Click on graphic for full size
Some Observations:
- California is a Mecca for Craft Beer.
- Idaho is not.
- But apparently neither is New Jersey, But Jim gets a lot more choice than me.
- New Mexico and Arizona, WTF?
- Denver Rocks!
- Abita Rules the Gulf Coast.
- Thank God for Alaska and Hawaii.
- New Glarus doesn’t ship far, but they make a lot.
- You people in Vermont know how to party!
- The Southeast is a Desert.
What are your observations? And remember to click on the image to get it big enough to read. Thanks to Sloshspot.com for the graphic.
-Don
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
The graphic is two years old, guys.
I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t change any of my observations.
LULZ.
Old news is old news and should never, never, never, never be posted as something useful — unless you claim to be a historian.
Get it?
This is the newest version of this data available. Just because it hasn’t been refreshed does not mean it is “old” as you put it. There are lots of examples where data gets seasoned but it is still useful. New data might shuffle the deck chairs on this graphic a bit, but it isn’t going to make wholesale changes to it, thus it is still valid and interesting. So whether you like it or not, it stays. My blog, I win.
I can vouch for the fact that Denver still rocks.
I thought you might Alex! Denver is becoming a cooler and hipper Portland…Its like Portland with Mountains (lots of em).
Yes, Karl Strauss, Anchor and Sierra Nevada do make some good beers, but they’re hard to find out in the High Desert, which is why my goal is to relocate closer to the coast. Desert rats have a propensity for drinking horse piss aka Budweiser, bear piss aka Coors or the mixed urine samples aka Miller. Some of them even favor Keystone and Natty Light.
Thank God for the three great brewers who do their part to provide quality beverages to us lost beer geeks in the desert.
Hard to believe that Sierra Nevada is hard to find anywhere! I thought they were everywhere. Move West young man!
So what you’re saying is keep my azimuth locked on west northwest as I venture out of the desert and I should find a craft beer oasis waiting just over the horizon. That I can do.
Soldier on, Beer man.
Pete’s being labeled in Texas is a bit of a misnomer. Yes, it is owned by San Antonio-based Gambrinus, but it’s all brewed in New York. However that counts.
This graphic is a bit dated, since they discontinued that brand last month, but WTF? It still doesn’t change my observations though. Good to know Texas is even more of a wasteland for craft beer 😦
I have a hard time believing that Sam, Sierra Nevada and New Belgium produce less than 6 million barrels a year… Does that qualification still apply to craft breweries? Not that it matters, it’s more of the spirit and none of these are owned by BMC….
I’m pretty sure Adam that they all brew less than 6 million barrels per year. I believe the legislation that is going through congress right now would raise the qualification for tax purposes from 2 million to 6 million. I think SA is butting up against the 2 million threshold.
I’d like to see a newer version to see if Goose oe 3F jumps into the mix. Kentucky is lame for craft beer.
It would be nice if it were refreshed a bit. I did a quick internet check on it, and this is the newest data available that has already been compiled. I agree that there would be a few changes. For example, I’m pretty sure Southern Tier would be on the list. Goose might jump in, particularly since they joined the Craft Brewers Alliance, but 3F might still be too small.
McMenamins, Rock Bottom, Gordon Biersch, and BJ’s… big chain brew pubs. Seems to be a different category when we get into big chains. Different animal than say DFH, New Glarus, Spoetzel, and the vast majority of the others listed. And Gordon Biersch is listed twice.
Kona is now part of the same org as Red Hook and Widmer, which now dwarfs Pyramid.
Yes the landscape does change quickly in the Craft beer world. I know that McMenamins bottles and sells retail, because I can buy it here in Idaho. Not sure about the others. One thing for sure is if they are on the list, they are selling a lot of brew.
Dammit, I was just in the Atlanta airport and saw some Sweetwater products at one of the bars, but I didn’t have time to stop and enjoy. Plus, I had no clue they were that large. I’d never heard of them.
I also think it’s telling that the bulk of them are in northern climates. Mostly, it tells me that I need to move north.
North, or to California. With your interest in the movie and film industry California might be just the ticket!
Flying Dog is brewed completely in Frederick, MD as well, taking one away from Colorado
I know, the timeliness thing. But I bet Oskar Blues would be on the list now, and they weren’t in 2009, so it all kinda balances out.
Observation: I can’t find Munich on that map 😉
I have that same problem.
Very good Observation! Bravo Keith.
I agree with some of the other comments on the timeliness of this map. Like JayZeis mentioned, Flying Dog bugged out on Colorado. But I’d be highly surprised if Avery and Oscar Blues didn’t replace them. Just an observation, don’t know the hard numbers.
What I’d like to see is a comparison of Brew Pubs and Craft Breweries per state; Beer Drinker’s Guide to Colorado currently has around 130 listings for the state. Some are different locations for the same brewery, granted, but that’s still 130 places to drink fresh Craft Beer, not counting tap houses.
If you mean by tap houses, places with an incredible tap selection I would love to include them on the map too. I like the Idea of going to a brew pub, but I like the idea better of going to a place where I can change things up and flip from Avery to Troegs to Victory, to Sierra Nevada….etc.
You got my meaning of tap house exactly. I think each has their own place; brew pub for the freshness, tap house for the variety. A lot of brew pubs have guest taps as well as their own line-up, so the best of both worlds!
I’ve only been to three breweries with pubs and two of them only had their own beer, and I’m not sure about the third. You might know does Great Divide have guest taps? Doesn’t really matter we were there for Great Divide brews. Nice little place.
VT does know how to party. Wait until you get some Lawson’s or Farmstead Hill!
That was clear from the fact that they have the highest ratio of breweries per capita in the US. Pretty cool distinction I’d say. Love to try the Lawson’s or the Farmstead Hill, but unfortunately it will have to wait until I get the chance to get out there! Nobody ships to Idaho 😦
My daughter finished 3rd in her School Geography Bee because [somehow] she knew the Sierra Nevada was in CA
Hmmm… 😉
Did she finish 3rd because she thought that New Glarus was in the beer fridge?
Did she also happen to know that Tampa is called Cigar City?