Why does it offend you that someone would question the need for multiple breweries within a short driving distance of each other?
I actually researched investing some money in one of them, but while researching I came to the conclusion that I think they are oversaturating the market and that once the "newness" of the concept dies down, I believe only the most popular ones will be successful. The ones that are distributing on a regional level and moving toward distribution on a national level. You just aren't going to make much money selling 1-2 $6 beers to men getting off work or wanting to pregame before going out.
I'm not at all offended, and you're welcome to your opinions—I just noted that it seemed like some personal grievance animated your comments on all these "breweries [...] popping up everywhere now," which—even though you "haven't been to any"—you believe are mostly run by "clowns" who "made [one] home brew" then decided they were ready for commercial production.
As for over-saturation: it depends on the geography of the market. I've been to plenty of larger towns and small-to-medium-sized cities that are packed with breweries, and others that boast a token single operation and couldn't certainly stomach a few more, for variety's sake; likewise, I don't think Chicago's nearly at critical-mass yet—especially since two of the very best of the area's breweries (Three Floyds, in Muenster, IN; Two Brothers, out in DuPage County) are in the suburbs—but there is definitely also plenty of chaff that has sprung up alongside the wheat, hoping to cash-in on the novelty but lacking the cachet and brewing chops to really persist outside of the current bubble.
I also think there definitely
is a very real and profitable place for smaller breweries "selling 1-2 $6 beers to men getting off work or wanting to pregame before going out"; though those places usually also offer growler-fills, and may distribute locally and to a limited extent (filled growlers in local groceries, or small batch bomber-bottling, as regional statutes permit), they exist primarily to serve their town and/or base of loyal clientele—and that's a really damn cool thing, as zito alluded, especially since sometimes these purely-local brewers are pretty damn great at what they do. There's charm in it, and—believe it or not—people will pay for charm (and not just hipsters).
In the end, a lot of this will sort itself out in the next decade; beyond just talk of "bubbles" and "bursting", there's the added pressue macro-breweries are placing on the industry by campaigning against the "affect" of drinking craft (cf. Budweiser's Super Bowl commercial) while simultaneously buying up some of the larger craft breweries to strategically poach different markets. If you know beer, and know your area, however, you should be able to invest in some good bets—but if broadening your investment portfolio is your primary motivation in approaching well-made beer, I'm guessing you'd struggle mightily with the first stipulation, in which case all bets are off.
