Amador City, CA — Like so many Chico State students, Aaron Wittman drank his share of beer. But he started making his own then, too.

Today, that master’s of English graduate, is putting those other skills to work prominently as beermaker-partner of Break Even Beermakers, where he’s making exceptional brews now carried by the likes of Michelin-starred San Francisco restaurants State Bird Provisions and The Progress, as well as their sister establishment, The Anchovy Bar.

“Tiny but mighty” is how he describes the brewery. It was founded nearly four years ago by Kevin Carter and Cassie Davis, who also own the Imperial Hotel a few yards away, as well as the nearby 90-acre Banded Family Ranch that plays an important role in the beer making.

Visit the ranch, and you’ll find an adorable menagerie of goats, cows, donkeys, and ponies.

But you’ll also spy an experimental one-acre plot planted with 10 to 15 different types of hops for use in the beers. The plan is to grow that acreage. For now, the brewery also buys hops from the Willamette Valley south into California.

“Close to 95 percent of our hops come from California. I’m very proud of that,” says Wittman, who likes to keep things local.

Very local, in fact. Apple, pear, peach, apricot, plum, fig, and pomegranate trees also are plentiful on the ranch. While some of that fruit will star in dishes served at the Imperial Hotel’s restaurant, a lot more will be featured in the inspired farm-to-table beers that Wittman crafts.

One look at the vintage beer brewing kettles on display and you know Wittman aims to bring distinction to his beers. Unlike the usual stainless steel ones, these are all gleaming copper and made by a Kentucky still manufacturer.

Besides their innate beauty, Wittman also appreciates that copper is a superior heat conductor that can add more caramel notes. In the back are open-top fermenters, that he uses to impart more fruity and yeasty tastes, too.

Wittman makes 300 gallons of beer at a time, most of it sold here at the source. Pick up some cans to-go or enjoy the beer on tap while taking a load off at Break Even’s comfortable biergarten out back, done up with umbrella-topped tables and newly installed misters that are a godsend during scorching summer days in Gold Country.

The Summer Bummer Super Pale Ale ($4 for a small; $8 for a large) is the color of sunshine, and as crisp and refreshing as it gets.

If you’re more in the mood for alcohol-free, Break Even also makes a daily shrub. On the day I was there, it was strawberry, which can be added to still or fizzy water for a slightly sweet, slightly tangy sip. You can even add the strawberry shrub syrup to any beer to make an inspired shandy.

To go along with the beverages is menu of snacks, sandwiches, and even a meatloaf dinner ($21). The pickle bowl ($7) showcases locally grown farm veggies such as pickled carrots and beets, plus fermented turnips. They are plenty crunchy, not overly salty or wincingly sour, but instead nicely balanced with a lively tang.

The “House Chips” ($12) are the most popular item by far. They’re not like paper-thin crispy potato chips, but thicker, more malleable and tender. The potatoes are first blanched, then fried, before being frozen to break down their flesh more. Then, they are fried to order, resulting in crispness at the edges and a nearly custardy interior.

The flavorful chips are seasoned with nutritional yeast, malt vinegar, paprika, and garlic. Dunk them in the accompanying “white sauce.” It may look like Ranch, but it’s closer to Alabama white barbecue sauce, made with house-made mayo laced with plenty of vinegar.

Discovering a motherlode in this town may be a thing of the past. But it’s certainly easy to find beer and noshes that are golden.

More: A Visit to Amador City’s Imperial Hotel