Firestone is the best American brewery of the decade, magazine says
As the 2010s wind to a close, best-of lists are becoming ever more common.
What’s the best brewery of the decade?
That would be local favorite Firestone Walker Brewking Co. according to the staff of Paste magazine, which ranked the 50 best American breweries of the 2010s.
“Firestone Walker simply makes too many good beers,” the entry reads. “They have the overall beer portfolio, deep variety and eclecticism to be No. 1.”
The magazine also noted Firestone’s influence on “multiple aspects of the industry,” as well as their consistency and a “top-tier example of nearly every popular style.”
Paste also praised the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest, saying the event “helped to alter the very DNA of how beer festivals were planned and attended in the U.S.”
The magazine listed Firestone Walker’s Union Jack, Mocha Merlin, Sucaba, Feral One and Pivo as their favorite beers at the brewery.
It was one of two California breweries to make the top 10. The Chico-based Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. came in at No. 6 on the list.
Firestone Walker, which was founded in 1996, did not make the list the last time Paste ranked the best American breweries of the decade in 2009.
“I was speechless when I read this, and immensely proud of our team,” Firestone Walker co-founder David Walker said in a news release. “Our second decade was better than our first, as it should be, and here’s hoping our third is better than our second. I’m so very proud to be part of building this with all of these talented folks.”
