SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego's craft beer scene took another step to solidify itself as one of the best places in the world for craft beer.
Seven brewers from San Diego's brewery scene made the cut for the 100 best brewers in the world by website RateBeer.
AleSmith came in at sixth, followed by Port Brewing Company/The Lost Abbey at 11th, Stone Brewing at 22nd, Modern Times at 23rd, Alpine Beer Company at 45th, Ballast Point at 61st, and Mikkeller at 65th. Of its top 10 finish, AleSmith owner Peter Zien said they couldn't be more proud of the recognition.
“Vicky and I couldn’t be prouder of the dedication displayed by our team members here at AleSmith. Recognizing the hard work, passion for our art and the highest level of customer service has once again placed us as a top brewery on RateBeer.com. A sincere thank you to our valued supporters worldwide," Zien said.
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Fans of AleSmith already know some of the brewery's most celebrated beers including their Speedway Stout, AleSmith IPA, and San Diego Pale Ale .394. Modern Times is no slouch either, with colorfully and uniquely decorated cans and fan favorites like Fortunate Islands IPA, Black House stout, and their Fruitlands sour beers.
Port Brewing Company/The Lost Abbey in San Marcos offers craft beer fans a multitude of flavor options, from barrel aged creations to traditional and fruity IPAs, all sporting creative titles like Board Meeting, High Tide, Lost and Found, and Judgement Day.
Stone Brewing needs no introduction to fans, as one of the biggest brewers in town and experts at the IPA, with popular choices like Stone IPA, Stone Delicious IPA, Stone Go To IPA, and an array of seasonal, collaboration, and limited release beers. Alpine Beer Company carries on the San Diego tradition of IPAs with it's Duet, Windows Up, and Pure Hoppiness beers and pale ales like Truck Trail and Hoppy Birthday.
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Ballast Point is perhaps best known for its Sculpin IPA, but has a variety of flagship favorites like Victory At Sea stout, Even Keel IPA, and Fathom IPA — plus an extensive list of specials and Research and Development brews. Fans of Mikkeller rave about the breweries Windy Hill IPA, Beer Geek stouts, and Passion Pool sour.
Being named among any list of the globe's best beer brewers is no small feat either. RateBeer's analysis was based on five scales that take into consideration reviews over the past year, top performing beers, all-around historical performance of beers, a brewer's performance across multiple styles of beer, and factors to help compare large and small brewers across a single method.
"The breweries in our top 100 represent just a fraction of the top 1 percent — a very select group," Joseph Tucker, RateBeer's community director, says.
For reference, the website says it considered about 36,000 brewers for its ranking, now in its 17th year. For more of RateBeer's best in 2018, visit their analysis here.
