The Year in Beer 2020: Top 10 new-to-us Breweries

OK kids... here it is! While the year proved problematic for beer traveling, we still managed to get around a bit. (Brewslut even hand-made a few masks for Pleeps!) Here's our picks for our ten favorite new-to-us breweries we visited in 2020. While there's no specific equation used in determining our final list, we did take all of the following into consideration: beer quality, atmosphere, service, and general awesomeness as well as our initial and lasting impressions. With that said, we present to you the Pour Travelers’ Top 10 New Breweries Visited in 2020 (in alphabetical order).

1. Axemann Brewery - Bellefonte, PA

First visited in August 2020 - Read the original blog

Axemann Brewery began under the name of Blue Stripe Brewing as a homebrew operation situated in a milk house, a small building on a dairy farm where milk is collected, cooled, and stored. After perfecting a few different styles and gaining a reputation at local and regional beer festivals, Blue Stripe entered the big leagues, adopting the name Axemann and setting up shop at the Titan Energy Park just on the outskirts of Bellefonte. Having just opened its doors in July 2020, the site boasts a 20,000-sq. ft. production brewery and taproom including a walk-up "snack bar" and rotating local food trucks. I was pleased to learn that the folks at Axemann modeled their facility after Tröegs. They produce easy-drinking, approachable beers for everyone, and they brew them well.

Notable beers: Titan Stout; Hazy Daisy IPA

2. Burley Oak Brewing Company - Berlin, MD

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

Burley Oak had been on my list of breweries long prior to our first visit in February 2020. Well, my yearning to visit Burley Oak finally got the best of me, and it turned out to be the impetus of this trip to Delaware to visit our friend Taylor. It was definitely worth the wait! We spent quite a lot of time here, and I got to work through a bunch of beers, especially its tasty IPAs and fruited sours. We're already in the process of planning a return trip in early 2021. If you like fruited sours, their J.R.E.A.M. series is off the hook. 

Notable beers: Lost IPA; anything from the J.R.E.A.M. series

3. Dewey Beer Company - Dewey Beach, DE 

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

We first visited Dewey Beer Co. during the same trip as Burley Oak. DBC opened for business in May 2015, setting up shop in an old eatery called Bubba's Grill just off Coastal Highway. In addition to a full restaurant offering a diverse, scratch-made menu, the brewery side of the operation churns out some amazing forward-thinking beers on a custom 7-barrel system. Perhaps Dewey's most popular beers stem from its "Secret Machine" series of fruited sours. Everything we experienced here was top-notch, from the beers and food to the service and ambiance. There was no question that this brewery wouldn't make the list... even back in February! 

 Notable beers: anything from the Secret Machine series

4. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Milton, DE 

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

I know... I know. You're probably thinking, "WTF? These two go to breweries all the time and they've never even been to DFH?!" Well, truth be told, we'd visited the "Brewing & Eats" location in Rehoboth Beach many times over the years, but never happened to cross paths with the production facility until this past year. It didn't hurt that our friend Taylor, who we were staying with, is a brewer there. We got the mack daddy, uber private, VIP tour experience, which definitely helped propel DFH into our Top 10 list for sure. Then there's the beer. Say what you will about DFH, but Sam & Co. are true trailblazers. You have to give them props for what they do. Speaking of which, Slightly Mighty has become a fridge beer for us in 2020, and it definitely takes the cake as far as low-cal beers on the market today. Plus we got to hang out in the treehouse! This place is like the Disneyland of craft breweries. 

 Notable beers: Covered in Nuggs; The Bellini Bambini; Knuckles, Bats And Homemade Tats

5. Homaide Brewing Company - Williamsport, MD

First visited in November 2020 - Sorry, no blog exists for Drinksgiving 2020... yet!

Drinksgiving 2020 didn't turn out as planned, unfortunately. We made arrangements to visit Knoxville, TN, with D&C, which would check another state off our brewery box. Sadly, with travel restrictions due to COVID we settled on a cabin jaunt just outside of Maryland in southern PA. Homaide is a brand spankin' new brewery situated in the original Cushwa Brewing location. Basically, they moved in, took over, and started chruning out awesome beers right from the get-go! We got to chat with the head brewer and one of the owners when we visited, and they are just awesome, chill peeps... who happen to know what they're doing with a brew kettle and mash tun. We look forward to returning so we can really dig in to the beer selection.

Notable beers: Fight Milk

6. Idiom Brewing Company - Frederick, MD

First visited in January 2020 - Read the original blog

Frederick has really blown up and matured into a fantastic beer destination over the last five years. When we first visited Idiom, they'd only just opened over Black Friday weekend 2019. Needless to say, they came out of the gate swinging! I loved everything about this place. It just felt so comfortable and inviting. Our server was friendly. The atmosphere was perfect. The beer? Freaking delicious! We get down to the Frederick area fairly often, so I'm sure Idiom will be a must-stop for us when we're passing through. We were positive these guys would end up on our Top 10 list after our first beer. 

Notable beers: Just Desserts

7. Ithaca Beer Company - Ithaca, NY

First visited in July 2020 - Read the original blog

Like DFH, here's another one that probably has you scratching your head. Well, back in my formative years, Flower Power was one of my first IPA loves. Needless to say, it was amazing to finally get to the mothership and drink this stellar IPA right from the source. During our visit, we got to meet and hang out with Mari, who founded the brewery in 1998 with her husband Dan. She was extremely kind and took very good care of us. Aside from the private tour of the facility, my favorite thing about our visit to Ithaca was spending some time enjoying its sprawling beer garden. Thankfully, it was a picture-perfect summer day, so we really got soak up the atmosphere... and beer! NOTE to readers: Don't take the old-school breweries for granted. Places like Ithaca crank out some amazing beers. 

Notable beers: Flower Power 

8. Liquid Shoes Brewing - Corning, NY

First visited in July 2020 - Read the original blog

We discovered Liquid Shoes kind of by accident. One of our long-time favorites in the region, The North, was closed for a week, so we had a vacancy in our itinerary. A quick scan of Brewery Maps revealed this new brewery in nearby Corning, NY. Founded by the Shoemaker brothers (hence the name), Liquid Shoes opened for business in July 2018. With eight beers on tap, they focus on IPAs and fruited sours, but everything here is well executed. Their mascot is also a gnome, and you can even buy a custom, hand-made Liquid Shoes gnome. We brought one home with us and named him Great Grandpa Thoughtweaver (don't ask). We liked this place so much that we just visited again a few days after Christmas. 

Notable beers: Umoja; O'Cyrus

9. Love City Brewing - Philadelphia, PA

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

It was a long time coming, but this is the brewery that I felt Philadelphia has always needed since we first started visiting the City of Brotherly Love for beer many moons ago. In the early days of our infatuation with craft beer (mid-2000's), there were some amazing, world-class beer bars but only a handful of small breweries. Upon entering Love City this past February, I felt someone finally captured the vibe of Philadelphia and transformed it into a brewery. While none of the beers blew me away, this place simply embodies Philly moreso than any other we've visited thus far. The atmospheres hearkens back to a time before Prohibition when every neighborhood had its own brewery. I definitely felt a sense of Philly pride while enjoying our beer at the bar here. Plus their food truck is the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo. Bonus points! 

Notable beers: Obscura; Totally Wired

10. Ommegang - Cooperstown, NY

First visited in July 2020 - Read the original blog

This is yet another one you might be surprised to see on the list, but man, what a track record! Hennepin. Three Philosophers. Rare VOS. Some of the first Belgian-style beers I'd ever had during my formative years were these very staples from Brewery Ommegang. Many beer friends have regaled us with tales of road trips to the annual Belgian Comes to Cooperstown festival, which is held on the brewery's sprawling rural grounds. It was a long time coming, and I was estatic to finally visit this epic brewery. We got to enjoy a pleasant day outside in the beer garden. Aside from its world class Belgian beers, they also make some pretty solid IPAs and lagers as well. Sadly, we didn't get to venture inside (except to the restroom) so we'll definitely need to return once all this COVID-19 nonsense disappears.  

Notable beers: Idyll Days Pils; Neon Lights IPA

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Once again, this year's list proved to be a difficult undertaking. Here are a few "honorable mentions" that came oh-so-close to making the final ten.

Big Oyster Brewery - Lewes, DE

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

Notable beers: Then; Mango Dreamsicle

Bonesaw Brewing Company - Glassboro, NJ

First visited in February 2020 - Read the original blog

Notable beers: Peach, Love & Happiness

Dew Point Brewing Company - Yorklyn, DE

First visited in January 2020 - Read the original blog

Notable beers: Rubick's 3

Pineknotter Brewing Company - Northumberland, PA

First visited in July 2020 - Read the original blog

Notable beers: Knotty Juice

Wilmington Brew Works - Wilmington, DE

First visited in January 2020 - Read the original blog

Notable beers: Par Avion - Pineapple Cream

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So, how did we fare in 2020 amidst all of the shut-downs, virus scares, and travel bans? Not too shabby, I'd say. All in all, we hit 76 new-to-us breweries in 2020 compared to 79 in 2019. I'd say that's a pretty impressive number given the state of the country during this past year. Of course, a few of these include breweries I visited during a handful of "dudes' weekends" with the guys, as well as one or two satellite locations of breweries we'd visited previously (i.e. St. Boniface's Tied House in Lititz, PA). We were off to an amazing start in 2020, hitting an unprecedented 46 new breweries in January and February alone! If COVID hadn't hit, I'm confident we would have cruised past our impressive number of 110 new brewery visits in 2018. To put things into perspective, we named our 2021 calendar "Pleeps vs. The 'Rona." That about sums it up for us. Oh well, there's always next year.

Here's hoping that 2021 allows for safe beer travels for us all. See you in 2021!