Beerknews / Comeback kid in waiting: Bear Republic Brewing Co.

It’s all too easy to shrug off faraway disasters—until they hit home. And by home, we mean your neighborhood beer joint.

After quietly exiting various state markets in the past several years, California’s Bear Republic Brewing is saying goodbye to the Lone Star State—for now. It’s a last-ditch effort in a long and respectable fight against one of the worst droughts California has ever seen.

“Water is California’s liquid gold right now, and we have to become better stewards of that resource,” says Brewmaster Richard G. Norgrove, referring to the additional conservation efforts recently proposed by the governor. “We’re running more efficiently than most because of where we’re located. It’s something that we have to do to manage the resources.”

In Bear Republic’s case, that means the Cloverdale aquifer, Lake Mendocino and the Russian River, whose increasingly dry banks have spelled devastation for the brewery.

While most breweries use up to seven gallons of water per gallon of beer, Bear Republic is currently working with half that ratio.

…And that’s being generous.

While most breweries use up to seven gallons of water per gallon of beer, Bear Republic is currently working with half that ratio.
image credit: Bear Republic Brewing Co.

For the past two years, Cloverdale mandated a 30 percent reduction in water use. This led to gradual withdrawals of Bear Republic from Oklahoma, Missouri and Massachusetts, among others. Now, with the governor of California mandating an additional 25 percent reduction, Bear Republic has been forced to withdraw from Texas as of June 1.

But they didn’t come to this decision lightly.

During the past few years, the family-run business has made every possible effort to avoid abandoning major markets through conservation, designing and building wastewater treatment systems and floating $500,000 to the city of Cloverdale to build wells, in exchange for water credits.

But in the end, they’ve been forced to concentrate on their home markets, of which there are currently 16 left. “[We will] focus on our backyard until we can grow again,” Norgrove says.

While the departure from Texas didn’t come as a surprise to many industry insiders, Bear Republic fans, from retailers to distributors to bar patrons, have expressed disappointment.

Don No, the brand and development manager at local distributor Favorite Brands, is naturally bummed about losing a client, but this move affected him on a personal level as well. “Racer 5 was my first IPA,” he says.

“I’m looking forward to saying, ‘I have returned!’ like MacArthur,” – Richard Norgrove
image credit: Bear Republic Brewing Co.

So what does this mean for the future?

Norgrove predicts that in the next couple of years, other breweries may fall into his same predicament. In the meantime, Bear Republic will count on conditional-use permits to fuel its expansion, with an end goal of returning to its former markets in the order in which it withdrew.

“I’m looking forward to saying, ‘I have returned!’ like MacArthur,” says Norgrove, laughing. At the same time, he understands that making a grand re-entrance isn’t as easy at it sounds, given the hyper-competitive nature of craft beer these days. “We’re going to have to scramble back,” he admits.

When that happens, we’ll be waiting with a tap handle open.