Brew Master Bob Smith’s dream to open a small brewery specializing in craft beers started in the late seventies. In 1977 Bob became a member of the original group that founded the “Humbrewers Guild”. Excursions to buy brewing supplies led Bob to Ken Grossman’s Homebrew Shop in Chico, California. After Ken shared his plans to build a brewery in Chico to be called Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Bob became determined to found a similar brewery in Humboldt County. Bob’s contact with Ken becomes pivotal in the founding of Mad River. In the spring of 1989 Sierra Nevada, having outgrown its starting brewery and with a new larger plant under construction, offered to sell their original equipment to Smith. At this point the micro brewery business in general had proven its viability and the overall financial climate had changed so financing looked possible. Smith developed a prospectus and by fall found the investors necessary to establish the corporation known as Mad River Brewing Company.