Sierra Nevada Brewery

In 1979, Ken Grossman began building a small brewery in the town of Chico, California. His goal: to brew exceptional ales and lagers. Today, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is considered the premier craft brewery in the United States. And the beer? Critics proclaim it “Among the best brewed anywhere in the world.”

Ken’s passion for brewing began when a friend showed him the basics of home brewing. Using homemade equipment, Ken began brewing five-gallon batches of beer on his own, and soon became a proficient home brewer.

In 1976, after studying chemistry and physics at Butte Community College and California State University at Chico, Ken opened his own store, The Home Brew Shop. There, he supplied Chico’s home-brewing community with equipment, materials, and advice, but dreamed of opening his own brewery.

Two years later, it was time to make the dream a reality. Ken and co-founder Paul Camusi cobbled a brewery together from dairy tanks, a soft-drink bottler, and equipment salvaged from defunct breweries. Though the equipment was secondhand, they created a first-rate microbrewery. The ingredients were premium, including the copious quantities of hops that would become the brewery’s trademark. An avid backpacker, Ken named the new company for his favorite hiking grounds- the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Finally, on November 15, 1980, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. brewed the first batch of what would soon become a landmark in American craft brewing: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

To this day, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. remains true to its roots. Ken is still personally involved in every aspect of brewery operation. Most importantly, the Sierra Nevada commitment to quality remains the same. Premium ingredients and time-honored brewing techniques make Sierra Nevada ales and lagers truly exceptional beers.

Brewery Pictures:

Sierra Nevada E-Fuel

And for further truly exceptional experiences, vist our website Sierra Nevada Brewery here.

Tumbler

As the nights grow cool, the leaves on the valley oaks begin to turn and fall. In honor of this yearly dance, we bring you Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale and invite you to enjoy the show. We use malt within days of roasting at the peak of its flavor to give Tumbler a gracefully smooth malt character. So pour a glass, and grab a window seat to watch as the leaves come tumbling down.

ABV: 5.5%


Pale Ale

Our most popular beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, is a delightful interpretation of a classic style. It has a deep amber color and an exceptionally full-bodied, complex character. Generous quantities of premium Cascade hops give the Pale Ale its fragrant bouquet and spicy flavor.
“Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is the flagship beer, the one that made Chico famous. It is a flawless beer that opens with bright, perky high notes of maltiness and orange blossom and segues into a delectable hoppiness.”- Elaine Louie, Premier Beer-A Guide to America’s Best Bottled Microbrews

GOLD MEDAL WINNER
Great American Beer Festival (American Pale Ale: 1995, 1994, 1993;

Classic English Pale Ale: 1992; Pale Ale: 1990, 1989, 1987)

ABV: 5.6%
IBUs: 37


Stout

Creamy, malty, and full-bodied, the Sierra Nevada Stout is satisfyingly rich. Caramel and Black malts give the Stout its deep, dark color and pronounced roasted flavor.

“Sierra Nevada Stout is admirable from nose to finish, with notes of malty sweetness to the palate but plenty of bitterness available to set up a stimulating counterpoint.” – Christopher Finch, A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Best Beer.

GOLD MEDAL WINNER

California State Fair (Stout, Sweet & Foreign: 2000)

alcohol content 5.8% by volume

bitterness units 60


Porter

Dark and rich, Sierra Nevada Porter is a delicious, medium-bodied ale with a creamy head. The Porter’s smooth flavor (malty with hints of caramel) comes from a blend of deep-roasted barley malts.

”...there can be little doubt that this is one of the best porters being brewed anywhere in the world today.” – Christopher Finch, A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Best Beer

FIRST PLACE

California Brewers Festival (Robust Porter: 2000)
Colorado State Fair (Porter: 1996)

alcohol content 5.6% by volume

bitterness units 40


Kellerweis

Kellerweis is one of the only American Hefeweizens made using the traditional Bavarian style of open fermentation. This difficult and labor-intensive technique adds uncommon depth and flavor complexity. Our hazy-golden hefeweizen is deeply flavorful, refreshing and perfect for a sunny day. To serve, pour two-thirds into a glass, swirl and pour the rest.

4.8% ABV

15 IBUs


Bigfoot Barleywine

This year marks the 25th release of Bigfoot. Our award-winning barleywine boasts a dense, fruity bouquet, an intense flavor palate and a deep reddish-brown color. Its big maltiness is superbly balanced by a wonderfully bittersweet hoppiness.

“Bigfoot captures the imagination, and its character is as big as the name implies, with a huge hoppiness in its earthy aroma, a chewy palate, and a great depth of flavor.” – Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion

GOLD MEDAL WINNER

California State Fair (Strong Ale/Barleywine: 2005, 2000, 1997)

Great Alaska Beer & Barleywine Festival (Barleywine Style Ale: 1998)

Great American Beer Festival (Barleywine: 2005, 1995, 1992, 1988; Ales: 1987)

alcohol content 9.6% by volume

bitterness units 90


Glissade

As winter begins its slide toward the sunny days of spring, we bring you Glissade Golden Bock to help you enjoy the ride. Glissade is a remarkably mellow take on the traditional spring bock. With restrained sweetness, we emphasize subtle malt flavor, balanced against delicate aromas of spicy and floral European hops. This complex balance helps Glissade slide across the palate – bracing us against the last cold nights of winter, while its bright golden color turns our thoughts toward spring.

ABV: 6.4%
IBUs: 42


Torpedo

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale is a big American IPA; bold, assertive and full of flavor and aromas highlighting the complex citrus, pine and herbal character of whole-cone American hops.

ABV: 7.2%
IBUs: 70

Torpedo is one of the hottest craft brands out there, rapidly overtaking many longer-established craft brands in volume. Our panelists were familiar with Torpedo, but we had never tasted it for the record. We rectified that omission thanks to panelist Marty Juliano, who works for a major West Coast craft brewer, and was able to acquire fresh samples of Torpedo for us.

There were no surprises here. It’s a superb IPA, another in a long line of perfectly balanced beers from Sierra Nevada. Very smooth and quaffable, despite its 7.2% abv and 65 International Bitterness Units (IBUs). The hops are front and center, and Torpedo boasts a unique blend, including Magnum for bittering, Magnum and Crystal for finishing, and Magnum, Crystal and Citra for the dry hopping process.

It’s that hopping process that gives this beer its name, after Sierra Nevada’s “hop torpedo”, a piece of equipment designed at the brewery to handle the process of dry-hopping while using whole-cone hops. The company says the torpedo allows a “revolutionary method of dryhopping that harnesses the vital hop oils and resins that lead to an unusually flavorful and aromatic beer featuring the full, nuanced range of spicy complexity that hops have to offer.” For us, the aroma was more muted than expected, mildly floral, with some pine and citrus notes. But once you take the first sip, the hops really come out to play. The citrus from the nose asserts itself in the taste, along with piney resin and complex herbaceous flavors. Bitterness is notable, but measured, and balanced with dollops of biscuity malt. “Great nose, just wonderful,” said taster Robert Lachman.

“Nose is floral, but not overly big and hoppy,” Greg Zannella noted. “Interesting hop selection, I like this better than the Celebration, there is more hop flavor,” said Tom Conti. “I guess I expected a bigger nose, but I like the hops,” said Von Bair. “I can’t identify them, but it’s a nice mix.” “Great hop flavor!” Gregg Glaser exclaimed. “So lovely, with a fresh bitterness.” “Everything is in balance, the hops are blended in well,” Dr. Steve Victor noted. “The finish is bitter, but not overstated.” “Just plain balanced, start to finish,” Phil Simpson agreed. “This is fabulous, I could drink this every day for the rest of my life,” said Robert Lachman. “The hop bitterness is so measured, a little more than Celebration, it’s not sweet floral bitterness, it’s nice and it’s there, then it vanishes.” “Nothing better than this,” concluded Tom Conti. “It leaves me speechless. Just perfect.”

As more and more consumers are looking to craft beers for value, flavor and differentiation, it would be hard to imagine a more perfect introductory India Pale Ale than Torpedo. Just as Sierra Nevada’s Pale introduced a generation of beer drinkers to the idea of ale, this opens that next door, the door marked “IPA.” – Modern Brewery Age Weekly, July 2, 2010


Summerfest

Summerfest is a refreshing, pilsner-style lager. Its incredible smoothness comes from an extra-long lagering period. Lighter in body than our ales but just as complex in character, Summerfest quenches your thirst with big aroma and a tangy hop bite.

GOLD MEDAL WINNER California State Fair (European Light Lagers: 1999)

ABV: 5%

ABUs: 32


Celebration Ale

The long, cold nights of winter are a little brighter with Celebration Ale. Wonderfully robust and rich, Celebration Ale is dry-hopped for a lively, intense aroma. Brewed especially for the holidays, it is perfect for a festive gathering or for a quiet evening at home.

“best beer ever made in America.” – Stan Sessor, San Francisco Chronicle

GOLD MEDAL WINNER
United States Beer Tasting Championship (IPA: 1994)

FIRST PLACE
Chicago Beer Society – 1996 Fall Beer Tasting

SILVER MEDAL WINNER
California State Fair (IPA: 1999)
Great American Beer Festival (IPA: 2002)

ABV: 6.8%
ABUs: 62


Estate Homegrown Ale

Here in the sun-drenched fields of California?s North Valley, the black soil is rich with promise.
In winter, rows of barley seed are laid in the freshly tilled dirt. In spring, trellises are set for hops.
From our fields comes a remarkable homegrown ale, made with organic wet hops and barley grown at our brewery here in Chico and one of the few estate-made ales produced anywhere in the world!

This Estate Ale is rich with the flavors of the valley?featuring hops with earthy, grapefruit-like flavors and layered spicy aromas and barley with mild sweetness and smooth, toasted flavors. Together, these crops grow alongside the brewery to make a truly unique brew. Enjoy!


Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop Ale

The cornerstone of our Harvest series is the beer that started the modern-day fresh hop ale phenomenon in America, our original Harvest Ale.

Created in 1996, Harvest Ale features Cascade and Centennial hops from the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington. These hops are harvested and shipped as ?wet? un-dried hops?the same day they are picked?to our brewery in Chico where our brewers eagerly wait to get them into the brew kettle while their oils and resins are still at their peak.

ABV: 6.7
IBUs: 65


Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale

Our newest addition to our Harvest family is Southern Hemisphere Harvest. This is the first time we know of that an American brewer has put out a beer with fresh-picked hops from the southern hemisphere. The inaugural ale will debut in late April and will feature fresh Pacific Hallertau, New Zealand Motueka and New Zealand Southern Cross hops, all from New Zealand.

Like our Celebration Ale, the fresh hops in this beer are dried right after being picked then shipped immediately to Chico for brewing so that they retain their peak aromatics and flavors. To ensure the freshest hops possible, we went to the added expense of flying these hops from New Zealand to Chico so we could brew with them the week after they were picked.

ABV: 6.7%
IBUs: 66


Life and Limb

Life & Limb is a 10% ABV strong beer that defies style characteristics-brewed with pure maple syrup from the Calagione family farm in Massachusetts and estate barley grown on the Grossman “farm” at the brewery in Chico. The beer is alive with yeast-a blend of both breweries’ house strains-bottle conditioned for added complexity and shelf life, and naturally carbonated with birch syrup fresh from Alaska; it is the first beer we know of ever to use birch syrup in the brew. If stored under good conditions, this rich, full-bodied beer should age well for years. Life & Limb will be available in 24-oz. bottles and limited draft starting November 2009.

Check out what the Taste Buds have to say about Life & Limb.

ABV: 10%
IBUs: 50

Visit website (http://www.life-limb.com/)


Limb and Life

Limb & Life is a companion to the big beer-an acorn off the larger tree. It is a 5% ABV small beer-a low-gravity beer made using the residual sugar as “second runnings” from the first larger brew, fortified with American hops. This is a session beer. Its big brother is a sipper. Limb & Life will be a limited draft-only product, a prelude to the bigger beer, available in select bars and restaurants in October 2009.

ABV: 5%
IBUs:49

Visit website (http://www.life-limb.com/)


Edge of Darkness Wet Hop Brown Ale

“A robust brown ale dubbed the Edge of Darkness for coming out so dangerously close to black. In at 6.5% abv and brewed using pale two row malt, caramel malt 60 and 120L and some chocolate malt for color and flavors, and hugely hopped with 8# Bravo for bittering and 55# fresh whole Centennial Cones for flavoring.”

Best With: Brown ales typically have a mild hop presence and a subtly sweet, complex malt character that meshes beautifully with honey and tomato based barbecue sauce on all manner of grilled meats. Brown ale also shines with French onion soup, and could even work with a mild cigar.

ABV: 6.8%