Hop Dogma was born from the home brewing movement.
It all started when our co-founder Dan received a homebrewing kit as a gift from his then girlfriend and now wife, Kara (he knew she was a keeper). Soon, their small downstairs was converted into a makeshift brewery. A passion was born.
After years of home brewing, Dan still felt he had more to contribute and started eyeing his dream of starting a small brewery. He enlisted the help from some of his talented brewing buddies. Ethan brought a solid business background and passion for beer to the table. Jesse was an accomplished home-brewer with a solid background in science as well as being a talented handyman (You should see his chicken coup!).
We’re small and we like it that way.
Our philosophy has always been to make good beer and do good with it. We’ve remained inspired by focusing on brewing for our community. Our “Campfire Beer Campaign” rose over $38,000 for the victims of the Butte County Wildfires in 2018 and we have donated and invested heavily in local education since our opening in 2013. Since our humble beginnings, we have donated well over $100,000 to causes we believe in. We believe wholeheartedly that it’s part of our responsibility to give back to the community which we love so much.
Like our beers, each brewer is different.
Everyone on the brewing team brings something a little different to the table. Jesse is the swiss-army knife. He has a little knowledge of just about everything and always strives for perfection. He’s been there, with Dan, from almost the very beginning and is constantly pushing to improve Hop Dogma in any way possible. From utilizing his chemistry and science background in the brewhouse to serving customers in the bar. He is an essential part of what makes Hop Dogma what it is. When he’s not brewing up tasty beer, you are most likely to find him shredding the Santa Cruz mountains on his mountain bike and falling off of it.
The creative spark behind Hop Dogma is the founder, Dan, who is always pushing Hop Dogma into new directions and striving to find both traditional and innovative ways to further improve our beer. When Dan isn’t plotting Hop Dogma’s next beer, he’s probably playing his dobro or out on a hike. Dan and his wife Kara live on the Coastside and have three young boys who are well on their way to being future brewmasters!
Then, there is the team behind the bar who are honestly the lifeblood of Hop Dogma. Our talented staff take beer very seriously and work hard to ensure that you, our patrons, have the best experience possible while visiting. Oh yeah, then there’s Carlo, the tap room manager, well… he’s a Dodger’s fan (we know we know) but we still like him.
Dan and Jesse are also the founding members of the False Bottom Band (www.falsebottomband.com). Even their music is named after a piece of brewing equipment!
Hop Dogma core team—circa 2019
Every beer begins as a conversation.
We feel that brewing in small batches assures we’re intentional in everything we do. Never does a beer reach our tap room until we feel that it is ready. For us, brewing truly is a labor of love and when it produces a new fan favorite, our hearts are full.
A labor of love.
We make a point to fly up to Yakima, WA to hand select premium hops for our beer. For many of our IPAs, we will get as detailed as discussing which brand and lot of hops we think would compliment the unique beer best. Working with premium quality hops has brought our hoppy beers to new heights, including a recent silver medal for our Double IPA at the U.S. Open Beer Championship.
Complexity, Distinction, and Character
For us, every beer is an individual and requires unique planning. Over the years we’ve learned certain styles demand simplicity while others thrive with a more complex approach. However, great beer comes from attention to the details. The accumulation of many small little things and best practices that have taken many years to realize and appreciate. The work is never done. We are always obsessed with improving.
