Mendocino Brewing Company

In the beginning was the dream. The dream of setting up a brewery that handcrafted a range of excellent beers designed for the discerning beer lover. In time this dream became a passion. And it was this passion that helped create the Mendocino Brewing Company in 1983.

Entering Hopland The Hopland Brewery opened on August 14th 1983 and was the First Brewpub in California since Prohibition and the second in the United States. Those were pioneering times, exciting times. Hopland Brewery was passionate about their range of traditional-style ales and were happy to find that many beer lovers made the pilgrimage to Hopland to savor their beers. And very soon Hopland Brewery could not pour their beers fast enough for this legion of beer lovers.

Mendocino Brewing Company takes great pride in being pioneers in the American Craft Brewing Renaissance. What they began with tons of passion and a paltry capital outlay, was the precursor of a national movement, for by 1997, there were 780 brewpubs and a total of 1239 microbreweries in the United States.

In December 1983, the brewery had a sellout of its first bottling of 1.5 liter magnums. And every month in 1984 a new sales records for the brewery was made. This almost incessant demand for their fine ales made Hopland Brewery decide in the early spring of 1984, to expand production by 67%. This goal was accomplished and surprisingly though production was pumping out that much more beer, Hopland Brewery still couldn't keep up with the demand. Those were heady days when success was the force that relentlessly propelled them to do better.

In 1985 sales grew by an additional 27%, with most of the year seeing weekly sellouts of the legendary 1.5 liter magnum bottles. Hopland Brewery then presented another first in the craft brew world, a massive 42 pound six-pack! And many were the weight lifters that lifted that weight most eagerly!

From 1985 to 1987 Hopland Brewery was constantly increasing production to meet the growing demand for Red Tail Ale. In 1987, the company started wholesale distribution and by 1988 had 300 outlets in Northern California. This included most major restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area, Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Red Tail Ale, Blue Heron and Black Hawk Stout were being distributed in 14 states nationally.

In 1989 it was believed that Hopland Brewery must start packing 12 ounce bottles. And so began the search for artists who could breathe life into brands that had in the past six years become legends. Dramatic illustrations of the raptors were set in classic almost heraldic styles, with flowing ribbons decking frames. Color schemes were carefully selected to heighten the interplay between hues and make the design striking and the combination created an imagery that was and still is superlative. All that hard work paid off, for still today Mendocino Brewing Company receives honor and awards for their brand imagery.

The Red Tail Ale six-pack carrier won two national packaging design awards. In 1996 the company won a Bay Area ADDY Award and the International Brand Packaging Award for the Blue Heron Pale Ale label and carrier package design. In 1990 MBC received a Gold medal for Eye of the Hawk Summer Ale at the Great American Beer Festival.

1997 was a year of awards. Red Tail Ale was proclaimed one of the Top Ten Beers of 1996, and this included European brews, by the prestigious magazine, Wine Enthusiast. Men's Health magazine selected Red Tail Ale as one of the best beers in America. The Underground Wine Journal awarded Blue Heron Pale Ale a Gold Medal with a Special Award of Excellence. Mendocino Brewing Company won four out of five awards for beers entered in the World beer Championship with Red Tail Ale receiving the Gold Medal.

Though this was a time for celebration, it was also a time for consolidation and re-planning. Fourteen years had passed since those early pioneering days and heavy six-packs. The craft brewing industry was undergoing a change and this necessitated reassessing Mendocino Brewing Company's strategy and their plans for the future.

There was a need to expand our production facilities as the small brewing capacity at Hopland could not keep pace with the demand. It was therefore decided to set up a state-of-the-art brewery in nearby Ukiah. Land was acquired and architects were assigned with the task of creating designs for a brewery that would, on the outside, blend with the surroundings and on the inside have enough space to allow for future growth and expansion.

After seeing a variety of options for the exterior, Mendocino Brewing Company decided on the early Mission style look. And as construction began, they saw that their choice was the right one, for once complete, the brewery fit right in with its location. The majestic hills became an ideal backdrop for the brewery, nature and design fusing together perfectly.

In 1997, Dr. Vijay Mallya invested into the company. Here was a man who understood the dreams of the founders and had the firm belief that the Mendocino Brewing Company range of beers would grow from strength to strength. Dr. Mallya is an entrepreneur who heads a group of companies in different parts of the world that go under the banner of The UB Group. The UB Group is the fifth largest manufacturer of spirits in the world. Dr. Mallya infused the finance needed to complete the expansion and the working capital needed to go forward and give the impetus for sustained growth. To give the company a national perspective, the Olde Saratoga Brewing Company in New York State was brought into the fold as part of his investment.

Management Team Dr. Mallya restructured the company to ameliorate and professionalize its management, its finances and the marketing and advertising of the company brands, by placing seasoned professionals in charge of these operations. While the management structure may have been modernized, Dr. Mallya kept sacrosanct the passion and dreams of the founders and their dedication to quality and excellence in the brewing of the legends.

1998-99 saw many improvements. In addition to expanding the distribution of Mendocino Brewing Company's range, they also expanded the range. Eye of the Hawk, went from being a seasonal ale to being made all year round. This was a move that brought a great deal of happiness to the hearts of the legions of Eye of the Hawk enthusiasts, who could now savor their favorite all year round. Peregrine Golden Ale, which had been till then available only on draft at the Brewpub, was launched in a striking six-pack, much to the delight of the hordes who trekked to Hopland to sample this golden ale.

Perhaps the most significant changes were making Red Tail Ale (April 1999) and Blue Heron Pale Ale (April 2001) available in a 12 packs. Keeping the excellent imagery of the 6 pack, the 12 pack was launched with a minimum of fanfare. Mendocino Brewing Company is proud that it has been eminently successful.

Mendocino Brewing Company's state-of-the-Art Brewery in Ukiah has all the infrastructure in place to expand to a yearly capacity of 200,000 bbl with the addition of cellar tanks and is currently operating at a capacity of 60,000 bbl/yr, which is quite a change from the 400 bbl/yr they had in 1983. Mendocino Brewing Company's products, Red Tail Ale, Blue Heron Pale Ale, Peregrine Golden Ale, Black Hawk Stout, Eye of the Hawk Select Ale, Black Eye Ale and White Hawk Select IPA-have had wide acceptance in California and other states when they were available.