Perhaps no other brewery better personifies the maverick attitude of the microbrewing industry than Buffalo Bill’s Brewery. The first brewpub in America, started in 1983, Buffalo Bill’s helped launch the U.S. craft beer movement.
In the early 1980s, beer enthusiast and famed photojournalist Bill Owens envisioned opening an authentic brewpub similar to those that existed in England. It would serve homemade, hearty libations with character and integrity. At the time, California law prevented the joint operation of a brewery and pub, and true beer lovers had few alternatives to watery, mass produced beers, unless they could figure out how to make their own home brew.
The law changed in early 1983, giving brewpubs the green light to draft their own beer on the premises. Owens, a pioneer in the early brewpub movement, made his dream a reality and opened Buffalo Bill’s Brewery in Hayward, California.
Bill Owens played an important role in advocating for the landmark California Assembly Bill 3610, which allowed brewers to sell directly to consumers provided food was served. Owens did not stop there, and continued to advocate for the assembly bill's extension across the 50 states, as evidenced in this Letter to the Senator. The letter was published in Amateur Brewer magazine, one of many magazines produced and published within Buffalo Bill's Brewery.
Prior to opening Buffalo Bill's, Owens authored the book "How to Build A Small Brewery" in 1981. It was revised and expanded in 1989, and again in 1992 in collaboration with Geoff Harries. By this time it had sold over 30,000 copies. With the introduction of "How to Build a Small Brewery", many home brewers switched from extract brewing to grain brewing—a significant advancement in homebrewing for its time. Owens published "How to Build a Small Brewery", "American Brewer Magazine", "Beer the Magazine", "The Brewpub Manual", and a series of maps which chronicled the early craft beer movement in Northern California, from within Buffalo Bill's.
In 1982, Geoff Harries purchased the book, “How To Build A Small Brewery” by Bill Owens. Harries taught himself how to brew with this book, and became an award winning homebrewer by 1986.
After having been turned down for a brewing position at Triple Rock in Berkeley, Harries walked into Buffalo Bill's Brewery and asked Owens for a job. He replied “No, but if you want to clean some tanks for free you can”. Harries jumped at the opportunity, and was quickly promoted to Brewer. Harries then co-authored, “How To Build A Small Brewery, 3rd edition,” with Owens, adding “Draft Beer in 10 Days”. During this time Harries was the editor of “American Brewer Magazine,” as well as General Manager and Brewmaster at Brewpub On The Green in Fremont, California, Owens’ third brewpub.
Having started as an award-winning homebrewer, Harries typified the homespun culture of the craft brewing movement, and quickly found a path making beer for others. Over the past 30 years he has expanded Buffalo Bill’s Brewery, and is now embarking on his newest venture, Russell City Distillery.