The Moonlight 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 1992 by Brian Hunt in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It is best known for its flagship beers, Death & Taxes Black Beer and Reality Czeck-style Pilsner, which are popular in

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

. In 2008, it received the Best Brewery award at the 17th annual Santa Rosa Beerfest.

History

Founder, brewmaster and abbot Brian Hunt started the brewing company in 1992, not for profit but to "support his habit". With a degree in Fermentation Science from

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

, and years experience as a brewmaster and beer consultant, Hunt saw the brewery as a chance to become self-employed. At the age of 35, he rented an tractor barn near

Windsor, California Windsor is an incorporated town in Sonoma County, California, United States. The town is 9 miles north of Santa Rosa and 63 miles north of San Francisco. The population was 26,801 as of the 2010 census. Windsor was once home to a waterslide par ...

and bought 200 used beer kegs. In 2003 the brewery was moved to a building built specifically for the purpose of brewing beer and was designated the Abbey de St Humulus through the Universal Life Church. Moonlight Brewing cultivated a large field of hops for its seasonal Homegrown Wet Hop Ale on the old property. In 2018, Moonlight opened an enlarged and comfortable taproom onsite with limited retail sales. Currently Moonlight Brewing Company resides in a business park in northwest Santa Rosa. In 2016 half the brewery was sold to Lagunitas Brewing Company. In 2019 a dedicated canning line was installed, allowing more people to enjoy the delicious beers.

Production

Due to its relatively small production, 2,700

barrels A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...

in 2017, beer had been limited to kegs served almost exclusively in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2018, Moonlight experimented with packaging their flagships Death & Taxes and Reality Czeck in 16 ounce cans. During the pandemic, all production shifted to cans, returning with kegs once demand re-emerged.

Beer

Currently, the brewery produces a large variety of ales and lagers, including frequent seasonals. The three year-round production beers includes Death & Taxes (black lager), Reality Czeck ( Czech-style Pilsner),and Bombay by Boat (

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer to: Organizations International * Insolvency Practitioners ...

). Wee Nibble Petite Saison is brewed in Summertime. Homegrown Wet Hop Ale is brewed using

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whi ...

that are solely from nearby Blutcher Valley Hops, which are harvested in mid-September. Working for Tips Redwood Ale is brewed in the Scandinavian tradition using wild harvested Coastal Redwood branch tips around late May. Boney Fingers is a seasonally-produced black lager, brewed specifically for

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

. Toast (Slightly Burnt) Aged Lager is aged for a year and released for New Years. Other rotating specials include: Black to Reality Black Pilsner, Calcutta by Clipper Pale Ale, Serial Delusion Pale Ale, Delhi by Dinghy Double IPA, Twist of Fate Red Ale, Dim Lights Gently Smoked Lager, Paternal Instinct Lager, Wax & Wane Pale Ale, Misspent Youth Pale Ale, Tipple Wet Hop Winter Ale, 9-6/16 Czech-style Dark Lager, Side of Rice Rice Lager, Old Combine 4-Grain Lager.

References

External links

Moonlight Brewing Company - official site
{{Coord, 38, 28, 18.02, N, 122, 44, 47.64, W, type:landmark, display=title ] Food and drink companies established in 1992 Beer brewing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Companies based in Sonoma County, California 1992 establishments in California