One Year and 366 Breweries Later
Breaking down my 2022 brewery travels and highlighting some favorites
Hello, and welcome to 2023. Every year, I take time here to acknowledge the existence of Dry January, but never at the expense of anyone who chooses this month to sober up. It’s something that even I’ve done a couple times, and it can be a great way to start the year off on a positive note. But with the cost of doing business still rising and breweries closing in larger numbers than at any time in recent US history, I’m asking those who participate in Dry January to consider supporting your local watering holes in other ways. January is a tough month financially for a lot of alcohol-centric businesses, so buy a gift card to a bar or brewery that you’ll use later in the year. Buy some brewery merch. If they serve or even make their own non-alcoholic beverages, give some of those a try. If they serve food, opt for some takeout or order in.
As for non-alcoholic beer recommendations, I wish I had some. It’s just not my thing. As someone who prefers seltzer water and diet soda to sugary drinks, the concept of drinking hoppy sugar water just doesn’t appeal to me. I’m a bigger fan of hoppy seltzer, but most manufacturers of these charge the same price for a can of carbonated water with hops as for a can of actual beer.
This week, let’s look back at 2022. I wrapped up the year averaging one new brewery visit a day, with one extra for good measure. Reviewing the full list, I realized just how many great breweries I never even mentioned in this newsletter last year. A few of them get a shout-out below. If “travel more” is one of your New Year’s resolutions, I hope this annual wrap-up can help inspire you!
My 2022 Brewery Visits, by the numbers
Total Breweries Visited: 366
First Brewery Visited: Spanish Marie Brewery, Miami, Florida (8-Jan)
Last Brewery Visited: Wild Air Beerworks, Asbury Park, New Jersey (30-Dec)
Total US States with Breweries Visited: 27
Total Canadian Provinces with Breweries Visited: 3
Total Countries with Breweries Visited: 8
Number of Breweries Visited in 2022 that have since closed: 3
Top US States for Breweries Visited in 2022
1. Colorado (53)
2. New York (26)
3. Oklahoma (20)
4. Ohio (17)
5. Arkansas (16)
Top Cities for Breweries Visited in 2022
1. Tucson, Arizona, USA (15)
2. (tie) Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada (13)
2. (tie) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA (13)
4. (tie) London, England (11)
4. (tie) New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (11)
4. (tie) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (11)
Favorite Brewery Visits of 2022 (in no particular order)
Brasserie de la Senne, Brussels, Belgium
After drinking a substantial amount of beers like Taras Boulba and Zinnebir both in Belgium and back here at home, this brewery had been on my bucket list for years. It’s a new school brewery with old school techniques. The shiny, glassy taproom represents the new school. The beer brewed mainly in traditional styles represents the old school. De La Senne celebrates these in perfect harmony, and it was an absolute joy to drink here… so much so that I came back after both sessions of BXL Beer Fest.
Social Project Brewing Co., Bentonville, Arkansas
On a handful of my trips last year, I stumbled across a relatively new brewery with beer that was mature beyond its age. Social Project was one of the most enjoyable of this small subset of breweries. Their taps poured some of the most dialed-in beer I had all year, despite being a mere six months old when I visited last spring. The IPAs were all great, but the Ole All Day Mexican Lager and Succa For You Saison are etched in my memory. They’ve already expanded to a second location, so I’m hoping this won’t be the last time you hear about them.
Neighbourhood Brewing, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
I didn’t know until a week after my friend and I stepped into this brewery in April that it was associated with one of my favorite breweries from a trip to the Vancouver area, Yellow Dog Brewing Co., but I wasn’t surprised. I also wasn’t surprised when the brewery won a World Beer Cup gold award in the Fruit Wheat Beer category for their Sunshine City in May. Even in the off-season for the Okanagan, this place was packed on a Wednesday night — and for good reason. The beer was outstanding, the atmosphere was inviting, the service was friendly and helpful, and the food really came through in the clutch on a long day of brewery-crawling.
Nurme Brewery, Riga, Latvia
On a visit here last summer, I absolutely loved the atmosphere, tucked away in a courtyard in a gritty industrial part of Latvia’s capital city. But Nurme is probably most noteworthy to me for the fact that their Glacial, a Cold IPA, was one of the most memorably enjoyable beers I had all year, which resulted in me remarking to one of the brewers, “wow, the Cold IPA trend has made it here?” To which he responded with a smile, “yeah… we have the Internet in Latvia, you know.” The beer world is flat.
Strangebird Brewery, Rochester, New York
Barely into its second year, Strangebird tied in the New York State Beer Competition for Brewery of the Year, which shouldn’t come as a huge surprise when you consider the resumes of its founder Micah Krichinsky (who brewed at Dogfish Head) and their Director of Wood Aged Beers Eric Salazar (who pioneered wood-aged sour beers in at New Belgium). From the Cream Ale to the Belgian Golden Strong to the Wet Hop IPA to the Saison, every beer I had here was stellar. The food, somehow, was even better — not surprising, since even people in Rochester who weren’t knowledgeable about beer were telling me to eat here.
The Big Friendly, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
When what’s supposed to be a hour-long visit to a brewery slips into a two or three-hour visit, you know you’ve found a true gem. The Big Friendly won Brewer of the Year award in the 250-500 barrel category at Great American Beer Festival this year, and it’s clear the judges knew what they were talking about. In addition to an excellent Rice Lager and some stellar Fresh Hop IPAs, the standout beer of the year for me in terms of creativity was their Forest Floor, a Dunkel with lapsang souchong, cypress oil, and cedar tips. On top of the beer, the taproom atmosphere and service were top-notch.
Honorable Mentions (in chronological order)
Pueblo Vida Brewing in Tucson, Arizona for drawing me back into the taproom with their amazing liquid on every night I spent in town … Offset Bier Co in Park City, Utah for pouring stellar beer in two categories on their menu: “hops” and “bier flavored bier” … Neptune Brewery in Maghull, England for making it well worth spending an extra day in Liverpool just to visit one brewery … Camerons Brewery in Hartlepool, England for introducing me to the banker pour just weeks before it became an obsession among a subset of beer nerds … Omnipollos kyrka in Stockholm, Sweden for being the best Brewery-in-a-Church that I’ve visited (yes, there have been many) … Telluride Brewing Company in Telluride, Colorado for living up to my high expectations with a fresh pint of their Face Down Brown … Garage Beer Co. in Barcelona, Spain for putting on one hell of a beer festival … Carillon Brewing Co. in Dayton, Ohio for their incredible dedication to historic brewing processes and beer styles … Parleaux Beer Lab in New Orleans for being a perfect place to watch the Men’s World Cup Final.
One Last Thing
Well, that was fast. Two days into the year, after being my Brewery Opening of the Year in last week’s newsletter and getting a mention in an article about vegan food and beer in VinePair, Belse NYC announced they had closed, first in their Instagram profile, and then in a somewhat cryptic Instagram post. On the bright side, it looks like there will be a new opening this month in NYC — Keg & Lantern Brewing Company’s third location is slated to open on January 19th in the old Randolph Beer Williamsburg on South 4th Street. I’ll keep you updated.
Cheers,
Chris
wow, that WAS fast for Belse!