Is the "City of Saloons" turning into a dry town?

In the past several years, Sacramento’s brewing culture has taken a hard hit. Not because of the lack of interest in good beer! Unfortunately the majority of these breweries have been tied to restaurants. The economy has hit the industry very hard. When an eating establishment has to close it’s doors so must the brewery it supports.
First we lost Elk Grove Brewing Co., then followed Beerman’s and BJ‘s (we lost the onsite brewing house and brew master). Not long after that Oasis closed it’s doors. Swiftly following that was Roseville’s Greenhouse which served only it’s own beer. It was a tragic blow to the Sacramento when Sacramento Brewing Co., closed its doors.
Now we are facing American Craft Beer Week with only a handful of breweries left to our name. Sacramento is bigger than ever. We have experienced an exponential growth over the past ten years. We have become the bedroom community for San Francisco.
Back in the 1890’s, Sacramento with a population of 80,000 was only second to San Francisco in beer production. Almost 10 years ago, Sacramento rivaled S.F. per capita in breweries. Now with a population of almost 500,000, we face a dismal representation of the namesake bestowed upon us by Mark Twain as the “City of Saloons”.
With so many people and so few breweries, it should not be a difficult task to show our support for our local breweries. Get out there and have a pint! Please remember to drink responsibly. Designate a driver before you hit your favorite watering hole.