USA, CA: East Sacramento’s Tower Brewing announces permanent closure

East Sacramento’s Tower Brewing announced on Facebook on October 1 that it will cease to exist after the close of business Sunday, October 2.

Owner Jeff Howes said in a Facebook post that High Water Brewing will take over the location on 66th Street near Folsom Boulevard.

“Unfortunately, my personal health has declined to a point where I can no longer support the brewery physically, mentally, or financially,” Howes said. “The last three years have been so challenging with the stress and tremendous financial strain caused by Covid and inflation but the health issues were the final straw.”

Howes took over ownership of the brewery, then called Sactown Union, three years ago and rebranded. He and his brewing team resurrected beers formerly made by Rubicon, the first craft brewery in Sacramento. Monkey Knife Fight, which Tower distributed in cans and kegs in the Sacramento area, was originally a Rubicon beer. Rubicon was located in the same Midtown location that currently houses Alaro Craft Brewery.

Tower Brewing sported a solid 3.74 rating on Untappd, the ratings app that has come to dominate the beer industry.

The brewery distributed around the Sacramento area. High Water, based in Lodi, is a larger brewery, with nearly 200,000 Untappd check-ins. According to Howes, High Water will open in East Sacramento on Oct. 7 and will continue brewing favorite Tower beers, in addition to serving its own brews.

The sudden closure is the first in Sacramento in years as the craft beer boom of the past decade brought dozens of new breweries to the area. About 70 breweries operate in the Sacramento area. The Sacramento Brewers Guild lists 64 members, but large breweries like Track 7 and Knee Deep are not listed in the membership section of the website.