This CA Brewery Is Among 30 Best In U.S., Beer Pros Say

CALIFORNIA — Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa is one of the 30 best breweries in the country, according to a new survey of beer writers and others who know a good beer when they drink it and the value having a craft brewery brings to a community.

VinePair, an online media company covering wine, spirits and beer culture, asked 30 beer pros — writers, educators, historians, community leaders, authors and a cartoonist — to name the best breweries in the country.

The panel’s choices, released Tuesday, range from long-time favorites to hot new arrivals, and from high-volume producers and neighborhood taprooms, VinePair said.

Of Russian River Brewing Co., Steve Shapiro and Gail Ann Williams, beer writers for BeerbyBart.com, wrote:

"In the SF Bay Area, we enjoy a lot of fine breweries, so a call to name the best means remembering a year of brilliant beers and initiatives from Ghost Town, Cellarmaker, Faction, BareBottle, and more. But we have to face facts. Russian River stands out year after year. In this time of ever-changing offerings for us novelty-seeking contemporary beer lovers, RRBC balances a lineup of beautifully consistent classics with an often exciting experimental program. For 20 years, walking into the original brewpub in Santa Rosa has revealed two columns on a beer chalkboard: the first for ‘clean’ beers, including Blind Pig IPA and Pliny The Elder DIPA; and the second for Belgian-inspired brews, including barrel-aged sours like Consecration and Beatification. Neither side disappoints. Consistency tempered by deliberate gradual recipe evolution by co-owner and brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo keeps both the classics and the new brews worth a visit. We have never tasted a beer with a flaw there and we’ve been delighted again and again. It all adds up to a great brewery.”

The list echoes some big changes "currently ripping through the beer world," VinePair's Evan Rail wrote, explaining the beer world moves in cycles and trends, much like booms seen in hard seltzer, glitter beer and brut IPA.

"Some of what used to be celebrated no longer holds the same cachet, while once famous names might not have the same status they did a few years ago," Rail wrote.

There are 9,736 small and independent breweries currently in operation nationwide, according to the Brewers Association’s 2024 Year In Beer report. About 400 closed this year as the craft beer industry hits "a plateau at best," Rail wrote, adding, "The days of comparing craft brewers to rock stars and constant double-digit craft brewery growth are clearly behind us."

The craft beer industry is tightening, Bart Watson, vice president of strategy and membership for the Brewers Association, said in the group’s Dec. 10 report.

"Craft has been going through a painful period of rationalization as demand growth has slowed and retailers and distributors look to simplify their offerings or add options for flavor and variety outside of the craft category," Watson wrote. "That said, breweries have reacted to these changes by focusing on distribution, continuing to innovate in their taprooms and brewpubs, creating groups and partnerships, and offering a wider range of beverages in their portfolios."

It’s not "all gloom and doom," Rail wrote, adding the list shows "there are inspired — and inspiring — beer makers all around the country, in all sizes, serving their communities with one great beer after another."