Bottom to top: David Cook, senior brewer; Linda Cooley; Kevin Montgomery, Cellar COO; Tuekwe George, Yurok Agricultural Corporation CEO; Richard Hanger, CEO; Bob Lemon, Warehouse; Kevin Fischer, Lead Maintenance; Ross McCabe, Machine Operator; Sean Smith, Packaging Lead.
Mad River Brewing Company, owned by the Yurok Agricultural Corporation, has purchased a Wild Goose canning line.
Wholly owned corporation of the Yurok Tribe, the largest Tribe in California, the Yurok Agricultural Corporation is expanding its foothold in this “niche market business,” continuing to diversify the Tribal economic portfolio.
The canning line will be operational in March in Blue Lake, California.
“Owning our own canning line will allow us the flexibility to anticipate and meet new market trends, while continuing to offer the current selection of products that our customers love. This is an exciting time for Mad River Brewing Company, and we are all ready for a busy year,” stated Linda Cooley, COO Mad River Brewing Company.
Currently Mad River Brewing Company produces two beers in cans: Steelhead Extra Pale and Citra Hop Steelhead Hoppy Pale Ale.
The new canning line will speed up Mad River’s production and provide an opportunity for other styles of beer to be packaged. Growing into other markets will provide a larger distribution opportunity. Mad River Brewing Company anticipates releasing new beers in cans for the busy summer season.
The Yurok Agricultural Corporation purchased 30-year-old Mad River Brewing and its taproom and restaurant in Humboldt County, California, in 2019.
When the Yurok Agricultural Corporation acquired Mad River Brewing, the Yuroks joined a league of very few Tribes in the country to own and/or operate a brewing company. On January 30, 2020, the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians opened the doors to Rincon Reservation Road Brewery, a.k.a. 3R Brewery, the first certified Native American-owned and -operated brewery on Tribal land in Southern California. In 2018, the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma launched its Downstream Crafted Brewing Co. And in 2015, the Stillaguamish Tribe opened Washington’s first Tribally owned and operated craft brewery: Angel’s Tap House Brewery.
“Mad River Brewing Company has been brewing quality craft beer since 1989. Under this new ownership we will modernize our plant and develop new markets while maintaining the important relationships we have developed with our employees and the community,” Richard Hanger, CEO for Mad River Brewery, previously stated.
The purchase on the canning line is a testament to that vision of modernization and expansion.
