A Selected Chronology of Early Craft/Micro Brewers in the United States and Canada

May 1, 2010 By Fred Eckhardt

1965

Fritz Maytag buys San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing Co., brews a genuine California steam beer.

1976

New Albion, Sonoma, CA (1976-83)
Prinz Brau, Anchorage, AK (1976-1979) was small (10,000 bbl capacity), but not strictly a craft brewer. Prinz Brau was the product of German brewery Oetker’s attempt to brew German beer under the Reinheitsgebot in the U.S. The beer wasn’t particularly distinctive, and the brewery soon failed.

1979

California Steam Beer Brewing Co., San Rafael, CA (1979-81)
DeBakker, Novato, CA (1979-81)
Placer, Auburn, CA (1979-81?), may never have brewed beer.

1980

Sierra Nevada, Chico, CA (1980-present, with a new plant in 1988)
Boulder Beer Co., Longmont, CO (1979-present, with a new plant 1983), the first micro east of California
River City, Sacramento, CA (1980-84)
Cartwright Brewing Co., Portland, OR (1980-81), the first micro north of California

1981

Thousand Oaks Brewing Co., Berkeley, CA (1981-?)
William S. Newman Brewing Co., Albany, NY (1981-90?), first East Coast micro, survived for many years contract brewing

1982

Yakima Brewing & Malting Co., Yakima, WA (1982-2002)
Redhook Ale Brewery, Seattle, WA (1982-present, with a new plant in 1990)
Horseshoe Bay Brewery, Horseshoe Bay, BC (1982-1999), first Canadian micro and first Canadian brewpub

Our records indicate that, by 1982, there were 39 brewing companies operating 74 plants, including 15 micros.