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

CHESHIRE, CT — Counter Weight Brewing in Cheshire 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 Counter Weight Brewing, Em Sauter, founder and cartoonist, Pints and Panels, wrote: "Outside of my home state, Counter Weight Brewing is virtually unknown, but here in Connecticut, Counter Weight’s stellar beers are everywhere. Their flagship IPA is Headway, a staple in the Nutmeg State and a universally beloved hazy — we are in New England, after all. Headway is a full-bodied, super-juicy, 6.5-percent-ABV New England IPA that, to me, is perfection."

Sauter also heaped high praise on Counter Weight's Workhorse pilsner and the price of their brews — "a 16-ounce can 4-pack of Headway will only set you back around $11, or sometimes even less."

"These picks echo some of the big changes that are currently ripping through the beer world," VinePair’s Evan Rail wrote, explaining the beer world moves in cycles and trends, much like booms in 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."

Currently, there are 9,736 small and independent breweries 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," he said, adding:

"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."