hop the #$() out of our beers!!". Contrast that with FFF which while really hoppy, still seem balanced. They deserve the no. 2 slot.

Are people fans of Southern Tier, by the way? I have yet to have any that I feel more than "meh" about.

Then again, it could be a matter of the retail/pub selection that dogs GI's reputation. As others have said, what Goose Island can do in their brewpub is excellent (their standard 6-apcks aren't bad, but aren't exactly exciting, either, I agree). I feel like all of their beers are very polished and could be bottled (where as, maybe, some of Piece's beers are good but I couldn't see them in a bottle). GI does have a number of the high-gravity beers (right now, Debbie's Little Helper, a seriously hoppy imperial amber), but also some smaller beers (a small Saison is on their menu now), and I applaud them going contrary to craft beer trend and providing something for everyone.

Is anyone planning on going to Flossmoor Station this weekend for their big new release? It could be the next 'Dark Lord Stout', and who wouldn't want an innagural vintage?

danimalarkey wrote:I'm a little surprised that Surly was ranked so highly -- I like what I've had (maybe 4-5?) but... I don't know. Most of them seem aggressively hopped for the sake of claiming "we hop the #$() out of our beers!!". Contrast that with FFF which while really hoppy, still seem balanced. They deserve the no. 2 slot.

I think you have that backwards. Grabbed a 6 of Alpha King, something I have not had in a awhile and I honestly am not enjoying it a bit. All bitterness, no flavor. Definately not even a top 10 IPA for me.
The Surly beers I have tried have all been excellent and very balanced.

danimalarkey wrote:Are people fans of Southern Tier, by the way? I have yet to have any that I feel more than "meh" about.

Totally agree with you on this. The few I had turned me off from this brewery all together.

Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:Goose Island is FAR from mediocre.

eatchicago wrote:As far as Goose Island, I agree that they are far from a mediocre brewery

Hmmm, perhaps I judged Goose Island on too small a sample. I guess I'm going to have to fix this oversight.

danimalarkey wrote:Are people fans of Southern Tier, by the way? I have yet to have any that I feel more than "meh" about.

I am a fan. I've enjoyed their regular IPA and their phin & matt's ale as (relatively) low-gravity brews, but I've loved some of their "imperials." Specifically, their Imperial Java Stout and Big Red Imperial are excellent.

As long as we are on the subject, I've really become a fan of Two Brothers lately.

Their Domaine DuPage is very tasty and quite different from my usual go-tos, and their Bitter End is a very nice standard IPA. The fact that I can often pick these up for 7 or 8 bucks a six-pack has meant they have been appearing in my fridge regularly.

The whole "Hop bomb" beer thing has been over-hyped for sure. American brewers have gone crazy macho for it over the last few years, but it seems to be calming down. It was fun while it lasted but I've pretty much had enough of it. Alpha King is an example of it and the thing I don't like about it in particular is I find the hopping to be pretty one-dimensional. I don't taste the range of hop flavor I get from say a Dogfish Head 60 min IPA. I dunno, maybe I'm just not macho enough for it =)

Jamieson22 wrote:I think you have that backwards. Grabbed a 6 of Alpha King, something I have not had in a awhile and I honestly am not enjoying it a bit. All bitterness, no flavor. Definately not even a top 10 IPA for me.
The Surly beers I have tried have all been excellent and very balanced.

You know, if you were to ask someone at FFF, I think they'd tell you that Alpha King is their American Pale Ale -- their Dreadnaught is the IPA. Personally, I think that's hogwash, but then again, FFF isn't normal (their words!). And no, I'm hardly trying to nitpick over names and labels, I'm just pointing it out

I'm surprised that Meantime isn't on the list. They don't have the greatest distribution in the States (not yet anyway), which might contribute to fewer reviews on Ratebeer, but I am a big fan of their IPA and Scotch Ale.

Mikkeller is great, though, and deserves its high ranking. Not easy to find a variety of styles of here in the States, but their 'Stateside IPA' is worth picking up if you can find it.

Regarding Two Brothers, I want to like them more, but... I don't know, I find their standard line-up a little on the plain side. I'm not looking for hop-bombs, per se, but just something a little more interesting. Their seasonals and Artisan line seems to suffer from erratic production schedules and it's hard to build interest when you don't know if there's anything to be interested about!

I read a note on the online Hopleaf menu about Stone not "quite yet" having distribution in Chicago -- anyone know if it is coming for certain?

I'm always surprised how some will rush to the defense of Goose Island and say that the beers that they widely distribute are not characteristic of everything they brew and offer in smaller batches or in the brewpub (which I agree with) but very few will give Three Floyd's the same courtesy.

Many, I daresay most, of their beers are not the insane hopbombs that are characterized by Alpha King and Pride & Joy. A few are, to be sure - but not all.

Llama wrote:I'm always surprised how some will rush to the defense of Goose Island and say that the beers that they widely distribute are not characteristic of everything they brew and offer in smaller batches or in the brewpub (which I agree with) but very few will give Three Floyd's the same courtesy.

Many, I daresay most, of their beers are not the insane hopbombs that are characterized by Alpha King and Pride & Joy. A few are, to be sure - but not all.

That's fair. I certainly didn't mean to pigeon-hole 3floyds - I was speaking just of Pride and Joy and my current tastes in beer moving a bit away from the hopbomb phenomenon.

Agreed, Wheattoast, though I would go on to say that few people dismiss FFF as a brewery as they do GI.

For what it's worth, though, FFF can have more, I don't know, 'less-than-perfects' -- their Broodoo (a harvest ale) has always been pretty forgettable and I still don't know what to make of their milk stout, Moloko (I think that's the name). Their pilsner (Eichelaub Pilsner, maybe?), not yet seen in bottles, is pretty wonderful, and their Scotch Ale remains an excellent beer as well as an excellent representative of that style.

From what I've gathered from going on tours (and I could be completely wrong on this -- often, by the time I'm taking a tour, I've sampled most/all of their draft-only options, and, well... you know...), many of FFF's beers, their general line-up minus the Robert the Bruce, all start from the same wort (not unlike with Two Brothers), which is why I suggest there's a singular 'FFF taste'. Hardly a bad taste, mind you, but it's a different approach than GI which seems able to produce a wide array of amazing -- and wholly different tasting -- beer each and every week.

Llama wrote:I'm always surprised how some will rush to the defense of Goose Island and say that the beers that they widely distribute are not characteristic of everything they brew and offer in smaller batches or in the brewpub (which I agree with) but very few will give Three Floyd's the same courtesy.

Many, I daresay most, of their beers are not the insane hopbombs that are characterized by Alpha King and Pride & Joy. A few are, to be sure - but not all.

Three Floyds wants to charge you 12.00 for a 6 pack of Alpha King which you have no idea if it is going to be fresh or not and then they hit you another 12 for a bomber of Dreadnought and 18, 20, to infinity for Dark Lord. They price themselves in to an elite area and in my opinion the noticeable flaws in a number of their beers and poor distribution which results in a lot of their beers sitting on the shelves past their prime are a drawback. Bourbon County Stout is a great beer, probably as good as Dark Lord but at least I can still go buy a BCS on the shelf somewhere and not take out a line of credit. If I want Dark Lord I have to go stand in line all day or drop over a 100 dollars on e-bay. They hype of Three Floyds does not equal the quality. Some great beers but in my opinion not a top 5 brewer. I would definitely put Bells far above them for number of high quality beers, breadth of distribution, variation of flavor profiles and price.

Happy to see the positive comments on Goose Island. I feel like I'm constantly defending the brewery. Their specialty "big" beers--like Bourbon County Stout and Imperial IPA--I think are among the best of their style. I'm a big Three Floyd's fan, but I have to say that, even though I've got Dark Lords from every year but the first, Goose's Bourbon County Stout is a better, more well-balanced and nuanced imperial stout than Three Floyd's offering. Dreadnaught IIPA is perhaps my favorite beer in the world (although I only drink a handful of times a year), but Goose Island's Imperial Pale Ale is a pretty close second. Third would probably be Dogfish Head's 90 minute IPA for me.

But, besides that, when you get it fresh, the Goose Island flagship beers are wonderful session beers that don't hit you over the head with aggressive flavors. They're subtle, well-balanced brews that anyone should be proud of. Listen, I love Three Floyd's, but Three Floyd's is pretty much defined by hops. Even their not-so-hoppy beers, like Gumballhead or Black Sun Stout), have an obvious 3 Floyd's signature hop aroma character to them (I swear, they must dry hop every last beer in that brewery.) Luckily, I like that signature, but I don't find 3 Floyds as versatile as my favorite brewery, Bell's, or even Goose Island.

From ratebeer.com:

Brewer scores are a composite of their top four beer scores (25%), their top four beer scores within a style (25%) and their beers' average scores in the last nine months (50%).

I don't think ratebeer.com is really the end/all be all of beer judging =) and also note that 50% of the score could potentially come from 4 beers. A brewery like FFF is much smaller and can't match GI from a scope perspective. You could call GI superior because it produces so many solid beers each year or you could call FFF superior because their few high-production beers are maybe a bit more creative or unique. I love them both because a)they both make some great beers and b)they are both LOCAL which means a lot to me.