our story

Around The Horn Brewing Company was mused about in 2012, envisioned in 2014, founded in 2017, and finally brought to life in 2020. The brainchild of Andrew Sabatine, Rachel Sabatine, and Shirley Horn, it's the intersection of the trio's love of craft beer and their love of the beautiful California Sierra. 

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Rachel Sabatine (nee Horn) came of (drinking) age in 2011, around the same time that the number of craft breweries in the United States started to skyrocket. She and her mother, Shirley Horn, spent a number of years in Southern California, together exploring the breweries in the region. On weekends, they could be found outside of Yosemite in the quaint Gold Rush town of Groveland, the location of the family's vacation home. Throughout their travels, Rachel and Shirley often visited breweries in towns just like Groveland, and Rachel pondered: "There should be a craft brewery in Groveland." Shirley challenged her to do it.

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In 2015, Shirley retired (in a true mic drop sorta way) and said "peace out" to the Los Angeles traffic by moving full time to her home in Groveland. Around that time, Andrew Sabatine found his way into their lives. Rachel and Andrew met in line for beer at a Chris Young concert at a casino near Palm Springs. An avid fisherman and frequent visitor to the Sierras, it didn't take Andrew more than a few brewery visits and a trip to Groveland to get on board with the plan.

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In 2017, the now-married Andrew and Rachel Sabatine moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Rachel enrolled in Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Business to fulfill her promise of getting an MBA. Andrew made a career change, leaving his job in real estate management to work at Southern Grist Brewing Company, one of the South's most successful startup breweries. While he finished up his time in Tennessee, Andrew also completed his formal beer education by earning a Brewing Technology Certificate at the Brewing and Distilling Center in Knoxville.

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After Rachel's graduation from Vandy and Andrew's completion of brewing school, they joined Shirley full time in Groveland. In December of 2019, they officially moved into the building at 17820 State Highway 120, which once housed great establishments such as the Big Oak Restaurant, Bobbie's, and the Oak Grove Inn. With a lot of help from local vendors and Sonora-based construction company Plum Construction, they transformed the building from a corporate Subway franchise to a rustic taproom with an attached brewhouse.

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Andrew, Rachel, Shirley, and the rest of the Around The Horn team are excited to welcome you and your family to enjoy our dream. Cheers!