Breweries Of The Gold Country

While some immigrants came to California to search for gold others came with their recipe for liquid gold: beer. The trail of the Gold Country follows what is also known as the Golden Chain Highway. Writers R. Scott Baxter and Kimberly J. Wooten start this journey at the southern most end of the chain, namely Oakhurst. The book is filled with vintage prints and captions. 

If the job of digging, mining and panning for gold was tough so was the business of brewing. Supplies for both were brought in by horse and wagon. Roads were narrow, treacherous, and at times impassable. Brewing beer called for heating large kettles. Fire was not only necessary ally but also an unfortunate foe. Most breweries would catch fire. The owners would sometimes rebuild several times. More often than not owners just did not have the insurance to rebuild and left the job of brewing to the next entrepreneur.
Refrigeration allowed larger breweries to ship beer to the mining towns where they were bottled and distributed. Promotional items from these larger breweries can be found in towns as far east as Angels Camp. True to tradition, brewery owners always had a photo shoot representing their families in all their finery. Successful brewery owners were typically well to do in their communities. Jackson Brewing Co. proudly supported the Jackson Brewery Baseball team. 
The blacksmiths at the Knight’s Foundery in Sutter Creek may have knocked out a few pieces of brewing equipment along with other mining gear. Buffalo Brewing Co. of Sacramento would given these two breweries a run for their money. 
Today if you wanted to see what was left of the Sutter Creek Brewery take a trip into town and stop in at Chaos Glassblowing Shop. The stonework of the granary is the only thing left, Even this is impressive and it is fun to let the imagination picture the activities that went on throughout the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s. 
The dilapidated remains of the Sloughhouse on Jackson Highway remain only a curiosity to those who moved to the area after the 1980’s. These old barns are the only clues left to the vibrant hop growing culture in the area. There was a time when someone driving from Sacramento to Highway 49 would be mesmerized by the oddity of these vines clinging to poles over ten feet tall. Some of the older locals will tell you that they spent their summers there as young people picking the crop to earn a dime. 
Brewing beer at home was not uncommon. Growing hops in the family garden provided only the freshest hops for their beer. 
If you make a small detour to Fiddle town, stop at the Schallhorn’s Blacksmith and Wagon Works. The construction of this building was identical to the brewery that used to be next to it. 
Traveling north along the Golden Chain Highway is the county of Placerville. Placerville is currently thriving in it’s industry of beer brewing. Placerville equally thrived during the Gold Rush era. Mason work of structures left behind can be seen. The Zeisz family who owned California Brewery and the Mountain Brewing Company owned by the Giebenhain’s are testimony of the industry in this part of the country. A plaque is all that marks the location of two breweries in Coloma established in the early 1850’s .
As you mosey on through Auburn, tales told about the breweries and their families are classic. Ties houses, augmenting income by soda sales, ice, and bottle works and family tragedies complete abound. Included is a mention of Brewery Lane which also held the reputation of being the Red Light district. These days a stop at Auburn Ale house. Is a good bet. Hold the drama. 
Baxter and Wooten wind down our journey Nevada and Sierra Counties. Remote as these areas may seem to us the business of beer was booming: City, New York, Washington, and Grass Valley Brewing Companies to name a few . One in particular is still standing at 107 Sacramento Street. 
Downieville held it’s own when it came to making quality beer. Mines were plentiful and what better way to store beer than in a cave. Downieville Brewing Co. took advantage of this natural feature and even mentioned it in its advertising. This is just a small shot of the wonderful tidbits drawn out by the efforts and hard research of R. Scott and Kimberly. A lot of fun can be had by tracing the breweries of the past with the breweries of the present which are referred to in part at the end of the book along with mentions of the Steam beer which was also a style popular in the area not just San Francisco.  Breweries Of The Gold Country illustrates the trials, tribuations and successes of brewers, breweries and beer during the Gold Rush era. 

Which came first; beer or bread?

Agriculture was dependent on mans ability to sustain himself. The practice of agriculture required a perceived value in the grains cultivated since it required a settled lifestyle which was not typical of herders. The differentiation between hunters and gatherers was defined in the 10,000 BC primarily along 30 degrees latitude.
Farming and irrigation came much later in 5000 BC. By this time post glacial warming was in full swing, pottery making became an important way for gatherers to store cereals. Kilning was important not just for making clay pots but for metallurgy as well. All of these developments were parallel to the making of beer.
Like others I have toyed with the question which came first beer or bread. When I contemplate on the Ninkasi poem it is clear that the practice of making a loaf first answers the question but not in the way one might think. I propose that loaf making was done for the purpose of making beer and did not become a staple in itself until after the fact.

Part III

Northern Europe


Religion and its effect on European beer

It was during the Roman Empire during the Migration Period that the Benedictine Order (500 A.D.) began to established itself throughout the European country. Abbeys and monasteries became centers of science for the Northern European area. The monks practiced the art of food chemistry. This included cheese and beers as well as wine.

The art of food chemistry lead to perfecting the methods of beer making. Monks were self sufficient and looked to the selling of their food stuff, including beer as a means to support themselves.

As civilization developed so did beer production. Advances were made in cultivating barley and malting the grain. Hops began to be the primary bittering ingrediant over other bitters. Cultivation of the hop began to find its way into the agricultural scene. The first cultivation of hops for industrial purposes began in the early 700;s in Southern Central Europe.

Beer became a beverage of choice not just because of choice, It was also that of necessity. Drinking water was hard to come by. The cultivation of grapes was difficult if not impossible due to the cold climates of Northern Europe.

Beer became a regulated product. The idea was to protect the consumer and maintain the integrity of the beverage. This became critical since beer was commonly one of the few uncontaminated beverages available during the middle ages.

Guilds were developed to create standards of brewing and to protect the beer as a commodity. By accomplishing both the quality and the quantity of the beer became a valuable and taxable product for the current local government.

In the meantime, about 1600’s, colonization became widespread. It served two purposes. It was a rush for European countries to gained power as they laid claim to other land and as a way to escape the religiously oppressive Roman Empire.

Regardless of the reason beer was considered a beverage for the people. Barrels of it came along on the ships which aided those escaping religious intolerance. Where ever the Europeans went, they brought their beer along.

This led to more than just the introduction of new beers in the new countries. It also led to new beer styles. Beer that had to be shipped was not sent in its original drinking form. The beer would turn bad before it would get there. Instead it was sent in a “concentrated” form. These forms developed popularity in the country that they were received in and were given respective names. India Pale Ale, Russian Imperial Stout

Beer History Part I

Beer History


The Cradle of Life

The Cradle of Life starts in Mesopotamia. Religious books make references to great waters in this area. It was the perfect location for mankind to put down stakes. Civilization came about when crops were cultivated, harvested, dried, and stored. The primary crop for fermented beverages were grain crops. These were the same grains used in the production of bread. The staff of Life.

This area lay in Sumaria between the River Tigris and Euphrates. Today we knoe this area as modern day Iraq. There are several artifacts, cueiforms, and hieroglyphs which make reference to the production of beer throughout , Sumarai, Africa and Babylon.

While the men may have been involved in the process from cultivation to storing, it was the women-folk who were responsible for taking the product and turning into food fit for sustenance. It was common for women to be involved in the production of beer. A tribute to this is found in the Hymn to Ninkasi. See Appendix I.

The production of beer continued to be documented as a part of life and ritual. This was tradition was clearly in scripted in the tombs of the dead. The Egyptians would provide beer in exchange for the labor provided to build the massive pyramids. Pictures of straws or siphons used for the purpose of drinking beer are preserved as a part of natural history for the region. Pharoahs are depicted with “gold straws” .

The production of beer during this period was known as “bouza”. This was typically a barley bread which was allowed to dry. It would then be used as a starter. This bread would be crumbled into water. Strained and then left to ferment.

The production of beer was very critical to the region. After the Babylonians conquered the Sumarians in 2 BC, several notable events occurred. First, considered to be the first Epic ever written, was a story about a man by the name of Enkidu who was given 7 cups of beer by a prostitute and became human. This account is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

The other event was brought on by the Babylonian ruler, Hammurabi in 3 BC. Hammurabi put into effect the oldest known set of laws that is know to this time. This law included how the beer was made, who received it, and how much. The amount of beer rationed would depend on ones status.

History of Beer Part II

Greece and Rome


As civilization moves notherward, the production of beer did also. The next culture to incorporate beer into it’s tradition was Greece . Many of the terms that are used in connection with beer come Latin. Cerevasia is Latin for beer.

Aristotle, in his symposium on Intoxication, debates with his teacher Plato about the effects of alcohol vs. pinon (beer). There is no Greek or roman word for alcohol.

“A peculiar thing happens tin the case of the [ drink made] of barley, the so-called pinon. Under the influence of all other intoxicants, those who become intoxicated fall in all direction, sometime to the left, sometime to the right, and sometime on their faces. But these who become intoxicated from pinon only fall onto their backs and lie flat.”

Greece had many mythological gods for beer. Among them were Osiris, God of Agriculture. This god is used interchangeably with wine. Dionysus, God of intoxication drink. This god is also used interchangeably with wine. Silenus, god of drinking. He is usually associated with Dionysus.

Closer to the turn of the century, it was not uncommon to use ceramic vases called amphorae. Although these vases are commonly associated with wine, these were the typical storage containers used to transport all sorts of goods. Some amphorae stood as tall as 5 feet. The excavation of these ceramic vases were of great archaeological reference. The vases declined as popular storage containers about 700 BC. Amphorae is Latin for amphi (on both sides) and phoreus ( carrier).

Gaius Plinus Secundus (Pliny the Elder) 23 CE was born in Como Italy. Among his other achievements he wrote an encyclopedia of natural history. This included a description of what we know today as hops. He termed the plant, Lupus Salictarius, “a wolf among scrubs”. He was making reference to the plants “wicked and pernicious” attributes.

As the Romans moved north, it was discovered that Europeans has developed its own beer. This would be indicative of other continents and their indigenous beers. The Northern Europeans included Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.