Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company announced that its award-winning brewmaster, Kevin Cox, died suddenly on Sunday. Photo via Instagram

Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company announced Monday that its award-winning brewmaster, Kevin Cox, died suddenly on Sunday.

Cox was one of the founders of the company in 2007.

“Tioga-Sequoia would not be where we are today without Kevin. With over 30 years in the brewing industry we are not alone in who he has influenced these past 3 decades. Kevin will be best remembered for his dedication to his craft, his larger than life kindness, and his ability to build up brewers and his community,” according to a social media post.

Along with several regional and state awards, Cox was a five-time gold medal winner at the annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado.

“We are currently working with his family, members of the brewing community, and his friends on a way to memorialize his legacy. More to come soon as everyone takes some time to grieve. Until then, everyone here at Tioga we will all raise a pint of General Sherman IPA in his memory…” the post said.

He began his career as a cellar master/production manager for Heitz Wine Cellars in the Napa Valley from 1979-1989, according to the Tioga-Sequoia website. He then moved to Fresno to help in the founding of Butterfield Brewing Company, a San Joaquin Valley favorite for many years. After leaving Butterfield in 2003, Kevin became the head brewmaster at Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company.

Cox was instrumental in putting Tioga-Sequoia in Downtown Fresno, according to the 2017 Business Journal Executive Profile of Michael Cruz, president of Tioga-Sequoia.

“Fresh out of college, I jumped on board with Tioga-Sequoia in its infancy in 2009, when the company owned the brand and recipes for its beers but contracted with breweries to produce and package them. I was hired to bring Tioga-Sequoia to life as a full-fledged brewery. I partnered with our brewmaster Kevin Cox to scout and find a location for the new brewery.
We decided in 2010 on a building in the 700 block of Broadway Street, which was, coincidentally, being developed into a brewpub, but it never opened, because a partner in the venture died.

“The surviving partner put the place up for sale. Though it was a little small for us, it was in a part of downtown where we wanted to be. We also acquired the building next to it — which housed a saddle shop — that we needed for storage.

“In 2012, we acquired a third adjoining building, a former mechanics shop that had been used for storage by a granite tile shop, to give us more storage.

“When we started to brew our own beer in 2011, we produced about 3,500 gallons a month. We now produce anywhere from 27,000 to 29,000 gallons a month. It’s sold across the Valley, from Bakersfield to Stockton, in most major supermarkets and in numerous restaurants and bars.”