PHOENIX — A brewery in Gilbert, Ariz. has been named the top new brewery in the world by a beer-rating website.

Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company in Gilbert has been named the top new brewery in the world by ratebeer.com. Owner Jonathan Buford said he was in shock when he got the message.

“It’s quite an honor to receive this email saying you have been chosen out of 2,600 breweries to be number one in the world,” Buford said. “It was kind of a pinch yourself moment. It was pretty cool to wake up to.”

The award was based off beer ratings on the site, as well as other social media reaction.

“Our vision and goal is to not only bring craft beer to the city of Gilbert, but we want to represent Arizona around the world,” Buford said. “It’s a great tie-in to the award, because people can now say ‘Hey Arizona is making some of the best craft beer in the world.'”

Buford didn’t take all of the credit. He said he owes a lot of their success to the rest of the local craft beer companies that paved the road for them.

Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company is located on the southeast corner of Arizona Avenue and Guadalupe. It has been open since September and got about a quarter of its opening funds from the website kickstarter.com. Buford said that although the funding was a huge help, you still have to put a lot of hard work and dedication into your business for it to succeed.

