Eel River Brewing Company is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

Fortuna Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and the first certified organic brewery in the United States.

History

The Eel River Brewing Company was established in 1994 in Fortuna on the site of the Eel River Brewing Taproom and Grill; both are owned and operated by Margaret Frigon and Ted Vivatson. The brewpub was built on the historic site of the Clay Brown Redwood Mill. The focal point of the pub is the long bar made entirely from recovered historic

Redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...

and

Douglas Fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

. The establishment, with its 100+ seating, also offers the largest beer garden on California's North Coast complete with a horseshoe pit. Eel River Brewing made all its beer from 1994 at the brewpub until the move to

Scotia Scotia is a Latin placename derived from ''Scoti'', a Latin name for the Gaels, first attested in the late 3rd century.Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p.698 The Romans referred to Ireland as "Scotia" around ...

in 2007. Since then only small batches of beer are produced at Eel River Brewing Fortuna although it continues to be a top dining destination in the county,Eel River Brewing Company
Humboldt County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2012, accessdate 15 January 2013 with all of Eel River Brewing's beers on tap as well as specialty brews that can be found only there. The menu boasts a wide range of food from stout-smoked BBQ to salads, sandwiches to seafood featuring local and organic Humboldt County products. In 1999, they became one of the first certified organic brewery in the United States; their Amber Ale was the first beer made with that certification. In 2007, Eel River Brewing outgrew the original brewing facility and moved to an old redwood mill in Scotia. In 2009 after only two years at the new brewing facility, Eel River Brewing nearly doubled what they were producing previously at the old site. With production in 2009 of over 7,000 barrels, Eel River Brewing currently distributes to more than half of the states in the U.S. as well as Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

Sustainability

Besides being the first certified- organic brewery in the U.S., the brewing facility is powered by 100% bio-mass renewable energy and has its own wastewater pretreatment facility on location which filters the waste, easing the strain that would otherwise be put on the municipal water treatment plant.

Spent grain Brewer's spent grain (BSG) or draff is a food waste that is a byproduct of the brewing industry that makes up 85 percent of brewing waste. BSG is obtained as a mostly solid residue after wort production in the brewing process. The product is i ...

from the brewing process is used to feed Eel River Brewing’s local, organic cattle that are in turn sold as organic beef at the Eel River Brewing Company Taproom and Grill in Fortuna. Packaging and promotional items are made from recycled materials and Eel River Brewing buys these items locally to minimize the effects of transportation. The Eel River Brewing tap handles are made from reclaimed wood and all paper packaging is made with recycled materials and printed with soy-based inks.

Awards

Eel River Brewing has earned nearly 200 national and state awards, including gold and silver medals from the Great American Beer Festival and the California State Fair, as well as Best of Show at the Humboldt County Fair.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Beer brewing companies based in Humboldt County, California Fortuna, California 1994 establishments in California

History

Sustainability

Awards

See also

References