City Brewery (Sacramento)
Sacramento, California, USA · Est. 1855
Tally's Take
Why this matters
Sacramento's brewing runs through one man, and this is where he starts: Frank Ruhstaller bought the City Brewery, founded 1855, in 1881. The Center for Sacramento History and Calisphere establish that Ruhstaller's Gilt Edge Brewery at 12th and H is this same City Brewery — so the archive holds Gilt Edge as an alias and a product identity rather than inventing a second brewery. Two names, one building. Getting that wrong is how a city's brewery count quietly doubles.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1855Founded
City Brewery, Sacramento.
- 1881Ruhstaller buys it
Later operated as the Gilt Edge Brewery at 12th and H — an alias, not a separate brewery.
The Beer Library
Beers
Ruhstaller's Gilt Edge Lager
Year-RoundLager
California Pass 187. Aliases: Gilt Edge Lager. Center for Sacramento History/Calisphere identifies Gilt Edge Lager as brewed by the Sacramento/City Brewery at 12th and H.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Ruhstaller's Gilt Edge Steam Beer
Year-RoundSteam Beer / California Common
California Pass 187. Aliases: Gilt Edge Steam Beer. Center for Sacramento History image catalog explicitly identifies City Brewery as maker of Ruhstaller's Gilt Edge steam beer.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Follow the money
How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1855Founded
- 1881Ruhstaller buys it
Later operated as the Gilt Edge Brewery at 12th and H — an alias, not a separate brewery.
No current parent in the archive's records — the moves above are history, not present ownership.
Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's California master, Pass 187, which cited https://calisphere.org/item/2d9c8d93ed7337414b29544476e7f01b/ 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 - historyProbable
Dated evidence as recorded in California Pass 187: 1855, 1881.
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 City Brewery (Sacramento)
- Is City Brewery (Sacramento) still open?
- No. City Brewery (Sacramento) has closed. California Pass 187. Founded 1855; Frank Ruhstaller purchased City Brewery in 1881. Center for Sacramento History/Calisphere identifies Ruhstaller's Gilt Edge Brewery as the same City Brewery at 12th and H, so Gilt Edge is treated as an alias/product identity rather than a separate brewery entity. Exact later corporate consolidation remains held.
- When was City Brewery (Sacramento) founded?
- City Brewery (Sacramento) was founded in 1855 in Sacramento, California, USA.
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