Mendocino 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 ...

founded in 1983 as the Hopland Brewery in the

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza) is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United Sta ...

town of Hopland,

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 ...

. The brewery expanded and moved its operations to a larger Mendocino County facility located in

Ukiah, California Ukiah ( ; Pomo: ''Yokaya'', meaning "deep valley") is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California, with a population of 16,607 at the 2020 census. With its accessible location along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, Ukiah serves ...

in 1997.

Background

The Hopland Brewery was founded in 1983 by homebrewers Michael Laybourn and Norman Franks who purchased the brewing equipment of the closed

New Albion Brewing Company The New Albion Brewing Company is known as the first American craft beer brewery. Founded in 1976 by Jack McAuliffe, Suzy Stern, and Jane Zimmerman in Sonoma, California, New Albion is acknowledged as the first United States microbrewery of the ...

. Former New Albion brewers, Jack McAuliffe and Don Barkley, were hired to operate the brewery. The flagship beer was named Red Tail Ale, named after both the beer's

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

and also a local

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

titled "The Redtail Hawk". The company continued to name all its beer varieties after birds. Opened on August 14, 1983, the Hopland Brewery was the first California

brewpub Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

‒ a brewery licensed to sell both its own beer and food at the same location ‒ as well as the second in the United States. In 2014, ''

Northwest Labor Press The ''Northwest Labor Press'' is a newspaper which covers the American labor movement in the Pacific Northwest. It was known as the ''Portland Labor Press'' from 1900 to 1915, the ''Oregon Labor Press'' until 1986, and by its present name since the ...

'' listed Mendocino Brewing as the only

unionized A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

craft brewery they could find. The Ukiah facility was represented by the

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the u ...

. Mendocino Brewing Company ceased operations in January 2018. In March 2019, investors and several former employees announced that they had re-started operations and brewed Red Tail Ale and Eye of the Hawk for limited, local distribution.

Public offering

In 1994, the company went public in a

direct public offering A direct public offering (DPO) or direct listing is a method by which a company can offer an investment opportunity directly to the public. Description A DPO is similar to an initial public offering (IPO) in that securities, such as stock or debt ...

, advertising its share offering with flyers in six-packs of its beer. In 1997,

Vijay Mallya Vijay Vittal Mallya (born 18 December 1955) is an Indian businessman, former politician and fugitive. He is the subject of an extradition effort by the Indian Government to return him from the UK to face charges of financial crimes in India. T ...

, owner of the

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, bought a significant portion of the company, and was the beneficial owner of approximately three-quarters of the company's stock.

Beers

The company's beers included Red Tail Ale, Blue Heron Pale Ale, Eye of the Hawk Select Ale, and Black Hawk Stout, as well as several other regular offerings, and various short-run seasonal offerings. Their products were named for

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...

, except Blue Heron, and feature images of the birds on their labels. As part of the acquisition by UB Group, the company owns a brewery in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

, and produces Kingfisher brand beers for the U.S. market.

Sponsorship

The brewery was also the official sponsor of the Mendocino Steam Donkeys

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

Football Club, a local men's

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

team.

References

External links