This list of breweries in California, both current and defunct, includes both microbreweries and larger industrial scale breweries. Brewing companies range widely in the volume and variety of beer produced, ranging from small breweries to massive multinational conglomerates. Since 1983, California has allowed breweries to sell beer on their premises, giving rise to numerous brewpubs and microbreweries.
Breweries in California produce a wide range of beers in different styles that are marketed locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. In 2012 California's 458 breweries, importers, brewpubs, and company-owned packagers and wholesalers employed over 7,000 people directly, and more than 109,000 others in related jobs such as wholesaling and retailing. [1] Including people directly employed in brewing, as well as those who supply California's breweries with everything from ingredients to machinery, the total business and personal tax revenue generated by California's breweries and related industries was more than $5.1 billion. [1] Consumer purchases of California's brewery products generated another $1.1 billion in tax revenue. [2] In 2012, according to the Brewers Association, California ranked 1st in the number of craft breweries, and 19th per capita with 325. [3]
For context, at the end of 2013 there were 2,822 breweries in the United States, including 2,768 craft breweries subdivided into 1,237 brewpubs, 1,412 microbreweries and 119 regional craft breweries. [4] In that same year, according to the Beer Institute, the brewing industry employed around 43,000 Americans in brewing and distribution and had a combined economic impact of more than $246 billion. [5]
• Trinity County Brewing Company in Weaverville [348]
Ventura County
Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, new flavours, and varied brewing techniques.
The U.S. state of Oregon is home to more than 200 breweries and brew pubs that produce a large variety of beer.
Pyramid Breweries, Inc., is a defunct brewing company that produced beer under the Pyramid brand name at two breweries and several brewpubs in Washington, Oregon, and California. It was founded in 1984 as Hart Brewing. The brand name is currently owned by North American Breweries, a subsidiary of the Costa Rican company Florida Ice & Farm Co.
Russian River Brewing Company is a brewery and brewpub in downtown Santa Rosa, California, with a second location in Windsor. The company is known for strong India pale ales and sour beers.
Karl Strauss Brewing Company is a San Diego, California-based craft brewery with nine brewpub locations across Southern California and a main brewery in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego. Besides being available at its own brewpubs, the company's beers are distributed across all of California. Karl Strauss is the oldest surviving brewery in San Diego County, having been founded in 1989, and is credited with launching the county's rise to prominence in the craft brewing industry. Based on 2017 sales volume it is the 47th largest brewery in the United States. In summer 2017 Karl Strauss was declared the Mid-Size Brewery of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival.
Bell's Brewery, Inc. is an American craft brewing company, with operations in Comstock and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Bell's brews acclaimed beers such as Hopslam Ale, Oberon Ale, and Two Hearted Ale. It operates a brewpub and a store selling merchandise and homebrewing supplies at its Kalamazoo location. Begun as a homebrewing store in 1983, and producing beer since 1985, it is the oldest existing craft brewery in Michigan and the oldest craft brewery east of Colorado. As of 2021, it was the 6th largest craft brewery in the United States, and was the largest independently owned brewery in Michigan when founder Larry Bell sold the company to the subsidiary of the Japanese Kirin beverage group, Lion - an Australian producer of alcoholic beverages, at the end of 2021. The company also owns Upper Hand Brewery, a separately operated division in Escanaba, Michigan.
Pat & Oscar's, formerly known as Oscar's, is a restaurant with one location in Temecula, California, United States. The first location was opened in 1991.
San Diego County, California, has been called "the Craft Beer Capital of America". As of 2018, the county was home to 155 licensed craft breweries – the most of any county in the United States. Based on 2016 sales volume, three San Diego County breweries – Stone, Green Flash, and Karl Strauss – rank among the 50 largest craft brewers in the United States. San Diego County brewers pioneered the specialty beer style known as Double India Pale Ale, sometimes called San Diego Pale Ale. Its beer culture is a draw for tourism, particularly during major festivals such as San Diego Beer Week and the San Diego International Beer Competition. San Diego County breweries including Stone Brewing Co., AleSmith Brewing Company and Ballast Point Brewing Company are consistently rated among the top breweries in the world.