A great brewery name is a doorway that attracts and invites. A great brewery name colors everything. A wisely chosen brewery name is a marketing tool like none other – it can enhance and enrich a brewery’s whole vibe as well the beers that they brew. Yes, a brewery lives and dies by the quality of their beers – but a brewery’s name is an elemental and defining part of any successful operation.

What’s in a name? EVERYTHING as far as we’re concerned and here are some brewery names that we absolutely love.

1)Ninkasi Brewing (Eugene, OR) – A great brewery name should be one that you wish you had thought of…that’s so perfect it makes you jealous…and this name is one of our favorites. Mythic to its core and historically relevant at the same time, Ninkasi takes its name from the Sumerian goddess of brewing and beer. It’s a brilliant and literarily sound entrance point for their brand with the added advantage of looking good on any T-shirt.

2)Dogfish Head (Milton, DE) – As much as the use of the word “dog” in a beer biz has become an almost laughable cliché over the years, Dogfish Head’s name still resonates for us. The name itself is an actual nautical location up by Booth Bay in Maine, where Sam Calagione’s parents had a summer home near the water. 

It’s also the street that Sam was jogging on, when he told his dad that all the money he’d spent sending him to journalism school was for naught – and that he’d decided he wanted start a brewery instead. Upon hearing the unexpected news, they both stopped jogging and his dad grew quiet and Sam expected the worst. Then his father smiled and pointed to the street sign that was near – and said “that should be the name of your brewery.” And as it turns out they’d randomly ended up on Dogfish Head Road. 

Sam’s a born story-teller and Dogfish Head’s name is a part of his backstory…And we like it (even if it does have a “dog” in it).

3)Sierra Nevada Brewing (Chico, CA) – Strong, iconic and evoking an almost monumental sense of the great outdoors, its natural beauty and the American West, the name, Sierra Nevada has an almost lyrical way of rolling of the tongue. Elegant and defining in its straightforward simplicity, this name is a classic.

4)Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY) – Located in a farmstead setting in upset New York this brewery has been crafting authentic Belgian-style beer since beer importers Wendy Littlefield and Don Feinberg opened its doors in 1997. The name Ommegang appropriately takes its lead from the Dutch and loosely means “walk around” or “to walk.” Bottom line Brewery Ommegang just screams Belgian pastoral traditions.

5)21^st Amendment Brewery (San Francisco, CA) – Where breweries names like Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head evoke a strong sense of place, 21st Amendment takes its lead from American history and that starting point permeates their playful imaging. The name itself refers to the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which as many of you may know, ended Prohibition and the rebirth of brewing as we know it.