What happens when your "comprehensive" map... isn't?
May 30, 2012 12:12 PM   Subscribe

Yesterday, Pop Chart Lab announced a new print, meant to be "the most comprehensive mapping of the breweries of the USA ever compiled." However, this epic infographic featured many notable omissions. In response to tweets, emails, and comments, the company stopped the presses and worked overnight to make corrections.
posted by kyleg (41 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Pretty cool; still missing a bunch of Portland places. Migration, Burnside, &c. But neat, nonetheless.
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:16 PM on May 30, 2012


Yeah, they really should have kept the PacNW off the map entirely because we have an obscene amount of them here.

Then sold a full size PacNW one.
posted by mrzarquon at 12:18 PM on May 30, 2012 [4 favorites]


They were missing a ton of AZ breweries, especially in Tucson. I'm glad r/beerit came to the rescue!
posted by lizjohn at 12:21 PM on May 30, 2012


I came across the Reddit thread early yesterday, and I was really impressed that they were re-doing and re-printing the poster. It's an almost impossible task to list every brewery, small and large, in the US, and even if they managed it, the map would be outdated by the time it hit postboxes.

That said, the NYC / LI insert reminds me why it's never a chore to Drink Local.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:22 PM on May 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'm not about to go searching through those threads, but I popped open the print and checked it for several of my favorite midwest breweries, and they were not to be found.
posted by mcstayinskool at 12:22 PM on May 30, 2012


Weird that they got Jackalope in Nashville but not Blackstone, which has been around way longer.
posted by ghharr at 12:23 PM on May 30, 2012


For the Minneapolis area, I was surprised they picked up very new breweries like Harriet and Lucid, but somehow missed Fulton, which (I think) has a larger footprint and following. Missed the only two breweries in Iowa I know and like, but somehow picked up "Granite City Wort House", which I think is a chain, somewhere around Fort Dodge.

I think this is a super cool effort, but it almost feels like they created the points on the map by having somebody write a Google Maps API script. It seems to lack any human touch to it.
posted by mcstayinskool at 12:25 PM on May 30, 2012


Is this where non-Reddit people can mention breweries that were missed? I know of at least five that weren't on the map.

Also:
Beer map of Colorado
posted by notsnot at 12:30 PM on May 30, 2012


Wow, I just checked out the main link again to note some of the most surprising omissions but they seem to have updated the zoom image right after I posted this. They've added a Portland pop-out that wasn't present on the original and have filled in a lot of the Midwest, plus the big names they were missing. I'm hoping it's not the final print because it seems like in the rush for inclusion they compromised on the clarity and elegance of the design.
posted by kyleg at 12:36 PM on May 30, 2012


Still Missing Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh.
posted by octothorpe at 12:41 PM on May 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


I applaud their willingness but given the craft beer industry this is always going to be behind. Not that it's a bad thing, of course, but highly dynamic data like this is really best presented on the web and not on paper.
posted by tommasz at 12:42 PM on May 30, 2012


Oh, poor North Dakota.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:49 PM on May 30, 2012


I'd love to see this overlayed with a map from twenty or thirty years ago showing the explosion of breweries in the US since then.
posted by octothorpe at 12:49 PM on May 30, 2012


I can't say I'm crazy about the cartography, but its a neat idea. I'd like to see desjardins comments on the map. Really, trying to get every brewery in the US is probably a never ending project. I'm sure as a business, breweries are opened frequently enough to cause this map to be out of date quickly. I'd like it if they would release this as a GIS dataset so I could compare it to major concentrations of hops production, which is a fairly concentrated crop in the US.
posted by graxe at 12:58 PM on May 30, 2012


For the Minneapolis area, I was surprised they picked up very new breweries like Harriet and Lucid, but somehow missed Fulton, which (I think) has a larger footprint and following

That struck me too. I'm also not convinced that Lucid even deserves to be on that map just yet, they haven't impressed me so far.
posted by Think_Long at 1:01 PM on May 30, 2012


Missing my local brewery just outside Fairbanks AK. I mentioned it on the Facebook page; we'll see what happens.
posted by leahwrenn at 1:03 PM on May 30, 2012


mcstayinskool: I wonder if the breweries they missed have to do with their data collection methods. As a vague thought, I wonder if newer breweries have a more visible online presence.
posted by graxe at 1:05 PM on May 30, 2012


Still missing Brugge Brasserie and Broad Ripple Brewpub in Indy. Hell, BRBP was probably Indiana's first microbrewer.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:06 PM on May 30, 2012


Wait, did they miss August Schell? That seems like an important oversight. (At least they got Surly.)
posted by wenestvedt at 1:09 PM on May 30, 2012


mcstayinskool: I wonder if the breweries they missed have to do with their data collection methods. As a vague thought, I wonder if newer breweries have a more visible online presence.

As far as the data collection methods go, what I guessed above was that the points on the map were the product of a data scraping Google Maps API something or other, because the omissions seem so odd compared to what was included.

Newer vs. Older isn't passing muster with me though, as Fulton and Harriet started almost at the same time, Fulton has grown faster, and Fulton has an excellent online presence.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:11 PM on May 30, 2012


They did not miss Schell, it's not in the Metro area. Look in SW Minnesota.
posted by mcstayinskool at 1:11 PM on May 30, 2012


Yeah, they really should have kept the PacNW off the map entirely because we have an obscene amount of them here.

Then sold a full size PacNW one.


In general, it seems like there are too many in the crowded areas and too few in the sparse areas to make a scaled map sorta useless, except as a novelty item (which is what it's supposed to be, I suppose).

Also, although there are just too many breweries to fit, Kentucky has more than 2!

Lore Brewing - Danville
West Sixth Brewery - Lexington
Apocalypse Brew Works - Louisville
Against the Grain - Louisville
Cumberland Brewery - Louisville
Falls City - Louisville?
Lexington Brewing Company - Lexington
Country Boy Brewing - Lexington

and across the river

New Albanian - New Albany, IN

Why not just use Wikipedia for the data source? Sure, some states (like Mississippi) are missing, but for others, like Kansas, instead of using it as a placeholder for Colorado's overflow, why not include, you know, all the Kansas breweries.

Kind of a fail all around, if you are spinning it as comprehensive.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:35 PM on May 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


and even if they managed it, the map would be outdated by the time it hit postboxes

The first thing one learns in Cartography 101 is that all maps are out of date. We keep making them anyway.
posted by Duffington at 1:42 PM on May 30, 2012 [2 favorites]


Yeah, there are a bunch they missed in Michigan, and a couple in the LA area are already closed.
posted by klangklangston at 1:44 PM on May 30, 2012


mrgrimm: you beat me to this. Listing the BBC as the ONLY brewery in Louisville is a pretty offensive oversight, given the beer revolution that has happened over the past couple of years - and that's ignoring the rest of KY. We aren't that bad, I swear!
posted by MysticMCJ at 1:46 PM on May 30, 2012


No mention of Hillstead Farm Brewery in Vermont?

FOR SHAME.
posted by Kitteh at 1:56 PM on May 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


Oh, poor North Dakota.

It's not as bad as you think. A new brewpub is going to open in Bismarck and almost all of the micros from MT, MN, CO are available here, plus big boys like Sierra Nevada and Bells. The majority of people here drink swill but there are plenty of of NoDaks that keep the faith.
posted by Ber at 1:58 PM on May 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


Wow, they've even got NW Peaks! They've done a pretty good job in my neighborhood. They'll be out of date when Urban Family opens in a couple months, though.
posted by gurple at 1:59 PM on May 30, 2012


*Mutter* no Double Mountain?
posted by iamabot at 2:23 PM on May 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


I commend their effort. Especially now that they've corrected some of the glaring omissions. Would have liked to see what is quickly becoming my new favorite, Solemn Oath, in Chicago's Western Suburbs, but they just opened 2 weeks ago so I can't complain. This gives me some ideas for potential road trips.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 2:32 PM on May 30, 2012


The map is not the brewery!
posted by loquacious at 3:11 PM on May 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


I wonder if Chicago's cartography themed tavern the Map Room will be ordering one of these.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 3:26 PM on May 30, 2012


I wonder if Chicago's cartography themed tavern the Map Room will be ordering one of these.

Well duh. ;)

Actually, what Map Room really ought to do is redo their back wall into a giant version of this, updatable as needed.
posted by me3dia at 3:45 PM on May 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


Slack-a-gogo: A cartography themed tavern sounds amazing. You have just provided me with a roadtrip to suggest to my Geography department. Thank you for this.
posted by graxe at 3:46 PM on May 30, 2012


What Kitteh said. Not only one of the best beers in the country. But for the most part you have to visit Vermont to try it.
posted by terrapin at 3:47 PM on May 30, 2012


Err, not only one of the best breweries in Vermont, but one of the best in the country ... world.
posted by terrapin at 3:48 PM on May 30, 2012


The map does in fact show Hill Farmstead. Also check out Lawson's Finest Liquids if you are ever on a brew tour of this state.
posted by terrapin at 3:49 PM on May 30, 2012


I do hope Terminal Gravity and Dick's Brewing are hiding underneath the Portland/Seattle insets, otherwise there is a tragedy in the making.

On the other hand, more Terminal Gravity IPA for me, so that's a win.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:50 PM on May 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


In Santa Fe, they are missing Second Street Brewery. I had thought this would be a good birthday gift for my brewer friend, but she works at the missing brewery - no bueno! I really like looking at this map though and thinking about beer.
posted by backwords at 6:22 AM on May 31, 2012


I really like looking at this map though and thinking about beer.

I like thinking about beer too.

Do you also like food and/or sun? ... Would you like to get some lunch? :D
posted by mrgrimm at 10:18 AM on May 31, 2012


Let's see...

Missing Frog Island, Atwater Block, Grizzly Peak and Blue Tractor in southeastern Michigan -- probably more, this is just off the top of my head. Corner Brewery is missing, but since that's more like a wing of Arbor Brewing, and that's on the map, I'll allow them a free pass on that.

Bull City Brewing in Durham, NC is missing -- probably lots more, but I'm not sufficiently familiar with the local brewing territory yet.

All of these places have been around for more than a couple years -- Grizzly Peak was one of the first brewpubs in the state, started some time in the early or mid 90s. It's kind of weird to leave them off.
posted by ardgedee at 10:33 AM on June 3, 2012 [1 favorite]


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