Who has the best craft beer in Stanislaus County? Vote for your favorite local brewery
Summer in Modesto means endless warm weather and, if you’re lucky, equally endless cold beer to help you cool off.
While the Central Valley typically doesn’t get mentioned during talk of best craft brewery regions in the country, the area has been a part of the pioneering microbrewery movement since the 1980s.
With the recent resurgence of craft brewing across the county, the Valley has seen a blossoming of breweries in Stanislaus County. The region has 10 craft breweries and a cidery with taprooms open to the public.
But the area’s brewing history started decades ago with St. Stan’s Brewing Co. The iconic microbrewery was founded in 1984, in the building that is Skewers today in downtown Modesto. In its heyday, it distributed across 17 states and seven countries.
But changes in ownership and to the name of the attached restaurant caused the brand to slowly decline, and it stopped brewing altogether around 2013. Then, it had a brief resurgence when the name, licensing and recipes were purchased by new owners who opened a spot downtown in 2017, but the pandemic slowed their progress and they closed again in the fall of 2020.
While St. Stan’s may be gone, again, a new generation of brewers has made the Valley home. The brewers range from regional powerhouses like Turlock’s Dust Bowl Brewing Co. to tiny microbreweries like Persuasion Brewing and everything in between.
But which is the best? The Bee has put together a poll to determine your favorite craft brewery in the Modesto area. This is a nonscientific poll, just for fun, so you can vote as many times as you want. Share the poll with friends and family so everyone gets a chance to weigh in.
You can vote by clicking on this story at www.modbee.com.
Better yet, if you’re over 21, go try some of these spots and see for yourself. Tour our regional craft breweries and find your favorites. The poll will close at 11:59 a.m. Thursday, June 9. We’ll publish the results shortly afterward, so be sure to come back to see who gets crowned craft brewery in Stanislaus County.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 9:30 AM.
