Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis on enthusiasm, new flavours, and varied brewing techniques.
The U.S. state of Oregon is home to more than 200 breweries and brew pubs that produce a large variety of beer.
The Surly Brewing Company is an American craft brewery with facilities in Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and is noted for primarily canning beers, rather than bottling. Initially available only in and around the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the company expanded distribution to include all of Minnesota and several nearby states. During the early 2010s, Surly experienced rapid growth, with production of 21,000 barrels in 2012, 28,000 barrels in 2013, and 47,757 barrels in 2015. Surly's brewing system in Brooklyn Center is a 30 beer barrel (BBL) Sprinkman, one of four identical systems produced by Sprinkman of Wisconsin. The Minneapolis location has a 100 barrel system. Despite sharing a similar name and being headquartered in the U.S. state of Minnesota, the brewing company and Surly Bikes are separate enterprises. An agreement between the two companies allows the bicycle manufacturer to display the single word "Surly" on its products.
Drake's Brewing Company is a craft brewery in San Leandro, California. The company started in 1989 as a wholesale-only kegged beer seller under the name Lind Brewing, after company founder, Roger Lind. Drake's operates out of the old Caterpillar Inc. production facility located behind a Walmart. In 2008, Drake's was sold to the owners of Triple Rock Brewery and Alehouse, a brewpub in Berkeley, California.
No-Li Brewhouse is a brewery and restaurant in Spokane, Washington, United States, co-founded by brewmaster Mark Irvin and beer industry executive John Bryant, expanding on Irvin's Northern Lights Brewery. The brewery is known for its emphasis on local sourcing and local production; in 2013 it was designated a "Spokane Style Beer" producer. Formerly known as Northern Lights Brewing, the company markets such beers as Born & Raised IPA and Big Juicy IPA.
Slow Boat Brewery is a microbrewery located in Chaoyang District, Beijing. Since 2016, the company has operated a brewpub in Sanlitun. In December 2018, Slow Boat Brewery announced plans to open a second location at Dengshikou in Beijing. It is listed among the three major craft breweries in Beijing, including Jing-A Brewing Co., and Great Leap Brewing.
The Blackstone Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded by Kent Taylor and Stephanie Weins in 1994, it claims to be Nashville's oldest craft brewery. The original brewpub, called Blackstone Restaurant and Brewery, opened on New Year's Eve 1994 and operated until 2016. In 2011, the company built a production brewery nearby and opened a tap house for the public in 2016. Blackstone also brews traditional European lagers for the Nashville Brewing Company. Blackstone Brewing Company has received more awards than any other brewery in Nashville, winning multiple medals at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival.
The Keweenaw Brewing Company (KBC) is a craft brewer in Houghton, Michigan. It is named for the detached Keweenaw Peninsula, which projects out to the north of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Established in 2004, it is the largest brewer in the Upper Peninsula, with can and bottle sales that extend into Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
