What’s the Sacramento region’s flagship brewery? It might just be a lager-focused, German-inspired spot 20 minutes west of the Capitol.

Trendier breweries have come onto the scene since Sudwerk, pronounced “sood-work,” debuted in Davis in 1989. Yet while other elder statesmen of the Sacramento brewing scene such as Rubicon have gone under, Sudwerk continues to rise and grow.

Sudwerk’s legacy isn’t just in its longevity. The People’s Pilsner successfully defended its gold medal at the 2022 Great American Beer Festival last weekend, a year after Sudwerk was named the U.S.’ best 5,001-15,000-barrel brewery at the nation’s most competitive beer battle. (Congratulations are also in order for Elk Grove’s Flatland Brewing and Slice Beer in Lincoln, both of which also earned GABF gold medals among 2,000+ submissions last weekend.)

UC Davis brewing program students have spent six months working hands-on at Sudwerk every year since the mid-1990s, creating an impressive roster of alumni between the university graduates and the business’ former employees. Almanac Beer Co. (Alameda) head brewer Phillip Emerson, Dunloe Brewing (Davis) founder Brandon Fleming and Seapine Brewing Co. (Seattle) co-founder Mike Hudson all got their start at Sudwerk, among others.

“That’s Sudwerk’s almost unofficial role within the industry, at least within this region, the fact that we’ve had so many brewers start here and move on to open other breweries or become head brewers,” co-owner Trent Yackzan said. “Davis grows brewers, and Sudwerk’s always played a role in that.”

It’s this region’s version of Russian River or Stone Brewing, stalwarts that pioneered the North Bay and San Diego craft brewery movements beginning in the mid-1990s. Because Sudwerk’s distribution is mostly confined to Northern California and gets outpaced by other area breweries, the brand doesn’t carry the same cachet as the others outside of Yolo County.

Even in the Sacramento region, Sudwerk lacks the sex appeal of, say, Track 7 or Alaro. The awards speak for themselves, Yackzan said, but standing out amid waves of newer breweries has proven challenging.

“I think it just feeds to more of an underdog mentality, and that just fires us up,” Yackzan said. “To be honest, I feel like we’re experiencing challenges that the new kids on the block aren’t yet. It’s just another angle, that constant thing of thinking about, ‘How do we stay fresh? How do we stay in people’s minds?’”

Yackzan and co-owner Ryan Fry have shifted Sudwerk’s marketing away from German roots and more toward California craft since buying the brewery in 2013. The logo is now a grizzly bear riding one of Davis’ charming high-wheel bikes, and updated labels have helped keep the brewery’s products off store shelves intended for imported beers, where Yackzan said they used to mistakenly end up.

For my money, no local beer screams “autumn” better than Sudwerk’s lightly malty Märzen amber lager. My sister plans to serve that and Sudwerk’s hefeweizen as two of the three beers at her wedding next year; tasty, local and drinkable for a variety of palates.

Yackzan hopes Sudwerk’s $2 million restaurant and biergarten expansion project, slated to open in January, will bring in new customers. Because right now, award-winning beer is kind of hiding in plain sight.

What I’m eating

Hop Junction opened as another wings-and-beer taproom in 2017, but owner Jas Purewal soon implemented a change that set his Greenhaven restaurant apart from the rest. Purewal ditched burgers for butter chicken and nachos for naan, kept pouring from 20 taps behind the rounded corner bar and created the region’s only North Indian restaurant/craft beer bar.

There’s still something of a sports bar feel at 7600 Greenhaven Drive, Suite 20 between the neon-lit interior and Monday Night Football on TV. Tandoori chicken tacos (three for $11) helped bridge the gap between concepts, with their sweet brown chutney rubbing up against a mild pico de gallo in corn tortillas.

Most of the expansive menu doesn’t have the same fusion bend, and classics such as malai kofta ($15) are nicely-executed as well. Paneer, nuts and potatoes smushed together into three deep-fried vegetarians meatballs that swam in a creamy orange gravy.

The idea of pickled prawns might throw off some unfamiliar eaters, but Hop Junction’s juicy achari shrimp ($18) doesn’t have too much of the acidic flavor one might expect. Its reddish-brown sauce is smoky and peppery, interrupted by the occasional anise seed.

While cocktails and wine are available, washing our meal down with beer felt more appropriate. Our server recommended something light such as a lager or IPA to pair with the dishes coming out; I enjoyed Urban Roots’ refreshing Floofster hefeweizen.

Address: 7600 Greenhaven Drive, Suite 20, Sacramento. Hours: 3:30-9:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday. Drinks: Full bar, with an emphasis on beer. Meat-free options: more than a dozen vegetarian options, some vegan. Accessibility: ramp leading up to front door, two handicapped parking spots. Noise level: moderate.

Openings & Closings

• Naija Boy Tacos made its hotly-anticipated debut at 628 15th St. on Oct. 6. Rasheed Amedu’s groundbreaking Nigerian taqueria concept, which I wrote about in July before permitting problems set its opening date back, will eventually move or close to make way for a higher-end sister Nigerian restaurant. Get it while you can.
• Pitch & Fiddle opened its Fair Oaks pub on Saturday, bringing Parmesan-dusted corned beef tacos and a deep Irish whiskey collection to 8525 Madison Ave., Suite 126. Owned by Brent Fellmeth, Kyle Schubert and Ron Reber, its other location opened in La Riviera in 2015.
  
  
• Rock-N-Fire’s flame has been extinguished after five years in Folsom. Owner Michael Sanson (also the guy behind Plank Kitchen & Bar) shut his all-American restaurant down because it couldn’t keep up with rising food, labor and energy costs, The Bee’s Alex Meugge reported.

This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.