This Saturday for #beersaturday my wife and I went to Buffalo Bill's Brewery in Hayward, California for dinner and a few beers. This place opened in 1983 when laws changed allowing craft brewers to sell their beers directly to the public. The brewery was opened by Bill Owens. Buffalo Bills Brewery is in the Smithsonian as America's first brew pub. Prior to 1983 only mass produced beers were allowed to be sold. Once the laws changed and Buffalo Bills Brewery opened it gave way to the huge and still booming craft beer market that we know today.
The brewery is located on B Street in Hayward which was the location for the Hayward Zucchini Festival when I was young. I was about 10 years old when this brew pub opened. I can remember my mother going to the Zuchinni Festival with my grandparents, my brother and I always had to go along but didn't like the festival. My grandfather would take my brother and I to Buffalo Bills to have something to eat while my grandmother and mother shopped at the festival.
When I turned 21, I was excited to go to Buffalo Bills to drink the beer I watched my grandfather drink. Buffalo Bills was a small crowded brewery when I turned 21 and my friends and I visited it often. The pizzas were always amazing. Over the years Buffalo Bills has had special dinners for Fat Tuesday, Cinco De Mayo, and Saint Patrick's Day which is always a hit. One year the week leading up to Fat Tuesday they gave beads out for every Tasmanian Devil beer you drank (I will talk more about this beer in a minute). If you drank 10 beers and had 10 sets of beads by Fat Tuesday you were given a free dinner for two which included crawfish, corn, and potatoes. Of course I got enough beads to take my wife to dinner.
Buffalo Bills has always been the happening spot. Due to it's popularity they have doubled it's indoor space since it first opened and have created a large outdoor dinning area. In front of the brewery there is outdoor seating that wraps around the side. The outdoor seating on the side of the brewery has a tent type structure that is heated and allows this space to be used year round. Buffalo Bills has within the last few years opened a distillery next door, which has very limited hours.
When we arrived we had our choice of seating since we beat the Saturday night crowd. We sat inside the brew pub next to the open front windows. I enjoyed the flagship beer which is the Tasmanian Devil, that has been brewed since 1986 and even appeared in Newsweek magazine. My wife enjoyed a Buffalo Bills Sangria. For Dinner I had a chicken sausage pizza. The chicken sausage pizza has a pesto sauce, chicken sausage, and sliced apples. You are probably thinking the apples sound strange, but you have to try this combination it is delicious. After all many chicken sausages that I have seen in stores also has apples. My wife had a Mediterranean salad.
The Tasmanian Devil beer is an Imperial Ale with 8% ABV. The hops in this beer are a blend of Australian hops, Cascade hops from Tasmania, Pride of Ringwood from Victoria, and Cascade from Washington. The beer is very well balanced and fruity with a touch of sweetness. My second beer for the night was a Black and Taz, which is a black and tan made with Tasmanian Devil Beer and Guinness.
In the picture below you can see the brewing area beyond the bar.
Buffalo Bill's is also famous for their Pumpkin Ale that has been brewed since 1986 as well. The Pumpkin Ale taste very much like a Pumpkin Pie. The last few years Buffalo Bills has started brewing a Black Pumpkin Ale which is a stout with the flavor of Pumpkin Pie. The Black Pumpkin has become my favorite of the two Pumpkin Ales.
I thought another beer I should share is another beer that I enjoy at Buffalo Bill's which is the Alimony IPA.
Covid shut this great brewery down for over a year and they are fighting back. The staffing level is low so they have gone from their large traditional menu to a smaller menu that you order when you walk in then sit down and they bring the food to you.
So if you are ever in Hayward, California stop by Americas first Craft Brew Pub. I feel very lucky to have always lived close to this piece of brewing history.