Bavaria Brewery
Santa Cruz, California, USA · Est. 1865
Tally's Take
Why this matters
California Pass 187. Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History says Bavarian Brewery opened in 1865 after Pajaro Brewery. A primary April 1885 Santa Cruz Sentinel advertisement for 'THE BAVARIA BREWERY' on Mission Street opposite Vine states that it was open and ready to deliver a good article of lager beer. Because the museum uses Bavarian Brewery and the contemporary ad uses Bavaria Brewery, the latter is canonical while Bavarian Brewery is retained as an alias. Exact proprietor and closure remain unresolved.
The Beer Library
Beers
Lager Beer
Year-RoundLager
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SCS18850429.1.4. April 1885 Santa Cruz Sentinel advertisement says Bavaria Brewery was ready to deliver a good article of lager beer. No formal brand name or ABV is stated.
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Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's California master, Pass 187, which cited https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SCS18850429.1.4 for this entry. The cited page has not been opened by the archive.
Tally's California master, Pass 187 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-19Reviewed 2026-08-19
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Bavaria Brewery
- Is Bavaria Brewery still open?
- No. Bavaria Brewery has closed. California Pass 187. Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History says Bavarian Brewery opened in 1865 after Pajaro Brewery. A primary April 1885 Santa Cruz Sentinel advertisement for 'THE BAVARIA BREWERY' on Mission Street opposite Vine states that it was open and ready to deliver a good article of lager beer. Because the museum uses Bavarian Brewery and the contemporary ad uses Bavaria Brewery, the latter is canonical while Bavarian Brewery is retained as an alias. Exact proprietor and closure remain unresolved.
- When was Bavaria Brewery founded?
- Bavaria Brewery was founded in 1865 in Santa Cruz, California, USA.
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