Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Fresh Hops
I had an opportunity to visit with the good folks at Sierra Nevada recently and had a fantastic time. We’ve been selling their beers for the past 13 years or so and this was my first time to visit the brewery. It is not easy getting to Chico, CA, but the trip was well worth it.
Sierra is almost if not entirely off the grid. They have one of the largest privately owned solar panel systems in the world. They have a very well equipped R & D brewery where I was able to taste some experimental brews from their fermenters: a Saison, Hefe-Weizen and a Pilsner. I believe this was their original brewhouse that was outgrown and put to good use.
In the picture above, I am about to toss in the rest of the 110 gallons of fresh “wet” hops into their brew kettle. When you drink the Harvest ale (if there is any left), you should smell and taste the hops. They spare no expense making their beers and it was a real pleasure meeting Ken Grossman and his fantastic team.
