Americans have brewed their own beer for centuries, but just as this decade saw a boom in the “foodie” culture, it also saw a major upswing in interest in home brewing. The internet made modern kits, which are practically foolproof, both cheap and easily available, and expanded a relatively small community to a world-wide resource for information and tips.

Strong flavors, big bottles and a lot of alcohol. Stone has spent the last decade not so much expanding the accessibility of craft beer to the drinking public, but serving as a stalwart for beer drinkers to have their heads bashed in with hops and alcohol. While beers with a 10% ABV aren’t uncommon in the beer industry, most breweries release them like a novelty item, but the 10% mark is the standard for Stone.

One of the few American breweries that concentrates solely on producing Belgian-style beers, Brewery Ommegang’s small catalog of award winning brews has done a remarkable job expanding the popularity of the style in America.

Like several other breweries on this list, Sierra Nevada has done remarkable work spreading quality beer out to casual drinkers. Its pale ale is the second best selling craft beer on the market, just behind Sam Adams Boston Lager, and is practically ubiquitous on store shelves. With the success of its IPA, the brewer also releases a number of other brews that range from a simple porter to exclusive limited releases like a barleywine and even an estate ale.

Despite being well over one-hundred years old, Pabst Blue Ribbon is more popular than ever. Why? Well, it’s up for debate. Some say that its rural sensibility appeals to the irony addicted hipster crowd, while others simply stipulate that it’s the best tasting beer one can get for 50 cents a can.

Colorado based Oskar Blues is still one of the few microbreweries to release its products in a can, and it’s likely the only one that decided to can its beers just because the owners thought it would be funny. But what started as a joke morphed into a small revolution of canned beer (or “canned beer apocalypse,” as they call it) with several other breweries taking advantage of canned beer’s ability to retain freshness for longer thanks to the can’s ability to protect beers from light and oxygen. But with business growing nearly 800% over the past ten years, it’s more than just the can that makes Oskar Blues successful.

The beer that comes out of Deleware’s Dogfish Head is renowned for its remarkable depth of flavor. Its most popular brews, the 60 and 90 minute IPAs, are a hops lover’s paradise; both contain an exceptionally pure flavor and bitterness. Aside from its IPAs, Dogfish Head also has a knack for quirky beers. Midas Touch, a beer based on chemical analysis of clay pots from the tomb of King Midas, dates back to the 8th Century BCE, while a similar beer, the Chateau Jiahu, holds the honor of being the oldest known beer recipe brewed today.

With nearly 30 active beers brewing today, Brooklyn Brewery is likely one of the most important craft breweries in the country. Starting as a small project in 1984, the company has been a remarkable success story and an inspiration for countless others trying their hand at the brewing game. Current brewmaster Garrett Oliver also gave the craft beer industry a boost with his 2003 book, “The Brewmaster’s Table,” a kind of testament to beer that claimed that a well a crafted beer could be just as interesting and sophisticated as any bottle of wine.