Backgrounder: Elk Grove Brewery, Kelley Bros. Brewing

NOTE: The abrupt closure Oct. 5, 2008, of Elk  Grove Brewery in Elk Grove, which is south of Sacramento on Highway 99, worries me.  It looks like we’re into some tough sledding economically and when things get tough business that have become institutions in their communities can fall like snowflakes.

So, for the record, to help remember Elk Grove Brewery, here’s an article I wrote for Northwest Brewing News back in 2005 about a pub crawl down Hwy. 99. Kelley Brothers in Manteca is still going strong, thank the lord.

I’ve been in there a few times over the years and always been impressed. It is – or should I say – was a rough-hewn place in an old building that had been there since pioneer days.

Rural Brewpubs, California Style…

BY WILLIAM BRAND
ON THE ROAD IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY  –  Finding a rural brewpub within two hours drive of the San Francisco Bay Area isn’t easy, but it can be pleasant.  On a rainy afternoon recently, I set out for the two pubs with claims to rural roots – Elk Grove Brewery & Restaurant, in Elk Grove, CA  and Kelley Brothers Brewing Co. in Manteca.
Elk Grove brewer  Bill Wood has won an impressive list of medals at the Great American Beer Festival, the World Beer Cup and county and California State Fair competitions.

Kelley Brothers is justifiably famous for its décor, it’s unusual “Chinese’’ barbecue ovens and an impressive beer list.

I turned my back on freeways  for a drive across the Sacramento Delta. State route 160’s actually a levee , keeping out the river  and allowing farming on the below-sea  level,  delta. An hour beyond the Delta, Elk Grove is a town on the cusp of  Sacramento’s suburban sprawl. READ THE REST OF THE POST…