Jack McAuliffe, a seminal figure in the craft beer industry, has died.
At age 80, co-founder of New Albion Brewing Jack McAuliffe, passed in Arkansas, leaving a profound impact on craft brewing, Brewbound reported.
Famed for pioneering the modern craft beer movement, Jack McAuliffe founded New Albion Brewing in 1976 in Sonoma, California. After experiencing richer, fuller-flavored beers during his time in Scotland with the U.S. Navy, McAuliffe was inspired to bring similar flavors to America. Together with Suzy Stern and Jane Zimmerman, he built the brewing equipment from scrapped materials, introducing traditional English-style beers to the U.S. market. New Albion Brewery ceased operations in 1982 due to financial hurdles stemmed from lenders’ unfamiliarity with the craft brewing concept.
The significance of New Albion Brewing lay not just in its beers but also in its influence. Ken Grossman, founder of Sierra Nevada, credits McAuliffe's brewery as a major inspiration. Additionally, professor Michael Lewis of the University of California–Davis highlighted the educational value of New Albion by incorporating visits to the brewery in his brewing curriculum. This underscored the practical challenges of small-scale brewing operations.
The brewery's impact was so profound that Boston Beer’s Samuel Adams re-launched New Albion Ale in 2012, thirty years after its closure. All proceeds went to McAuliffe, acknowledging his critical role in the industry. The revitalization included a national tour to pique interest and education about the pioneering craft brewery.
Renee DeLuca, the legacy's keeper through partnerships with BrewDog and Raleigh Brewing, has continued to produce New Albion Ale, ensuring the brand’s survival and continuation. The brewing community still feels the reverberations of McAuliffe's work, as California today boasts the highest number of craft breweries in the United States.
The significance of Jack McAuliffe’s work extends beyond numbers. His brewery was one of the first microbreweries in the United States and has been honored in the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History.
Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Company, remarked:
Jack was brewing craft beer when nothing was easy. Nobody made small-scale brewing equipment, nobody wanted to invest, retailers and distributors didn’t want your beer, drinkers couldn’t understand why the beer didn’t taste ‘normal.’ It was so different from today.
The challenges were many, and the understanding Jack faced from potential financial backers was discouraging. "They just didn’t understand what I was doing, they couldn’t comprehend the idea of a small brewery," McAuliffe once pointed out, highlighting the broad gap between his vision and the market reality of the 1970s.
Jack’s contribution is perhaps best summed up by his unswerving dedication to craft beer and the trail he blazed for thousands of brewers that followed. According to Julia Herz, an avid craft beer advocate: If you’re into beer, then Jack McAuliffe’s small but mighty California brewery, which literally only survived six years, fueled everyone’s love of beer. The influence of Jack and his daughter, Renee DeLuca, looms large.
Jack McAuliffe’s vision fundamentally transformed the brewing industry, fostering a culture that cherishes uniqueness and quality. Even as he has passed, his legacy endures in every craft beer poured and savored. His pioneering spirit and unyielding commitment have immortalized him as a foundational pillar of the craft beer movement.
