Top 50 breweries: some interest, some fun

The new list of the top 50 breweries in the U.S. by volume sales is out. Let's have an annotated look, shall we?

1. Anheuser-Busch InBev; St Louis MO (Shocking...)
2. MillerCoors; Chicago IL (teamed up, and still 2nd)
3. Pabst Brewing; Woodridge IL (Hey, dude: get a real brewery!)
4. D. G. Yuengling and Son; Pottsville PA (Pennsylvania Proud!)
5. Boston Beer Co.; Boston MA (Pennsylvania Proud, Part II: rocking Breinigsville!)
6. Sierra Nevada Brewing; Chico CA (Tradition and style)
7. New Belgium Brewing; Fort Collins CO
8. North American Breweries; Rochester, NY (Yo, lookie here: buying in)
9. Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc.; Portland, OR (funny: they say they are, BA says they aren't)
10. Spoetzl Brewery (Gambrinus); Spoetzl TX (Shine on)
11. Deschutes Brewery; Bend OR
12. Independent Brewers United (IBU); Burlington, VT (nice acronym)
13. F.X. Matt Brewing; Utica NY (Congrats to the survivor)
14. Minhas Craft Brewery; Monroe WI (Worst. Commemorative. Book. Ever.)
15. Bell’s Brewery; Galesburg MI
16. Harpoon Brewery; Boston, MA (my son's new hometown brewery)
17. Boulevard Brewing; Kansas City MO (gotta get some samples!)
18. Goose Island Beer; Chicago IL (beer still the same?)
19. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery; Lewes DE
20. Alaskan Brewing; Juneau AK
21. Long Trail Brewing; Burlington VT
22. August Schell Brewing; New Ulm MN (Another pre-Pro beauty)
23. Stone Brewing; Escondido CA (What? I thought they were the biggest!)
24. Abita Brewing; New Orleans LA (40% of sales during Mardi Gras?)
25. Brooklyn Brewery; Brooklyn NY
26. Lagunitas Brewing; Petaluma CA
27. Full Sail Brewing; Hood River OR
28. Shipyard Brewing; Portland ME (Amazing: I thought no one liked Ringwood...)
29. Summit Brewing; Saint Paul MN
30. New Glarus Brewing; New Glarus WI (World-famous in Wisconsin)
31. Great Lakes Brewing; Cleveland OH
32. Anchor Brewing; San Francisco CA (Is that up or down from last year?)
33. Iron City Brewing; Pittsburgh PA (bets on their position next year?)
34. Kona Brewing; Kailua-Kona HI
35. Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing; Newport OR
36. Firestone Walker Brewing; Paso Robles CA
37. Winery Exchange Inc. / World Brew; Novato CA (I'm willing to admit my ignorance...)
38. SweetWater Brewing; Atlanta GA (Wow! Go South!)
39. Mendocino Brewing; Ukiah CA
40. Flying Dog Brewery; Frederick MD
41. Victory Brewing; Downington PA (why can't anyone spell "Downingtown"?)
42. Gordon Biersch Brewing; San Jose CA
43. BJs Restaurant & Brewery; Huntington Beach CA
44. Stevens Point Brewery; Stevens Point WI (Guess no one's out of Point)
45. Odell Brewing; Fort Collins CO
46. Bridgeport Brewing (Gambrinus); Portland OR
47. Cold Spring Brewing; Cold Spring MN
48. Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants; Louisville CO
49. Oskar Blues Brewery; Longmont CO (Can you believe it?)
50. Straub Brewery; Saint Mary’s PA (Pennsylvania Proud, Part III!)

Uncle Jack's Best Of 2009

I'm almost embarrassed to put up this link to Uncle Jack's 'best of' list for 2009, since I come in for both harrassment and praise (which is pretty much normal for our exchanges, come to think of it), but pride and humor won out. Seriously, Jack has some good calls here, particularly the first one: Weyerbacher Zotten is a really good beer, and if Dan & Co. don't make it a full-time beer, they're nuts.

Let the Second-Guessing Begin: FooBooz lists Philly's 50 Best Bars

Fearless FooBooz has posted a list of Philly's Top 50 Bars. Whining and moaning has commenced already in the comments. Full disclosure: I was a contributor, sent in my top ten list.

Bars that I'm surprised are missing: Eulogy, Triumph, Bridgewaters, Cuba Libre, Belgian Cafe, and Earth, Bread + Brewery. No Irish places, not even The Bards? Where's the love for 150-year-old-but-damned-lively McGillin's? Brauhaus Schmitz, Swift Half: just too new. I will also admit to being pleasantly surprised to see Chick's Cafe and Atlantis on the list; cheers to that. And I can't help thinking that if Teresa's weren't out in those nasty, nasty suburbs, it would have been much higher on the list (a case could be made that it doesn't belong on a list of Philly's top bars at all, of course, but come on).

But really...Eulogy? And yes, I'm fully aware of the irony of me saying that, but it's true. Interesting dynamics here.

Good list, though, and a great map to go with it. Let the games begin; comments are open.

Brewer's Art Tops Esquire's "Best Bar" List

Congratulations go out to the gang at The Brewer's Art in Baltimore, currently sitting on top of the world as a result of being at the top of Esquire's Best Bars in America list. I have had some great times at Brewer's Art, both upstairs and down, and all I can say is: well-deserved, and if you haven't ever been, get there!