(ABC 6 News) – It’s Craft Beer Week in Rochester and beyond, and the breweries of the Med City are celebrating appropriately.

At Forager Brewery, seller master Jake Ryan is laser focused.

“The seller master entails a lot of the cold side of things,” he said. “The fermentation, the introduction of adjuncts, hops, vanillins. Sort of the final preparations for the last stage when it comes to a beer.”

This week, that also means bottling up a best-seller.

In a back room of the brewpub and restaurant, between the bar and the kitchen, Ryan works alongside other Forager brewers to package roughly 350 bottles of their Nillerzzzzz 8 – the eighth iteration of the beer that put them on the map.

“This beer has been very near and dear to our hearts and it’s very well regarded both locally and internationally as well,” said Ryan.

Nillerzzzzz, a stout style beer that features different varieties of vanilla beans and is aged in whiskey barrels, has been Minnesota’s number one rated beer three years running, according to the beer, wine, and liquor publication VinePair.

Every year, dozens wait in line outside the brewery before opening, just to get their hands on it.

Ryan said knowing the community loves this beer so much gives them immense satisfaction.

“The fact that they continue to come back more and more every year signifies that we’re doing something right with our stuff,” Ryan said.”

Releasing on Saturday, this annual event just so happens to fall in line with Craft Beer Week this time around – making the release extra special.

They aren’t the only ones releasing a fresh take on an old classic.

Over at Little Thistle Brewing, co-owner Steve Finnie is equally excited for the drop of their annual Pride collaboration beer – coincidentally also happening at the same time as Craft Beer Week.

Slay All Day is an all-Citra Hazy IPA, with a lot of citrus and tropical notes says Finnie.

“We’ve made this same style of beer the past few years because Hazy IPAs are one of the most popular beers around right now and so it made sense to make something like this,” Finnie said. “This is a beer just to celebrate the whole week, the whole event.”

For these brewers, Craft Beer Week is an exciting time to celebrate the beers and breweries that make up Rochester’s craft culture.

A culture of community.

“Beet is really that vehicle, or can be that vehicle, to bring people together,” said Finnie.

Or a culture of challenging norms.

“Everybody knows what a Miller High Life or a Coors Lite, things like that are,” said Ryan. “For me, craft beer is the elevation of that and introducing and challenging what would necessarily be traditional.”

It’s not an easy industry to get into.

Challenges come from all sides: higher costs of materials, restrictions on how to brew, customers spending less as they try to hold on to every dollar they can in uncertain times.

Though the sentiments that bring people into the industry are often shared, finding success often means finding where you stand out, especially in a crowded market like Rochester which has five different breweries.

“That’s important to start with is that the identity of each brewery is different,” said Finnie.

Ryan agrees, but adds the unique camaraderie of the Rochester community helps build everyone up.

“Being able to find those niches while being able to elevate everyone else is a huge thing and a huge advantage for us in Rochester,” he said.

Craft Beer Week continues until Sunday with more events taking place at each of Rochester’s breweries.