Sixpoint Craft Ales: State of Independence

It takes a lot of guts to take on the big three.

You know the ones – they have enough dough to advertise during the Superbowl, they’re owned by foreign mega conglomerates, and one of them even has its own line of amusement parks.

Yup, we’re talking beer – and who could possibly be so bold as to face off against companies like Bud, Coors, and Heineken?

Sixpoint Craft Ales. This Brooklyn brewery was started up in 2004 by Shane Welch and has been attempting to shake up the status quo ever since. Luckily, they’re not going into the fray unarmed – they have some serious flavor and a healthy dosage of style on their side.

Sixpoint Craft Ales has used ingredients as out there as wormwood, carob, and chili peppers in their brewing adventures and see themselves as part of a craft brewing scene that “is setting all of the new trends and innovations” in the world of beer.

As they say on their, very cool, Web site: “Dozens of varieties consistently churn out from our brewery uninhibited by style guidelines, definitions, and preconceived notions of what beer should be. We take what we know, what we like, and what we aspire to be and create our own style.”

And, clearly, New Yorkers are digging that style. Sixpoint Craft Ale’s Bengali Tiger was named the #1 beer for connoisseurs by The Village Voice, and the company will have sold about 8,000 barrels by the end of this year.

So – can a little company that believes in taste, quality, and rockin’ innovation really take on the Heinekens of the world? Well, probably not, but if Sixpoint Craft Ales keeps brewing, we’ll keep drinking.  After all, we’re talkin’ about a revolution, folks – it’s best to take it one frothy sip at a time.

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