Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended							1 Months Ended
	May 31, 2011	Jan. 31, 2011	Jun. 25, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 25, 2010	Dec. 26, 2009	Sep. 25, 2010	Sep. 25, 2010 Environmental Matters	Dec. 31, 2011 Hops	Dec. 31, 2011 Barley	Aug. 01, 2010 Alternating Proprietorship Agreement Year	Dec. 31, 2011 Advertising Contracts	Dec. 31, 2011 Various Other Non-Cancelable Commitments
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Purchase commitments									$ 33,570,000	$ 9,200,000		$ 15,800,000	$ 4,700,000
Rent expense				1,400,000	1,300,000	1,400,000
Service agreement period											2
Settlement proceeds from former glass bottle supplier	20,500,000		20,500,000	(20,500,000)
Damages and expenses to be paid by High Falls Brewery Company, LLC		1,300,000
Property, plant and equipment, net				143,586,000	142,889,000			300,000
Grant receivable-environmental remediation				2,589,000	2,589,000		2,589,000
Environmental remediation costs				$ 2,589,000	$ 2,589,000		$ 2,589,000