It's not the size of a brewery that determines the quality of beer produced. Venture behind the scenes at some
microbreweries you may never have heard of. Sadly, some of them have closed since we visited.
Arizona
McFarlane Brewing, Phoenix
Everybody agreed -- McFarlane Brewing made excellent beer, but this is a story about a brewery
that closed.
Arkansas
Vino's Brewpub, Little Rock
"I can be a little bit of an artist here," brewer Dave Raymond says.
"It's more fun. You can walk out into the brewery and watch everyone enjoying your stuff."
Colorado
Wolf Tongue Brewery, Nederland
Gordon Knight and the old New Belgium Brewing 5-hecoliter system have been around --
and making award-winning beer at each stop.
Illinois
Joe's Brewery, Champaign
"It's like I won the lottery," says brewer John Isenhour. "It's like having a giant home-brewery."
Indiana
Oaken Barrel, Greenwood
The brewpub has twice won medals at the Great American Beer Festival.
"It helps people understand we're not just making beer out in the shed," says brewer Brook Belli.
Lousiana
Acadian Brewing Co.
"Everybody was making ales, using (Wyeast) 1056
yeast," says Doug Lindley. "I wanted my own identity."
Michigan
Boyne River Brewing Co.
"We brew what we like to brew and go from there," says owner-brewer Scott Hill.
New Jersey
Climax Brewing, New Roselle
"We don't have big heads," says Dave Hoffman. "We want to brew good beer. We came from homebrew."
High Point Wheat Beer Co.
High Point is the first post-Prohibition brewery in the United States to produce only wheat beers.
New Mexico
Santa Fe Brewing, Santa Fe
In 10 years, Santa Fe has used the same tabletop bottle capper on more
than one million bottles.
New York
Middle Ages Brewing Co., Syracuse
Although cask-conditioned ales make up a relatively small percentage of Middle Ages' overall beer sales, the brewery qualifies as one of the major distributing real ale producers in the United States.
Pennsylvania
Weyerbacher Brewing Co., Easton
Only a former homebrewer would attempt to sell the public on a strawberry wheat ale or a raspberry imperial stout.
Texas
St. Arnold Brewing, Houston
Texas is a key battleground for the nation's biggest brewers. St. Arnold doesn't compete in those price wars.
"We sell ourselves on one thing, the taste of our beer."
Washington
Diamond Knot Brewing, Mulkilteo
Brian Sollenberger and Bob Maphet produce one of the Seattle area's most
distinctive beers in a 280-square-foot brewhouse.
Wisconsin
Gray Brewing, Janesville
Gray has been producing soda for nearly 150 years, and returned to beer after an 80-year hiatus.
