RAVE reviews takes a look at the best breweries in the American Southwest and ranked them according to the factors that make a brewery an unforgettable destination.
Here’s the deal…
RAVE reviews is an online site that combines lifestyle, entertainment and travel with product assessments. They recently published a ranking of the 30 Best Breweries in the Southwest that is interesting in its approach and not totally stupid.
And while we may have some qualms about the listing’s order, it’s a very solid collection of craft breweries in the Southwest, all of them worth your time…
The debate over which states comprise the Southwestern region of the United States has been ongoing for decades. For this review RAVE stuck with the boundaries used by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and reviewed the top breweries in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma.
All of the craft breweries in this 2022 ranking have made it to several other “best of” lists, including Thrillist, Timeout, and Frommers. Then RAVE looked at sales rankings from Beer Advocate and the Brewers Association to round out things.
The following criteria was used to determine the top breweries in the Southwest…
- Nostalgia factor– how well it reflects the local region’s attributes and culture
- Popularity factor– how popular is it based on sales and word-of-mouth
- Scarcity factor– how difficult it is to obtain and the demand for small batch runs
- Cult factor– how often people talk about it and the strength of its following
- Destination factor– how it treats visitors (tours, tasting rooms or restaurants, etc.)
Breweries can get up to 20 points for each. A 20 in any of the factors would make that factor a perfect score for that brewery. And those scores once tallied determined the ranking’s order.
And here’s what they came up with…
Top Breweries in the Southwest 2022
- Arizona Wilderness Brewing: Gilbert, Arizona
- Peticolas Brewing Company: Dallas, Texas
- Turtle Mountain Brewing Company: Rio Rancho, New Mexico
- Superstition Meadery: Prescott, Arizona
- La Cumbre Brewing: Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Guadalupe Brewing Company: New Braunfels, Texas
- OHSO Brewery: Phoenix, Arizona
- Dragoon Brewing Company: Tucson, Arizona
- Iron Monk Brewing Company: Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Four Peaks Brewing Company: Tempe, Arizona
- Jester King Brewery: Austin, Texas
- Cowtown Brewing Company: Fort Worth, Texas
- Huss Brewing Company: Tempe, Arizona
- Santa Fe Brewing Company: Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Three Rivers Brewery: Farmington, New Mexico
- Mother Road Brewing Company: Flagstaff, Arizona
- Spotted Dog Brewery: Mesilla, New Mexico
- Historic Brewing Company: Flagstaff, Arizona
- Sierra Blanca Brewing Company: Moriarty, New Mexico
- Milton’s Brewing: Carlsbad, New Mexico
- Stonecloud Brewing Company: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Roughtail Brewing Company: Midwest City, Oklahoma
- Prairie Artisan Ales: McAlester, Oklahoma
- Dead Armadillo Craft Brewing: Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Anthem Brewing Company: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Austin Beer Garden Brewing Company: Austin, Texas
- Bathtub Row Brewing Company: Los Alamos, New Mexico
- Saint Arnold Brewing Company: Houston, Texas
- Freetail Brewing Company: San Antonio, Texas
- Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling: San Antonio, Texas
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