Paste Magazine Announces 25 Best American Breweries of the Last Decade

It really hadn’t hit me that the end of a decade, the first decade of the twenty-first century — one in which I graduated from high school (early in the decade) and college (late in the decade); one in which I turned twenty-one and one in which my love of Better Beer blossomed — is only a few weeks away. It’s really hard to believe.

Anyway, that’s neither here nor there. What’s more important is what made me realize that thought in the first place: the Paste Magazine 25 Best American Breweries of the Decade (2000-2009) list, which was released just a few days ago. I’ll let you read the entire list for yourself — which includes the location, incorporation date, editorial comments and staff favorite brew of each brewery — but I do have to say that I agree with just about the entire list. One which includes such important nods as Brooklyn (No. 23), Ommegang (No. 22), Stone Brewing (No. 20), Oskar Blues (No. 16), Rogue (No. 14), Bell’s (No. 11), Russian River (No. 7), and Victory (No. 4).

I’m sure that if I thought about it long enough, I would think of some breweries who deserve to be on the list and aren’t. And I might re-arrange the list a bit (of course it’s nothing more than a subjective list by the editorial staff at a mid-level Indie Mag, but still…), but the fact is that all of the breweries on the Paste list definitely deserve the nods they got.

Of course I must give great props to local favorite Allagash Brewing Co., who received the designation of the 2nd best American craft brewery of the decade (and the only Maine brewery on the list)! And naturally, to Dogfish Head Brewing Co. for their not surprising what-so-ever number one bid. Congratulations to all the breweries on the list, and keep up the great work as we enter the 2010’s. Cheers.