THE TEAM

Dave Gull

Founder

Dave is a 4th generation Sacramento resident, beer history geek, proud Oregon Duck, and Little League coach. With the support of family and friends, Dave assembled the pieces necessary to construct a fantastic brewery in the spirit of local, quality craft alongside Brewmaster Brian. Dave completed the UC Davis Extension, Intensive Brewing Science course in June 2012.

Alex Tonello

Head Brewer

Alex joined New Helvetia in August 2019 after 4 years of brewing at Knee Deep Brewing Company out of Auburn, CA. Alex has a background and passion in both brewing science as well as culinary arts, and is well versed in pairing food with craft beer. He takes great pride in producing exciting, well-balanced beer and is always experimenting with new, out of the box brewing concepts.

Juan Carlos Cuevas

Assistant Brewer

Juan Carlos joined New Helvetia in 2017 as a Cellarman, and now works with Iver as Assistant Brewer. He attended UC Davis and in 2018 graduated with a BS in Food Science with a concentration in Brewing Science. 

Tasting Room Staff

Last, but not least, our Beertenders.  The faces of New Helvetia; the community greeters; the folks who keep you coming back.  Counter to the “beer snob” stereotype, our Beertenders are genuinely personable and knowledgeable people.  With extracurricular talents ranging from mountain-biking extraordinaire to martial arts to design, our staff is not only well-informed pourers, but are also well-rounded people, which is appropriate of the spirit of our company!

Nueva Helvecia Colonia

"Why are you called "New Helvetia?"

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We are asked this question a lot. New Helvetia, or more accurately "Nueva Helvecia Colonia", was the name of John Sutter's original land grant from the Mexican government. The 48,000-acre rancho included the area that is now downtown Sacramento, and stretched north along the Sacramento and Feather Rivers to present-day Marysville. 

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Got it? "New Helvetia" is the name this area was known as before the Gold Rush, before California was a state and before Sacramento was a city. We did NOT name ourselves after a font. 

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To learn more about New Helvetia, the early days of Sacramento, the people, our local history, please visit (not just virtually) the following attractions.

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Sutter Fort 

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The Sacramento History Museum

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The California Museum

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The Old City Cemetery

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Buffalo Brewery

Originally established in 1890, the Buffalo Brewing Company was started by Herman Grau based on the successful breweries of Buffalo, New York. An ambitious brewery from the beginning, Buffalo became among the largest beer operations west of the Mississippi, with distribution throughout California, Nevada, Hawaii, parts of Asia and Central America. Prohibition reduced Buffalo to producing ice and near beer, but it quickly resumed beer production after repeal. The brewery ceased operation in 1945 after national breweries locked up distribution channels and choked regional and local breweries into extinction. However, in the 1970’s, two enterprising law school graduates re-launched the Buffalo label in Sacramento. After a promising start and apparent success, the upstart operation folded only a few year later and the Buffalo has not roamed in Sacramento ever since. That is until we came along.

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The Buffalo Brewery was the inspiration that sparked New Helvetia Brewing Co. Buffalo is a reminder of a time when Sacramento accomplished big things. Despite being in a relatively small town, despite a lack of technology or infrastructure, Buffalo Brewing Co. built a brewery and a brand that exemplified the pioneering spirit of the American West. Nostalgia still remains for Buffalo Beer breweriana, and remnants can be found all over Northern California. New Helvetia introduced "Buffalo Craft Lager" as a homage to the importance of Buffalo Brewery to Sacramento, both our history and our evolution as a city.

You will find artifacts from both the original Buffalo Brewery, and the 1970s edition. Take a look at the maps and posters on the walls, they tell a story. The display case showcases some of the coolest, and rarest Buffalo Beer artifacts anywhere. Say hello to "Thurston", our carved wooden buffalo head. According to the Central Valley rancher who delivered to us, it came out of an original Buffalo Brewery tavern (there were many). Whether true or not, we don't care. Thurston is part of our story now.