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  3. 50 Amazing Nanobreweries in 50 States

50 Amazing Nanobreweries in 50 States

By Food & Wine Updated June 29, 2016
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Freedom's Edge
Credit: Courtesy of Freedoms Edge Brewing Co
According to the Craft Brewers Association, the explosion of breweries in the United States now tops 4,000—up from just 500 in 1995. And almost half of those are producing less than 500 barrels of beer a year. That means there is an excellent chance that a hyper-local nanobrewery is making great beer someplace near you. No matter what state you’re from, here’s how to seek out a great craft beer from one of these 50 spots.
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Alabama: Chattahoochee Brewing Company

Chattahoochee Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Chattahoochee Brewing Company
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If you happen to cross over the Chattahoochee River from Columbus, Georgia, into Phenix City, Alabama, you’ll find a small brewpub that serves up drinks right on the waterfront. Their signature beers are the Big Yuchi IPA and Little Yuchi Pale Ale.

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Alaska: Baranof Island Brewing Company

Baranof Island Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Baranof Island Brewing Company
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Though technically no longer a nano based on typical definitions (a fewer than three-barrel brewing system), this Sitka brewery certainly earned its nano stripes when it opened back in 2010 with just a 15-gallon system. The owners have since upgraded to a ten-barrel system, allowing them to better churn out brews like their highly regarded Medvejie Stout.

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Arizona: Black Bridge Brewery

Black Bridge Brewery
Credit: Courtesy of Black Bridge Brewery
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On the eastern edge of the Mojave Desert, near the spot where Arizona, Nevada and California all converge, this Kingman brewery offers up a wide range of styles just a block away from Historic Route 66. If you don’t plan on doing any driving, consider trying their Wicked Poison, a 14 percent ABV wheat wine.

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Arkansas: Blue Canoe Brewing Company

Blue Canoe Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Blue Canoe Brewing Company
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This Little Rock brewery has only been open about a year, but it has already made a name for itself by offering just what you’d expect from a solid nano: a diverse set of beer served up in a cozy setting during a limited set of hours four days a week. Earlier this year, the Arkansas Times raved about the Razorback Rye.

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California: Woods Beer Co.

Old Hangtown Beer Works
Credit: © Rey Romero of Woods Beer Co.
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This bay area brewery has rightfully done a bit of growing in the last couple years, opening up locations in Oakland and Russian Hill. But their nano cred is strong as Jim Woods is still brewing on hist 20-gallon system at his Cerveceria in the Mission, the original brick and mortar home of his MateVeza—an IPA brewed with yerba mate.

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Colorado: Verboten Brewing

Verboten Brewing
Credit: Courtesy of Verboten Brewing
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About an hour north of Denver, in Loveland, Colorado, you'll find a small three-barrel brewery that is only just now moving out of its original home in an industrial park. But though Verboten is small in capacity, this brewery made some big friends, producing collaboration beers with well-known names like New Belgium and Cigar City.

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Connecticut: Relic Brewing Company

Relic Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Relic Brewing Company
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For just ten hours a week, beer lovers can drop into this highly regarded Plainsville nano in Hartford County to try various beers in constant rotation. Recently they’ve been offering up two different types of flavored Gose, one with pineapple and one with lemons and clementines.

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Delaware: Argilla Brewing Company

Argilla Brewing Company
Credit: © Saquan Stimpson
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Featuring just a 1.5-barrel brewing system, this Newark nano tucked inside a pizza parlor can boast that it is the smallest brewery in one of America’s smallest states. Though the owners have been slinging pies since 1978, the brewing component is relatively new addition. But hey, it’s all yeast, right?

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Florida: Alligator Brewery

Alligator Brewery
Credit: Courtesy of Alligator Brewery
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Unsurprisingly, Florida has a brewery named “Alligator.” It’s a little tough to find, however. The brand operates a tiny one-barrel brewing system out of Tall Paul’s Brew House in Gainesville. Apparently the place gets pretty rowdy with live bands on the weekends, so if you just want to get your hands on these hard-to-find brews, try dropping in during the week.

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Georgia: Burnt Hickory Brewery

Burnt Hickory Brewery
Credit: Courtesy of Burnt Hickory Brewery
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One constant when it comes to nanobreweries: The best ones quickly have reason to expand and drop the nano designation. Though this Kennesaw brewery was operating as a two-barrel brewery as recently as last year, the owners have had growth on their minds. However, regardless of its current size, Access Atlanta named two of its beers—the Ezekiel’s Wheel and the Big Shanty—among the 25 best in Georgia in 2015.

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Hawaii: Palolo Valley Brewing Company

Palolo Valley Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Palolo Valley Brewing Company
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Jeremyah Wubben began his brewing career in one of the nano brewery capitals of the world, Colorado. But after a move to Hawaii he found that the tropical state offered interesting opportunities to use local ingredients like coffee, taro and lilikoi (passion fruit). And since 2014 Wubben has utilized ingredients like those as well as yeast strains he cultivated himself on the islands in his 3-barrel brew house.

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Idaho: Cloud 9 Brewery

Cloud 9 Brewery
Credit: © David Cleverdon
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Though recently expanding from a miniature 1/3-barrel brewing system to a four-barrel system, this Boise brewery keeps things local by focusing on seasonal ingredients and “sustainable, local, and organic beers.” It’s the only certified organic brewery in the state.

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Illinois: Spiteful Brewing

Spiteful Brewing
Credit: Courtesy of Spiteful Brewing
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This Chicago-area brand makes a wide range of well-regarded beers, including an Alley Time Pale Ale, apparently brewed for bike messengers looking to duck out of sight for a break.

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Indiana: Planetary Brewing Company

Planetary Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Planetary Brewing
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Located in a business park just south of Indianapolis, this Greenwood nano brews up a diverse selection of beers on a two-barrel system. It has recently earned raves for its rye IPA hefeweizen, Apes#!t.

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Iowa: Worth Brewing Company

Worth Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Worth Brewing
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This Northwood brewery bills itself as “the smallest licensed brewery in the country, making beer in ten-gallon batches for local consumption.” That’s only about twice as much as the average homebrewer makes. But what brewer Peter Ausenhus has been able to do with that output remains quite impressive.

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Kansas: Hank is Wiser Brewery

Hank is Wiser Brewery
Credit: Courtesy of Hank is Wiser Brewery

For ten years, fans of small batch beer have been hitting up this pub/brewery/barbecue joint in Cheney, west of Wichita. Apparently everything is brewed up on a three-barrel system, including its cheekily named Porter Potty Porter, which patrons rate as easy to drink.

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Kentucky: Country Boy Brewing

Country Boy Brewing
Credit: © Jeremiah Oschwald
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This Lexington brewery opened in 2012, squeaking out about 500 barrels of beer on a tiny system. But how quickly things can change: By next year, the owners are hoping to move into a new 20,000-square-foot facility that will allow them to produce 30,000 barrels. For now, you can still get a taste of their nanobrewery roots at the original location. The Amos Moses Brown Ale and Cliff Jumper IPA are particularly well received.

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Louisiana: Courtyard Brewery

Courtyard Brewery
Credit: Courtesy of Courtyard Brewery
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Open for only about a year, this new craft beer bar also became New Orleans’ first nanobrewery when it started selling house brews out of a three-barrel system. The bar features 18 taps, covering a mix of its own brews and crafts from all over the country. According to co-owner Scott Wood, they aren’t planning on having flagship beers, allowing them to brew what they like—so expect the unexpected if you decide to drop in.

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Maine: Bunker Brewing Company

Bunker Brewing Company
Credit: © Andrew Foster Photography
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Maine is known for its great beer culture, and yet this tiny just-over-nano 3.5-barrel brewery in Portland has had no problem making a name for itself since opening in 2011. The flagship Machine Czech Pilz is a remarkably excellent American take on the style, delicate and authentic to its Old World roots. You can drop in and taste it yourself during select hours, Thursday to Sunday.

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Maryland: Baying Hound Aleworks

Baying Hound Aleworks
Credit: Courtesy of Baying Hound Aleworks
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Back in 2013, this Rockville brewery launched a Kickstarter campaign with the big dream of upgrading from a one-barrel to a two-barrel system, so you can tell the founders’ hearts are truly in the nano category. Their tiny taproom, located—where else—in an industrial park, serves up brews that are “unpasteurized, unfiltered and contain no additives or preservatives.”

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Massachusetts: Berkley Beer Company

Berkley Beer Company
Credit: © Glenn Barboza
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This three-barrel operation brews out on a farm in the small Massachusetts town of Berkley. The brewers primarily focus on four beers: an IPA, a golden ale, a coffee porter and a harvest ale.

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Michigan: River Rouge Brewing Company

River Rouge Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of River Rouge Brewing Company
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Film industry types grow accustomed to big productions, so maybe former producer and cinematographer Edward Stencel was looking for something a bit smaller when he switched industries and opened his River Rouge Brewing Company, a 3.5-barrel, just-bigger-than-a-nanobrewery operation, in Royal Oak earlier this year. According to The Detroit News, the Mango Explosion, “an easy-to-drink fruity beer with a bright, sweet tropical flavor,” is a must-try.

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Minnesota: Sisyphus Brewing

Sisyphus Brewing
Credit: Courtesy of Sisyphus Brewing
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Part of the fun of being a nano is having the ability to constantly experiment with new batches. Run by a former wedding photographer and a former comedian, this Minneapolis brewery has taken that idea to heart, already rattling off dozens of different beers on their two barrel system since opening last summer. Co-owner Sam Harriman also ties in his comedy background by hosting shows in the taproom, meaning that this might be America’s only nanobrewery/comedy club.

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Mississippi: Natchez Brewing Company

Natchez Brewing Company
Credit: © Wendy Young
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This brewery, named after the Mississippi town it calls home, was able to get its three-barrel system up and running in the past year thanks (as we’ve seen with other breweries) to a Kickstarter campaign. As it stands now, Natchez may be the state’s only remaining nanobrewery. Its first beer to market: a Bluff City Blonde.

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Missouri: Bat Creek Brewery

Bat Creek Brewery
Credit: Courtesy of Bat Creek Brewery
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Missouri is rife with solid nanobreweries, especially in its major hubs of Kansas City and St. Louis, but if you find yourself about an hour and a half northwest of the latter, why not drop into this tiny brewery in Bowling Green? It’s open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, serving up brews crafted just a barrel or two at a time out of the operation’s “machine shed.”

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Montana: Bandit Brewing Company

Bandit Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Bandit Brewing Company
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One of Montana’s smallest breweries is located in a town called Darby, which has a local population of 733 people. A husband and wife team opened the nano last year, brewing beer in 40-gallon batches—probably enough to keep the people of Darby well stocked.

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Nebraska: Jaipur Brewing Company

Jaipur Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Jaipur Restaurant & Brewing
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This Omaha Indian restaurant is also a nanobrewery. Not only does The Jaipur feature “fine Indian cuisine and Indian fusion,” it’s also home to a two-barrel brewhouse. It sells its own take on an India Pale Ale, but it also brews a Jalapeño Ale.

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Nevada: Imbib Custom Brews

Imbib Custom Brews
Credit: © IMBĪB Custom Brews
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This brand-new Reno nano that opened earlier this summer is working on a system that brews just 1.5 barrels. But it’s a much larger barrel that has attracted everyone’s attention: The centerpiece of Imbib’s facility is Reno’s first foeder—a nearly 15-barrel oak vat that can be used for longer fermentations. The display is fitting, given that one of the founders told This Is Reno that the brewery plans to have “a strong focus on barrel aged brews.”

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New Hampshire: Throwback Brewery

Throwback Brewery
Credit: Courtesy of Throwback Brewery
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The two women behind this North Hampton nano launched in 2010 with what they’ve dubbed a three-barrel “Franken-brewery” cobbled together from tanks they found elsewhere. Building a system from recycled equipment seems to fit with the duo’s brewing ethos, which focus on “beer that is sourced 100% from local ingredients and enjoyed in the local New England area.”

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New Jersey: Flounder Brewing Company

Flounder Brewing Company
Credit: © Flounder Brewing Co., LLC.
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Despite having a full-time job as president of a company that markets deer stands for hunters, Jeremy Lees manages to run New Jersey’s smallest brewery on the side, crafting one barrel at a time in an industrial park in Somerset County. If you’re interested in dropping in to try his signature Hill Street Honey American Ale—brewed with New Jersey honey—keep an eye on the brewery’s social media handles: It’s only open about once a month, “on a random basis.”

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New Mexico: Blue Heron Brewing Company

Blue Heron Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Blue Heron Brewing Co.
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Who wouldn’t want to own their own brewery and winery? Scott and Kristin Hennelly decided to follow through on their nano-size dream, brewing up 100-gallon batches at their brewery in Embudo, about an hour north of Santa Fe; they also make wine. The Hennellys have a separate taproom in Espanola, where you can get brews and wine in addition to pizza and other bites.

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New York: The Beer Diviner

The Beer Diviner
Credit: Courtesy of the Beer Diviner
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In the rural town of Stephentown, just across the Massachusetts border, you’ll find the taproom for this two-barrel nano that brews out of a farm about ten minutes down the road. Three days a week, brewer Jonathan Post serves up a mix of eclectic beers to an even more eclectic mix of locals and drivers who happen to notice the trailer-like building while cruising down Route 22.

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North Carolina: Trophy Brewing Company

Trophy Brewing Company
Credit: © Joe Bruno
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If you’re in the mood for small-batch beer and pizza in downtown Raleigh, this three-barrel nano is probably a good bet. The toppings available on its specialty pies (whipped Brie, ricotta, bourbon figs, caramelized onion, pecans and balsamic reduction, anyone?) are as diverse as the beer styles it offers—from gose to Vienna pale ale to coffee porter.

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North Dakota: Laughing Sun Brewing Company

Laughing Sun Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Laughing Sun Brewing
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This 65-seat pub features a 3.5-gallon, slightly over nano mash kettle and gets rave reviews from Bismarck residents, not just for its well-liked beers, but also for its support of local artists and musicians. The Sinister Pear Belgian Strong Ale in particular seems to be a popular pick.

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Ohio: Bowling Green Beer Works

Bowling Green Beer Works
Credit: Courtesy of Bowling Green Beer Works
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Bowling Green’s newest and only nanobrewery started whipping up one-barrel batches just a couple months ago, and Oregon-transplant/brewer Justin Marx is already having trouble keeping beers in stock. Marx told the Toledo Blade that his experience with brewing goes all the way back to when he was booted from boarding school for secretly fermenting apple cider in the seventh grade.

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Oklahoma: Black Mesa Brewing

Oklahoma: Black Mesa
Credit: © Chris Castro
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Originally launched vias an Oklahoma City brewing co-op, these brewers of stellar coffee stout got wiped out during a tornado in 2013. But they’re back, contract brewing right now with the O’Fallon Brewery in St. Louis. They’re succeeding despite what co-owner Brad Stumph calls Oklahoma’s “archaic” laws that won’t let them sell full strength beer out of a taproom and you can find Black Mesa in bars around Oklahoma and, thanks to their work with O’Fallon, in Missouri as well.

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Oregon: Brewers Union Local 180

Brewers Union Local 180
Credit: © Chad Sageser
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This Oakridge brewery is so dedicated to the idea of English-style ales that it even lists its brewing system in British units: It’s two “Imperial barrels” (which converts to slightly more than two U.S. barrels). If you like your brews cask-conditioned (and you should!), this unique nano is worth the stop.

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Pennsylvania: Beaver Brewing Company

Beaver Brewing Company
Credit: © Dan Woodske
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This 1.5-barrel operation in Beaver Falls, just about a dozen miles from Pennsylvania’s western border, knows how to embrace the nano lifestyle. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it was only able to squeak out a single barrel during its first year of production. The brewers have made up for it since, focusing on beers with unique flavorings like chamomile, pecan pie and, for the No. 1–selling beer, basil.

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Rhode Island: Ravenous Brewing Company

Ravenous Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Ravenous Brewing Company
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Looking to get on the good side with Rhode Island law enforcement? Maybe try swinging by this Woonsocket 3.5-barrel nearly nano. A couple of days a week (more or less), Dorian Rave takes a break from his full-time gig as a cop and opens this small commercial brewery to the public for tastings. Keep an eye out for brews like his Coffee Milk Stout and the Blackstone Pale Ale.

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South Carolina: Frothy Beard Brewing Company

Frothy Beard Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of Frothy Beard Brewing Co.
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This North Charleston nano was started in 2013 by three bearded buddies who were home brewing together long before they decided to open a brewery. This one has just a 1.5-barrel brewing system. They specialize in some uniquely flavored brews, like an Andale Pale Ale, “dry hopped” with jalapeños and cilantro, and an It’s Cucumber Thyme American Wheat, which is flavored just as its name suggests.

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South Dakota: Hay Camp Brewing

Hay Camp Brewing
Credit: Courtesy of Hay Camp Brewing
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Over the summer, the owners of this Rapid City brewery decided to double the size of their brewhouse—but only up to three barrels. The taproom is open Thursday through Saturday nights, offering six diverse brews and the occasional bingo game.

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Tennessee: BriarScratch Brewing

BriarScratch Brewing
Credit: Courtesy of BriarScratch Brewing
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In Cottontown, a rural community about 30 miles northeast of Nashville with a population of just 367, you’ll find Brad Singleton brewing sub-three-barrel batches of beer in an old cabin on a 22-acre property his dad purchased back in 1984. This supersmall “brewery” isn’t open to the public, but as of this month you can find Singleton’s brews at as many as seven local restaurants, or you can get growler fills at six different beer shops.

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Texas: Gordon Street Tavern and Brewery

Gordon Street Tavern and Brewery
Credit: Courtesy of Gordon Street Tavern Brewpub
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According to the owners of the Gordon Street Tavern, their location has over 100 years of history. Add a new twist to that legacy because, as of 2015, this well-known Alvin beer bar has installed its own nanobrewery. They’re trying out a mix of standards, like an Amarillo IPA, and more experimental brews, like the Easy Peasy Pumpkin Peach.

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Utah: Avenues Proper Restaurant & Publick House

Avenues Proper Restaurant & Publick House
Credit: © Scot Zimmerman (Heber, UT)
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If you want to maintain your hipster “I-liked-them-before-they-were-big” street cred, head on over to this Salt Lake City restaurant and brewery now. Not only will you get a taste of the restaurant’s oft-praised food, but you can also try the beers while the brewery still has its nano status. According to the Utah Beer Blog, the owners are planning on expanding the brewing operation to a full production brewery soon.

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Vermont: Four Quarters Brewing

Four Quarters Brewing
Credit: Courtesy of Four Quarters Brewing
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At four barrels, this Winooski, Vermont, brewery is just slightly above nano status. But our own Ethan Fixell fell in love with the place. Fixell suggests trying “Janus—a farmhouse ale brewed with Vermont-grown white wine grapes and chamomile—and Fleur de Lis—a tart 3.5 percent ABV saison fermented in red wine barrels.”

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Virginia: Adroit Theory

Adroit Theory
Credit: © David Meaux
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If you like your beers heady (intellectually speaking, not with extra foam), this Purcellville nano will fulfill your beer geek dream. It only opened back in 2014, but it already lists 30 different bottle selections on the website—including everything from a mezcal barrel–aged mango IPA (Angel’s Trumpet) to a bourbon barrel–aged smoked porter brewed with serrano peppers (The Devil Made Me).

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Washington: Foggy Noggin Brewing

Foggy Noggin Brewing
Credit: Courtesy of Foggy Noggin Brewing
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Billed as “one of the world’s smallest production breweries,” Jim Jamison brews English-style ales with a tiny half-barrel system out of his detached garage in a subdivision in the Seattle suburb of Bothell. With locals flocking to his property to try these awesome brews, Jamison even had to go so far as to build a bathroom facility next to the garage to keep patrons from having to use the one in his house.

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West Virginia: Blackwater Brewing Company

Blackwater Brewing Company
Credit: © Candace Nelson / Taste WV Magazine
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In 2012, husband and wife team Lincoln and Amanda Wilkins bought this Davis brewpub and began focusing on brewing European-style session ales and lagers. Now you can drop in and try out brews in sometimes neglected styles, like alt bier, helles bock and dunkelweizen.

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Wisconsin: One Barrel Brewing Company

One Barrel Brewing Company
Credit: Courtesy of One Barrel Brewing
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With this brewery, the name says it all (or at least most of it). Madison’s “first and only” nano brews up one barrel at a time and serves the beers alongside other libations and food in an old neighborhood grocery store. The nature of the beast is that you never quite know what will be on tap at any given time, but the Seek & Destroy IPA comes recommended.

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Wyoming: Freedom's Edge

Freedom's Edge
Credit: Courtesy of Freedoms Edge Brewing Co
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At just three and a half years old, this nano is the oldest brewery in the owners’ hometown of Cheyenne, cranking out about 600 barrels a year on a three-barrel system. The two guys behind this small taproom try to keep a wide variety of beers on their seven draft lines so that they have something for everyone who walks through the door.

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    1 of 50 Alabama: Chattahoochee Brewing Company
    2 of 50 Alaska: Baranof Island Brewing Company
    3 of 50 Arizona: Black Bridge Brewery
    4 of 50 Arkansas: Blue Canoe Brewing Company
    5 of 50 California: Woods Beer Co.
    6 of 50 Colorado: Verboten Brewing
    7 of 50 Connecticut: Relic Brewing Company
    8 of 50 Delaware: Argilla Brewing Company
    9 of 50 Florida: Alligator Brewery
    10 of 50 Georgia: Burnt Hickory Brewery
    11 of 50 Hawaii: Palolo Valley Brewing Company
    12 of 50 Idaho: Cloud 9 Brewery
    13 of 50 Illinois: Spiteful Brewing
    14 of 50 Indiana: Planetary Brewing Company
    15 of 50 Iowa: Worth Brewing Company
    16 of 50 Kansas: Hank is Wiser Brewery
    17 of 50 Kentucky: Country Boy Brewing
    18 of 50 Louisiana: Courtyard Brewery
    19 of 50 Maine: Bunker Brewing Company
    20 of 50 Maryland: Baying Hound Aleworks
    21 of 50 Massachusetts: Berkley Beer Company
    22 of 50 Michigan: River Rouge Brewing Company
    23 of 50 Minnesota: Sisyphus Brewing
    24 of 50 Mississippi: Natchez Brewing Company
    25 of 50 Missouri: Bat Creek Brewery
    26 of 50 Montana: Bandit Brewing Company
    27 of 50 Nebraska: Jaipur Brewing Company
    28 of 50 Nevada: Imbib Custom Brews
    29 of 50 New Hampshire: Throwback Brewery
    30 of 50 New Jersey: Flounder Brewing Company
    31 of 50 New Mexico: Blue Heron Brewing Company
    32 of 50 New York: The Beer Diviner
    33 of 50 North Carolina: Trophy Brewing Company
    34 of 50 North Dakota: Laughing Sun Brewing Company
    35 of 50 Ohio: Bowling Green Beer Works
    36 of 50 Oklahoma: Black Mesa Brewing
    37 of 50 Oregon: Brewers Union Local 180
    38 of 50 Pennsylvania: Beaver Brewing Company
    39 of 50 Rhode Island: Ravenous Brewing Company
    40 of 50 South Carolina: Frothy Beard Brewing Company
    41 of 50 South Dakota: Hay Camp Brewing
    42 of 50 Tennessee: BriarScratch Brewing
    43 of 50 Texas: Gordon Street Tavern and Brewery
    44 of 50 Utah: Avenues Proper Restaurant & Publick House
    45 of 50 Vermont: Four Quarters Brewing
    46 of 50 Virginia: Adroit Theory
    47 of 50 Washington: Foggy Noggin Brewing
    48 of 50 West Virginia: Blackwater Brewing Company
    49 of 50 Wisconsin: One Barrel Brewing Company
    50 of 50 Wyoming: Freedom's Edge

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    50 Amazing Nanobreweries in 50 States
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