Thank You Brew It Up!

By now most folks have heard that Brew It Up! has closed it's doors.

I want to thank Mike and his original crew of brewers that started in a small, strip-mall store in Davis over 15 years ago.

I was 21 years old when Mike hired my best friend. I had no idea what was craft beer or home brewing. I don't think I had even had a craft beer before I entered Brew It Up. My only non-American-yellow-fizzy beer experience was in Europe with all the wonderful ales, lagers and pilsners.


Walking in there for the first time, I clearly remember curling my nose at my first whiff of the boiling grains and malts. An aroma I have come to love. An aroma that I still enjoy today everytime I brew.

One of probably 4 dozen batches
our group of friends brewed.

After my first brew, I quickly felt apart of something new and growing. When Brew It Up opened its doors, craft beers had not reached the mainstream market they now enjoy. At the time Davis had Sudwerks which was focused on German-style beers. Sierra Nevada was gaining popularity but only their Pale Ale had been discoverd.

Brew It Up turned on tens of thousands of people to the art of brewing and the enjoyment of a hand crafted beer. I would not have gone into homebrewing or have an appetitie for craft beers if it was not for Brew It Up. They introduced me to the wealth of the beer world; from IPAs to Belgiums to Stouts. I first tasted many of my favorite styles at Brew It Up. I'm not sure what life would be like without craft beers!

Today, microbreweries, brewpubs, alehouses, beer cafes, bottle shops, and tap houses are poppping up in every town in Northern California. More folks are buying good beer and enjoying the art of homebrewing. Brew It Up was a key agitator in bringing the craft beer culture to Northern California and beyond. (I once brewed next to a guy from Nevada!)

Cheers to Brew It Up! and good luck in your future ventures.