According to CraftBeer.com, "An American craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional." The limit on "small" is less than two million barrels of beer produced a year. With it's name recognition and huge facilities, Sierra
Nevada Brewing Company hardly seems small. But a check of the Brewers Association confirms that Sierra Nevada (SNBC) is a member, at the "regional," or 15,000-2,000,000
barrel, level. According to the SNBC website, the brewery produces
about 800,000 barrels annually.Sierra Nevada is located in Northern California,almost two hours north of the State Capitol, in the college town of Chico. Chico is the home of California State University, Chico, founded in 1889, the second oldest campus in the CSU system (after San Jose).
Ken Grossman, founder of SNBC, graduated from Chico State with a degree in chemistry. After perfecting his homebrews, Ken first opened his own store, The Home Brew Shop, in 1976. He then began collecting the odds and ends that would eventually become SNBC, which he opened with co-founder Paul Camusi in 1980.
Charlie Papazian, fellow Beer Examiner and President of the Brewer's Association, dates the renaissance of American craft beer to 1982. In that year, the number of American breweries had fallen from a pre-Prohibition high of 800 to a nadir of less than 50. Today there are close to 1,500.
SNBC's flagship beer is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Before such a beer existed, there was nothing in America that tasted quite as hoppy or quite as good.The first time that the VCBE visited SNBC several years ago, it was a revelation that the brewery offered many other selections. Kellerweis (a frothy delicious hefeweizen) and Best Bitter (a copper-colored English ale) are two perennial favorites from the Taproom. Torpedo is an Extra IPA that hones in on its hop-loving target; and Bigfoot is a barleywine style ale that matches BIG malt flavor with BIG hop flavor.
On the VCBE's recent trip, to celebrate Craft Beer Week (5/17-5/23), three new ales stood out.
- Harvest, features Yakima Valley hops shipped "wet" and added immediately to the brew kettle "while the oils and resins are still at their peak."
- Old Chico Crystal Wheat, brewed with two-thirds wheat malt and one-third barley malt, was surprisingly crisp and clean and refreshing.
- Chico Estate, one of the world's only estate-made beers, features barley and hops grown entirely AT the brewery in Chico. As the SNBC website puts it, Sierra Nevada is the first brewery to develop its own terroir, which reflects the brewery's uniquely cared-for environment.
