The Best Breweries of 2017

First Runner Up
Mother Earth Brew Co.
Vista, CA
Website

Two World Class Beers & One Exceptional Beer
Total Score: 286
Highest-scoring beers: Four Seasons Winter '16 -- 97, Four Seasons Spring '17 -- 96, Sin Tax -- 93

Mother Earth Brew Co. located in Vista, California just north of San Diego had a strong showing in 2017 with its experimental limited-release Four Seasons series, which are released, unsurprisingly, to celebrate every new season of the year.

Leading the charge with a world class rating of 97 was Four Season Winter '16, which was a beautifully balanced Imperial Coffee Stout -- a staple of the modern craft beer scene. The beer was lauded for the incredible interplay between the base Imperial Stout and its coffee bean adjuncts. Excellent stuff.

Next up was the scintillating Four Seasons Spring '17, which logged a world class rating of 96. This unusual Saison employed kumquats as its featured adjunct, and our judge believed this addition enhanced the phenolic spiciness of the base Saison.

Finally, Mother Earth earned this year's distinction as a top brewery with its exceptional Sin Tax - Imperial Peanut Butter Stout with a rating of 93. This beer melds with the winter season and is perfect to drink in front of the fireplace, in a snifter, and should be enjoyed slowly to let it warm up.

If Mother Earth continues to release terrific beers like this every season, it will have a permanent place in our hearts (and in our tummies).