Chronological List of early Microbreweries
Editor’s note: this is a sampling of breweries, not a complete list. The focus is primarily on the first breweries in each state.
Last week’s blog article took a look back at the very beginning of the craft beer industry -though it wasn’t called “craft” at the time. Michael Jackson referred to small local breweries as “boutique” breweries, but it was the term microbreweries that stuck until the mid-late nineties.
This week’s post is not so much an article as it is a chronological list of craft breweries, and kind of a follow-up with other early-to-adapt brewers. Many of these are recognized as the first brewing operations in each of their respective states and the District of Columbia. You’ll also notice that a good many of them are no longer in operation.
Note that this list picks up where the last blog post left off, in 1979. But it bears noting that in 2014, the Brewers Association amended its definition of “Craft Brewer” by dropping the requirement that craft beer be made from at least 50% barley. Furthermore, the original definition of “traditional” breweries left out brewers that had been around dating back to 1829. In amending the craft brewer definition, this welcomed long-time American regional brewers D.G. Yuengling, August Schell, Point, and F.X. Matt to the craft brewing community.
1979
Colorado- Boulder Beer Company
1981
New York- William S. Newman Brewing Company (RIP)
1982
Michigan- The Real Ale Company (RIP)
Washington- Yakima Brewing & Malting (RIP), Redhook Brewing Company
1984
Arkansas- Riley-Lyon Brewing Company (RIP)
Idaho- Snake River Brewing Company (RIP)
Montana- Kessler Brewing Company (RIP)
Oregon- Columbia River Brewing/Bridgeport Brewing, McMenamin’s Hillside, Widmer Brewing
Virginia- Chesapeake Bay Brewing Company (RIP)
Tennessee- Bohannon Brewing Company (RIP)
1985
Iowa- Millstream Brewing Company
Texas- Reinheitsgebot Brewing Company (RIP)
1986
Hawaii- Koolau Brewing Company (RIP)
Louisiana- Abita Brewing Company
Maine- D.L. Geary Brewing Company (RIP)
North Carolina- The Weeping Radish
Wisconsin- Sprecher Brewing Company
Utah- Wasatch Brewing Company
Massachusetts- Mass Bay/Harpoon Brewing Company, Commonwealth Brewing Company
New Jersey- Vernon Valley (RIP)
1987
Alaska- Chinook Brewing Company (RIP)
Connecticut- New Haven/New England Brewing Company
Illinois- Sieben’s River North Brewing Company, Tap & Growler (both RIP)
New Mexico- Embudo Station Brewery (RIP)
Arizona- Electric Dave Brewing, Bandersnatch Brewing Companies (both RIP)
1988
Florida- McGuire’s Irish Pub
Ohio- Great Lakes Brewing Company
Vermont- Vermont Brewery & Pub
Maryland- British Brewing Company (RIP)
1989
Georgia- Friends Brewing Company (RIP)
Kansas- Free State Brewing Company
Missouri- Boulevard Brewing Company
1990
Indiana- Broad Ripple Brewing Company
Nebraska- Empyrean Brewing Company
1991
Washington D.C.- Capitol City Brewing Company
New Hampshire- Portsmouth Brewing Company
South Dakota- Firehouse Brewing Company
1992
Alabama- Birmingham Brewing Company (RIP)
Nevada- Holy Cow! Casino, Café & Brewery
Oklahoma- Bricktown Brewing Company
1993
Kentucky- Bluegrass Brewing Company
Rhode Island- Union Station Brewing Company
1994
South Carolina- Palmetto Brewing Company
Wyoming- Snake River Brewing Company
West Virginia- Cardinal Brewing Company (RIP)
1995
Delaware- Rockford Brewing Company, Dogfish Head Brewing Company
2003
Mississippi- Lazy Magnolia
2010
North Dakota- Fargo Brewing Company
Main Source: CraftBeer.com