American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
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 Southeast that was 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 breweries in the Southeast that are worth your time…
While there is some argument over what comprises the Southeastern region of the US, this ranking went with what the American Association of Geographers’ definition which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
All of the craft breweries in this 2021 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 Northeast…
- 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 Southeast 2021
- Green Bench Brewing Company–St. Petersburg, FL
- Highland Brewing–Asheville, NC
- SweetWater Brewing Company–Atlanta, GA
- Cigar City Brewing–Tampa, FL
- Blackstone Brewing Company–Nashville, TN
Wicked Weed Brewing–Asheville, NC- Smoky Mountain Brewery–Gatlinburg, TN
- Moon River Brewing Company–Savannah, GA
- Scofflaw Brewing Co.–Atlanta, GA
- Hardywood Park Craft Brewery–Richmond, VA
- Against the Grain: Louisville–KY
- Royal Brewery–New Orleans, LA
- Crafty Bastard Brewery–Knoxville, TN
- Atlanta Brewing Company–Atlanta, GA
- Lost Forty Brewing–Little Rock, AR
- Smartmouth Brewing–Norfolk, VA
- Gnarly Barley Brewing Co.–Hammond, LA
- New South Brewing–Myrtle Beach, SC
- River Rat Brewery–Columbia, SC
- Diamond Bear Brewing Co.–North Little Rock, AR
- Proof Brewing Company–Tallahassee, FL
- Chandeleur Island Brewing Company–Gulfport, MS
- Lost Colony Brewery–Manteo, NC
- Ozark Beer Company–Rogers, AR
- Lazy Magnolia Brewery–Kiln, MS
- Great Raft Brewing–Shreveport, LA
- Mountain State Brewing–Thomas, WV
- Avondale Brewing Company–Birmingham, AL
- Big Beach Brewing–Gulf Shores, AL
- Palmetto Brewing Co.–Charleston, SC
