BREWED FOR YOU FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS

Devil's Canyon Brewing Company was founded in 2001 in Belmont, California, by Chris Garrett. Today, after over twenty years of innovation and   and support from our friends and fans, 

In 2001, Chris Garrett founded Devil's Canyon in Belmont, California. Back then the name was BREW4U, and the concept was simple; offer home-brewers the chance to brew beer themselves with experienced brewers in a bonafide brewery. BREW4U started as a part time passion project that quickly became a full-time business. After winning dozens of awards and securing a long-term contract for flagship brew Full Boar Scotch Ale, Chris left Big Tech to brew full time. BREW4U became Devil's Canyon Brewing Co., named after Belmont's canyon, La Cañada Del Diablo. Soon after, Chris's wife Kristiann left her teaching career for beer, and with newborn daughter Millie in tow, helped sell and delivered the beer Chris and the team brewed.

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Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company is a family-owned and operated craft brewery in San Carlos, California, a city located in the center of the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula. As a twenty-year-old company, it is difficult to describe every innovation, memory, milestone, and product created throughout all the years. This page shares company history, current events, and our plan for the company. Read below to have your mind blown. ​

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Growing up on a ranch in New Mexico, Chris Garrett, Founder and CEO of Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company, learned the foundation of the skills he uses today. Living and helping on the ranch from an early age, Chris learned from his grandfather how to rebuild things when they broke down. Building, farming, mechanics, and driving big trucks and machines were parts of his day-to-day life. On the ranch, you don’t throw anything away (keep this in mind, folks). Everything is either fixed when broken, repurposed, or used until it disintegrates. Without even realizing it, this was the start of Chris’s dedication to sustainability. 
​Nearing the summer of junior year in high school, Chris’s parents gave him the option of working on the ranch (a workday that starts before dawn and ends after dusk) or taking extra classes at a college. So, Chris made the decision to take college classes at a school in California called Menlo College. Over that summer, Chris fell in love with the campus, the people, and area. For the next four years, Chris attended Menlo College, which resulted in life-changing experiences leading him to his life today. 
From studying multiple fields like technology, biosciences, business, and a handful of others, Chris discovered his expertise in tech and his love for brewing. The first place he fermented yeast was in a lab at the school! Post-grad, Chris started working for tech companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Disney. We can’t share all the details, but he was actually the brains behind significant tech platforms and innovations you likely use today. Yep, he’s REALLY smart. ​

CROWD PLEASING BREWS

After years in the tech industry, Chris wasn’t happy. He was missing something: tangibility. With most technology platforms, you often can’t touch your creation. You can’t see how it makes your customers feel. So, he started his own brewing business on the side of his day job with one of his buddies.
​The two partners began brewing for restaurants and breweries, staying up late throughout the week and all day on the weekends, perfecting their craft, learning how flavors and ingredients work with each other and which ones don’t. After they realized how great they were and how much they loved it, they left their jobs and went to brew full time. 
The company officially started in Belmont in 2001. Chris and his partner found success in their business model brewing for other restaurants, and then brewing something for themselves to enjoy every now and then. They actually ended up brewing ____ barrels of beer one year in their tiny seven-gallon systems! That is a lot of beer through a tiny system like that!  
​It was at the Craft Brewing Festival at Shoreline Amphitheater in 2003 that the brewery changed forever. Little did Chris and his partner know when entering the festival that it was a competition, where the winner earns a year-long contract with Shoreline to offer their beer on a handful of taps. Chris and his partner ended up winning the competition! 
Now, here’s the funny part. They didn’t have a brand! Since all the beer they sold under a white label, Devil’s Canyon didn’t exist! Chris asked the coordinators of the competition what they wanted to call their beer, to which they responded something to the nature of “Um, no, this is your beer, what do YOU want to call it?” Quick! Come up with a brand! That’s what Chris and his partner had to do. In a day. 
Confused and excited all at once, the two partners were on a mission, so they headed to a museum in Belmont. There they opened a history book about the city, and, on the page, it said, “Devil’s Canyon.” And there you have it. Boom! Brewery name. (If you’re curious about the history of that name specifically, call us!) 
All through the next year, Devil’s Canyon was available on draught at Shoreline amphitheater and soon after, all over the Bay Area. Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company was now a successful craft brewery and distribution company. 
Still operating in the tiny brewhouse, the brewery began opening one day a month, the last Friday of the month, to the public. It was this that started the “Beer Friday” tradition. Devil’s Canyon quickly became a neighborhood staple, bringing in people from all over the Bay Area. You will never guess... we outgrew the tiny place. 

In 2013, Devil’s Canyon moved to the facility we are currently located. This building is amazing. Before we moved in, it was a Tesla R&D facility! At first visit, the building was not fit for any business to move in – it was supposed to be completely torn down and rebuilt. But because of his extensive background in repairing things and his dedication to keeping parts until every bit of it is unusable (thanks Chris’s grandfather!), Chris and his team gutted the entire inside of the facility. They rebuilt beams, reset the concrete, rewired all the electricity and lighting, and cleaned the entire place out.  
When rebuilding, they used thousands of pounds of metal, wood, and other materials they collected from other buildings that were being torn down or remodeled. For example, he and his partner helped tear down a house in Menlo Park and they were able to keep the wood paneling which is now in multiple locations around the brewery. We could go on for hours talking about every piece of the brewery which came from a different facility, an old tech building they tore down, a scrap yard, or even dog food plants and schools. Sustainability comes naturally to Chris; he didn’t even question the fact that they were going to use as many repurposed materials as possible. 
Today, we are a 20-year-old company, and we are just getting back into the groove of things post-COVID. From making hand sanitizer, doing virtual tours, virtual tastings, converting the beer garden to a restaurant, doing dinner boxes, hosting a carnival, putting together many markets, and lots and lots of packaging beer, we are entering 2022 with great spirits and an even greater community behind us. ​​

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MEET THE TEAM

Chris Garrett

Founder/Owner

Some more info here

Kristiann Garrett

Founder/Owner

Some more info here