This week, the “connoisseur-focused beer site” RateBeer released their list of the world’s top 100 brewers of 2018. According to the website, “the summarization is based on five different weighted scales that place an emphasis on reviews of the past year and top performing beers but also includes historical all-around performance, a brewer’s range of performance across styles, and other factors to compare newer and older, larger and smaller brewers under a single method of processing.”
More than ten million reviews were considered, encompassing beers from more than 30,800 brewers from six continents.
Seven local brewers made the list of 100, including AleSmith Brewing at number six. The company’s Speedway Stout was named one of the top 100 beers in the world for 2018, and their IPA was awarded Silver in the IPA category.
AleSmith has been a constant on RateBeer’s best brewer list for years, making the cut of 100 in 2016, ranking second in 2015, eighth in 2014, and fourth last year. In 2013, AleSmith was dubbed the top United States brewer in a format divided by country.
“Vicky and I couldn’t be prouder of the dedication displayed by our team members here at AleSmith!,” said AleSmith owner Peter Zien. “Recognizing the hard work, passion for our art and the highest level of customer service has once again placed us as a top brewery on RateBeer.com. A sincere thank you to our valued supporters worldwide.”
Six more beer makers in San Diego cracked the top 100:
- #11: Port Brewing / The Lost Abbey (their Older Viscosity took bronze in the strong ale category)
- #22: Stone Brewing
- #23: Modern Times Beer (Monster Tones, a West Coaster 18 in ’18 winner, was named one of the best new beers of the year)
- #45: Alpine Beer Company
- #61: Ballast Point Brewing Company (Constellation Brands — Victory at Sea aged in High West Barrel earned bronze in the Imperial/Double Porter category)
- #65: Mikkeller San Diego (The Breakfast Kløb grabbed a Bronze in the Stout category, and Resting Brew Face IPA was named of last year’s best).
Additionally, RateBeer’s list for best places for beer in the United States included South Park’s Hamilton’s Tavern, the West Coaster 18 in ’18 winner for Best Beer Bar.
RateBeer’s top 10 brewers of 2018:
- Hill Farmstead Brewery (Greensboro, Vermont)
- Russian River Brewing (Santa Rosa, California)
- Trillium Brewing Company (Boston)
- Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, Florida)
- Tree House Brewing Company (Charlton, Massachusetts)
- AleSmith Brewing Company (San Diego)
- Three Floyds Brewing Company (Munster, Indiana)
- New Glarus Brewing Company (New Glarus, Wisconsin)
- Side Project Brewing (Maplewood, Missouri)
- Sante Adairius Rustic Ales (Capitola, California)
