An immigrant from Austria-Hungary, he soon started a distilling company. Ever since, its been serving up handcrafted and locally inspired beers, and has grown to become a nationally recognized brand. Where: 923 W 7th St, Little Rock, AR 72201 One has survived, though: , which opened in 1984 and is still going strong. Photo: Firehouse Brewing Company/Facebook, Where: 610 Main St, Rapid City, SD 57701 The first beer Free State made was Ad Astra Ale, which gets its name from the state motto Ad Astra per Aspera, which means To the Stars Through Difficulties. Part of the reason why is history, and one of the breweries that claims to be the oldest leans on a long past. Today, its owned by Craft Brew Alliance, which itself is owned by Budweisers parent company AB-InBev. In 2002, Dogfish Head started distilling gin, rum, and vodka to further diversify its options. A few other craft breweries started around the same time, but Goose Island is the oldest left standing. Today, it makes a variety of classic beer styles and innovative ones, like the Biere de Cafe, a brown ale made with chocolate and locally roasted coffee. Starting Monday, the brewery is. Kansas City has a sudsy history full of pre-Prohibition distilleries and breweries that catered to the thirsty patron near and far. Fast forward a few more years to 2014. Where: 38 Evergreen Dr, Portland, ME 04103 While the St. Louis beer giant has taken over, a brewery across the state in Kansas City holds the title for oldest craft brewery: . Perhaps its most well-known beer is the Chicken Killer Barley Wine, created in homage to the chickens massacred by one of the founding brewers pet dachshund, Petey. This iconic Delaware staple started in 1995 as Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats the states first brewpub. . , which Albert and Joni Upsher opened in 1994. When it started: 1986 When it started: 1988 Boulevard Brewing Co. was among the largest craft breweries in the country before selling to the Belgian brewing company Duvel Moortgat in 2014, bringing the Belgian influence full circle. When it started: 1849 In Kansas, all alcohol production was made illegal decades before in 1881. It had a humble start making 1,500 barrels of beer, but is now one of the largest craft breweries in the country and makes more than 125,000 barrels a year. barleybus.com. The company became the largest mail-order whiskey house in the United States. Boulevard Brewing Companyhas been up and running since November of 1989, founded by John McDonald. The brewery is housed in what was once The Brass Lamp in a building with rafters made of repurposed Boise State University stadium materials rafters that are now covered with a massive collection of coasters. The brewery earned early awards for its Black Bavarian and Special Amber. The oldest brewery still running in the state is. Where: 3500 Emerson Ave, Parkersburg, WV 26104 Owners Dennis and Tauna Arnold couldnt ignore their love for craft beer, however, and soon transformed the restaurant into Gentle Bens Brewing Co. So Good! is an original distillery slogan from the early 1900s. Like many of the oldest breweries in America, Montanas longest running brewery has a strong German influence. Owners Dennis and Tauna Arnold couldnt ignore their love for craft beer, however, and soon transformed the restaurant into Gentle Bens Brewing Co. In the early 1900's, the brewery was the largest manufacturing plant in Platte County and was producing . The vandals and the taggers really came in and did a number on the building, she explains. Still, the main focus of the brewery is still on its three classic styles, Genesee Beer, Genesee Light, and Cream Ale. Most recently, Empyrean broke ground for a new brewery and taproom in the South Haymarket area. What to order: Ichthyosaur ICKY IPA. It can be hard for a brewery to make a name for itself in a state so synonymous with bourbon. Nicole Bradley is Kansas City magazine's former Associate Editor and forever friend. Where: 7030 Roscoe-Turner Rd, Kiln, MS 39556 Kansas: Free State Brewing Company Kansas City has Boulevard . That meant that when Free State Brewing opened up in 1989, it was reviving a brewing tradition Kansas hadnt seen in more than 100 years. Milwaukee has been a beer city for centuries thanks to brands like Miller, Pabst, and Schlitz. After reopening, it closed again in 2003 before opening once again in 2009. Where: 701 W Glendale Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53209 Sparks, Nevada, is where youll find the original location of Great Basin Brewing Company. Former Guinness executive Greg Kelly founded. When it started: 1909 North End Brewing opened in 1997 using equipment from Cardinal Brewing, which had just closed. That means Highlands Hollow in Boise takes the designation when it comes to oldest in the state. Illicitly made liquor flowed freely in area speakeasies and jazz joints until the end of Prohibition in 1933. A trip to the brewery can be supplemented by beer samples and a look at the caves where the beer was stored to stay cool in an era with little ice or refrigeration. Great Lakes Brewing has a few notable milestones that helped it get to where it is today. The brewery has around 20 beers, from an unfiltered organic amber to traditional pilsners and doppelbocks. pedalhopper.com. Every 19th century brewery had one.. 1879: The Year In Beer. The brewery was the first in New England and one of the first in the US, and it has federal craft brewing license number 13 to prove it. Great Lakes Brewing also has made multiple sustainability efforts, including joining a collective of one of the largest urban farms in the country and founding the Pint Size Farm agricultural cooperative. What to order: Sofie saison, or any of the Bourbon County Brand stouts. Prohibition is the cut off for when brewing temporarily ended in many states. What to order: Firehouse Red. Now the brewery is owned by the Japanese beer company Sapporo Holdings. Randy Sprecher opened his brewery with his own custom-built brewing equipment right after a four-year stint at Pabst from 1980 to 1984. You can see charred areas where it caught fire in 2012. What to order: Black Radish German Lager. They expanded their beer offerings to immediate success and high demand, and in 2007 expanded to a large space just south of the city. When it started: 1991 Where: 842 E 65th St, Indianapolis, IN 46220 633 E. 63rd St., Suite 120, Kansas City, Mo. At the time, it was illegal for breweries in the state to sell beer directly to customers, and Bennewitz successfully campaigned to change the law. With capacity reaching an. What to order: Roedys Red. What to order: Whatever is fresh on tap. Daily tours with various times. Another break came in 1967, and when the brewery started up once again in 2011 (after many changes in ownership, obviously), it was centered in Cincinnati. Theres something about a ski town that makes local beer taste all the better, and Snake River Brewings longevity proves thats a common perception. The brand has long been a champion of sustainability. Brewing in . The brewery specializes in beers produced according to Germanys Reinheitsgebot Purity Law of 1516, which requires that beer only be brewed using hops, malt, yeast, and water. Ours just has more than the rest. in Fredrick, Maryland. Washingtons craft brewing history is about as long as it is storied. What to order: Good People American Brown Ale. When it started: 1994 In 2010, it moved to its current location on 14th street near Railroad Park. Dating all the way back to 1986, the Alaskan Brewing Company in Juneau was started by two 28-year-olds: Marcy and Geoff Larson. in 1993. Dunedin started in 1995, and though there were a few large breweries in Florida, Dunedin was the first craft brewery in the state. You can find Yuengling in many states in the South and along the Eastern seaboard. Brewhouses were built that way, and it became the way of doing it, where they would hoist the grain up to the top level and then use gravity in the brewing process, and by the time it got down to the bottom level, it was beer," says Maxwell. Martin City Brewing Company - 500 East 135th Street, Kansas City, MO 64145. opened up in 1989, it was reviving a brewing tradition Kansas hadnt seen in more than 100 years. The brewery crafts over 40 different styles of beer, from sessionable ales and lagers to seasonal and experimental offerings like a stout made with bull testicals. German lagers are known around the world thanks to the Reinheitsgebot, which is the beer purity law that dictates only water, hops, yeast, and barley can be used in beer. What to order: Legend Brown Ale. Where: 1634 18th St, Denver, CO 80202 Tennessee got what today is the oldest modern brewery in 1994 when. in Kalamazoo, which you likely know thanks to the flagship Bells Two Hearted Ale. It was originally launched in 1991 as a restaurant called Gentle Bens in Tucson. A Brief History of Brewing and Distilling in Kansas City, Missouri Valley Special Collections at the Kansas City Public Library, https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2018/08/10/pabst-pendergast-buildings-in-crossroads-near-new.html, https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xviii, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Muehlebach_Brewing_Company, https://www.kcur.org/post/story-behind-kansas-citys-oldest-standing-brewhouse, http://www.kchistory.org/week-kansas-city-history/beer-baron-born, http://www.kchistory.org/week-kansas-city-history/tripping-light-fantastic-and-then-some. The original location in Oklahoma City still stands, and the low alcohol session beers Bricktown has specialized in are now more popular among beer lovers on a national level. After several lives as a warehouse for various companies, the facility was renovated in 2018 and became the Crossroads Hotel, a chic boutique property in KCs thriving hotel scene. Boston is also the home of one of the founding breweries of the modern craft beer movement: Boston Beer Co. Jim Koch started the company with a family recipe and a beer he called Samuel Adams Boston Lager. At the time, it was illegal for breweries in the state to sell beer directly to customers, and Bennewitz successfully campaigned to change the law. Its designed like an English pub with a fireplace, stained glass windows, and dark wood, and most of the beers are European styles, like English-style ales and IPAs, German-style lagers, and Irish-style red ales. When it started: 1984 Kirkwood Station Brewery - in Kirkwood, MO opened in 2009 and closed on February 28, 2019 [38] Beer was produced using a large red malt mill found in an abandoned meadow in England, and its still in use today. , which opened in 1988. Prohibition, world wars, and changing tastes in beer couldnt close the brewery. But theres a new old guard thats led by. The beers are a favorite throughout the South, especially the Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale, which is the rare beer made with whole roasted pecans. Beer lovers can toast a new lager this weekend, or stock up in time for March Madness. Firehouse Brewing gets its name from a firehouse, as you might suspect. When it started: 1988 Lost Evenings Brewing Company - 8625 Hauser Court, Lenexa, KS 66215. While. On a visit to the brewery, youll see many parts of the original building, which is listed on the National Historic Register, such as the original fire pole, ladders, and patches. instagram 130 87 r/kansascity Join 23 days ago Exclusive: Meta quietly amasses almost 900 acres around KC data center - Kansas City Business Journal bizjournals 132 55 r/kansascity Join 25 days ago KANSAS CITY CALZONE TOUR #4 166 128 r/kansascity Join As one of the last states to have a craft brewery, winning the award of oldest and longest running isnt as hard as it is in, say, Minnesota. German lagers are known around the world thanks to the Reinheitsgebot, which is the beer purity law that dictates only water, hops, yeast, and barley can be used in beer. Kyle J Smith is an intern for KCURs Central Standard. $10. What to order: Dos Lunas lager. You can taste why those awards were won for yourself at the Blackstone TapHouse, which has 16 beers on tap. K&S plans to offer all the Yuengling products that will be introduced in Kansas, including the company's lager, pilsner and Flight (its light beer). in the US as of 2020, but only 50 can claim the title of oldest continuous running brewery in its home state. It wasnt until 1989 that Kansas City began its brewing and distilling revival. What to order: Tucson Blonde Ale. What really made the difference was the bridge that was built across the Missouri River in 1869. boulevard.com. Fast-forward almost 100 years, and Andy Maybee, a KC restauranteer, met Andy Rieger, the great-great-great grandson of Jacob Rieger. . That doesnt mean its easy to run a brewery for decades on end, though. The three brewpub locations in the city offer classic pub food and a selection of beers (including Kentuckys original bourbon barrel aged beer made using Four Roses barrels) and a mead called Luna de Miel thats always on tap. It was purchased by Kosmos Spoetzl in 1915, and he gave the brewery the name it has today, but the name of the beer is still known by the town its from: Shiner. Father-son duo Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa opened Kona Brewing in 1994. opened in 1985. It quickly racked up the accolades, and the company today remains a fixture in the beer community as one of the largest craft brewing companies that also owns brands like Delawares Dogfish Head and non-beer brands like Angry Orchard, Twisted Tea, and Truly Hard Seltzer. Tucked away in the small Missouri town of Weston is the oldest bar in the state. It was the natural culmination of a homebrewing hobby shared by Jason Malone and Mike Sellers, who started the business in Pickwick Plaza on Magnolia Avenue. Though the first brewery opened on the islands in 1854, brewing has come and gone in fits and starts until relatively recently. Washingtons craft brewing history is about as long as it is storied. If youre looking for the oldest brewery in Oklahoma that operates as people commonly expect today, that brewery is Choc, which helped change the law to allow full-strength craft brewing in 1995. When it started: 1995 Richardson acquired not only the Cincinnati Beverage Co., but also three historic Over-the-Rhine brewery buildings: Clyffside Brewery, Felsenhaus and the Jackson Brewery. Where: 2455 N Highlands Holw, Boise, ID 83702 visitkc.com/taptour. Inspired by the old Rieger hotel building, local mixologist Ryan Maybee and Dallas-based Andy Riegerthen the last living Rieger descendantteam up to revive J. Rieger & Co. for the modern age. Wyoming may be the least populous state in the country, but it has some, seriously good breweries and distilleries, . in Seattles Ballard neighborhood. Vermont is another state that is synonymous with craft beer today, but the industry got its start with a humble beer put thats still in operation. Where: Pike Motorworks Building, 714 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122 Narragansett is one of the most famous names in beer in Rhode Island. Youre likely familiar with the brand if youve ever glanced at beer lists and tap handles across the country. In 1993 it became the first brewery in the world with its own in-house distillery. Where: 835 48th Ave, Amana, IA 52203 Yuengling is the only family owned brewery in America that can best Minnesotas oldest brewery when it comes to continuous longevity. Where: 61 Bridge Street Milford, NJ 08848 The Anchor Steam beer a deep amber colored beer with a thick, creamy head has been the brewerys bread-and-butter for over 50 years, and remains a top seller. Only, for the first 10 years of Grand Teton Brewings life, it was just across the border in Wyoming. Where: 610 N University Dr, Fargo, ND 58102 We dug through available records, followed craft beer history timelines, and evaluated many (many) competing claims between breweries claiming to be the true first in the state, to find the oldest brewery in every state. Boulevard Brewing Company is the oldest independent craft brewery in the United States, having been a part of the Kansas City community for more than 25 years. It was opened by a German immigrant, David G. Yuengling, who started it up in 1829 as Eagle Brewery in Pottsville, and it remained family owned (and has since taken on the family name). is the Palmetto States oldest brewery. When it started: 1993 However, you can still see details from the old Ferd. Theres also the modern line up of a variety of IPAs, amber ales, seltzers, and limited edition porters. Being the first modern craft brewery in the state wasnt the only accomplishment, it was also the first to distribute statewide in 2002. , Iowas oldest brewery. Now located in an old post office building from 1909. is a seven-barrel brewery producing a range of American, German, and other beers. We know what makes it great, we know how it struggles, and we know its secrets. It was the natural culmination of a homebrewing hobby shared by Jason Malone and Mike Sellers, who started the business in Pickwick Plaza on Magnolia Avenue. More than just beer, it also serves up New York-style pizza, sandwiches, salads, and live entertainment. The first beer was a hit and came to be known as Banana Beer, and Redhook quickly grew out of its first location. It still makes the classics that it started with (a lager, pilsner, porter, and brown ale), as well as a few seasonal and limited offerings, like a Belgian-style tripel. Some of the original beers are still fan favorites, like the Burly Irish Ale, which also won a Gold Medal at the Great International Beer Competition, and one of the original East Coast style IPAs, Bombay Grab IPA. Portsmouth Brewery is committed to sustainability; much of its menu is vegetarian friendly, beer byproducts are reused as animal feed, and all food is composted. Duvel Moortgat Brewery is a well-known and respected brewery that has produced good beer for a long time. In 2013 brewmaster Garett Lockhart and head brewer Steve Anderson took over brewing operations and added award-winning brews like Vanilla Gorilla and Beard Envy Barleywine. When it started: 1988 Fast-forward 100 years, and the brewery is still evolving. He brewed the first batch of Santa Fe Pale Ale which is still served at the brewery today. German food goes along with the beers if you make it out there, and there are select live music nights that can be found on the brewerys website. In 2010, the brewery changed its name to Red Brick Brewing Company after its original and popular Red Brick Ale.