Some of the most notable Northern California breweries are Russian River Brewing Company, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Anchor Brewing, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, Almanac Beer Company, Mad River Brewing Company, Cellmaker Brewing Company, and North Coast Brewing Company. There are so many of the best California beer brands and breweries, that it is easiest to divided them up by region. Ten years later in 2000, that number jumped from 70 to 200 breweries, and as of 2017 there are more than 900 breweries across the state, providing that California has more craft breweries than any other state in America.Today the brewery number seems to increase by roughly 20% each year, meaning there are so many craft breweries and microbreweries still to come! The California beer laws permit anyone 21 years of age and older, with a valid ID to purchase beer and alcohol between the hours of 6 a.m. By 1989 the California Small Brewers Association was founded and by 1990 there were around 70 breweries in operation in California alone. The first brewpub in the state and second in America was Mendocino Brewing in Hopland, California, in 1983. From here legislation began allowing breweries to sell beer and food onsite called brewpubs, in 1982, making it the second state in America to do so. Sierra Nevada introduced an entirely new style of beer, the American style pale ale, which he named the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Inspired by the two preceding him, Grossman opened Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. After McAuliffe came Ken Grossman in 1980. His love for British ales and his ambition led him to start the very first modern microbrewery, New Albion Brewery, which was located in Sonoma, California. He began looking back and incorporating old lost styles and brewing beer with an art and authenticity. Soon enough, Fritz Maytag decided that Americans were ready for beer that had flavor, diversity, and history unlike the mass-produced beers that were around. In 1952, America’s new found “taste”-or lack there of-for mass-produced light beers took a toll on many California craft breweries.

Unfortunately in 1920 the prohibition led to a shut down of many breweries, leaving many other brewers to patiently wait for the lift of the alcohol ban in 1933. went on to buy the first of the six locations and give it the name we all know today, Anchor Brewery. In 1871 Brekle transformed an old beer saloon into a brewery, which in future years would come to gain its name. California is the birthplace of the craft brewing movement tracing all the way back to the Gold Rush in 1849 when German brewer Gottlieb Brekle and his family arrived to San Francisco.

Central california breweries