Looks like Sierra Nevada is firing their hop torpedo at will. Three new hoppy offerings are on the way. Two in bottle and one draft only.
Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary
“On November 15, 1980 the first batch of Sierra Nevada beer made it through the brewhouse, helping to usher-in a new era of interesting, hand-crafted, and flavorful beer enjoyed around the world today.
Come and celebrate this American craft beer renaissance at the Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Party in our very own estate-hops field.
The party kicks off at 4 pm with sampling of 30 beers including some of your favorites from the last 30 years, plus a few unique finds from the cellar. Many of these beers never have been, and never will be, released to the public – this may be your only chance to sample them! They are available in limited quantities, so arrive early to ensure that you get to taste the ones you are most looking forward to. We will be posting the full beer list in the coming weeks.
The evening will also feature the musical stylings of Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings featuring two very special guests! The Joe Craven Trio will kick off the evening’s festivities, followed by Houston Jones.
The Sierra Nevada Taproom is catering dinner from 5-8 pm, which costs $15. You can purchase dinner tickets onsite at the event.”
MENU
Fresh Baked Breads – Straight From the Sierra Nevada Ovens
Sierra Nevada Salad – Mixed Organic Greens Tossed In Balsamic Dressing with Cherry Tomatoes, Crumbled Gorgonzola and Candied Chico Pecans
Fall Vegetables -Tossed In an Estate Garden Herb Butter
Garlic Mashed Potatoes – With Sweet Creamery Butter and Roasted Garlic
Estate Herb Rubbed Tri Tip – Pale Ale Bbq Sauce
Sweet Pepper Polenta – With Roasted Estate Tomatoes And Peppers, Onions Carrots And Chives
Date: Monday, November 15th
Time: 4:00 – 9:00 pm
Place: Sierra Nevada Brewery, 1075 E. 20th St, Chico CA, 95928 – The party will take place in the Sierra Nevada Hop Field.
The Monks of Chico?
Even though Sierra Nevada did not choose my award winning short film for the Beer Camp contest. I will continue to both drink and pimp out their beers and projects because I believe in the beer they make even though their taste in humor is obviously skewed. (My poor acting had nothing to do with not making the top 20 of course.)
So here is the slightly abridged (juicy bits) from the latest Sierra Nevada press release.
“For nearly 1000 years, monks have been brewing ales behind monastery walls. Their closely guarded traditions and techniques produced styles of beer unlike anything else in the world. These unique Trappist-style Abbey ales are known for their uncompromising quality and compelling flavor. In 2011, Sierra Nevada and the Trappist-Cistercian Abbey of New Clairvaux are working to bring this centuries-old tradition to America with Ovila—the nation’s only authentic Trappist-style Abbey Ale.
This series of three Belgian -style Abbey ales is made in accordance with the centuries-old tradition of the monks. Each beer will be only be available for a limited time and will rotate through the seasons. The first beer in the series, scheduled for release in March, will be a Belgian-style Dubbel brewed with authentic Trappist yeast. The second beer in the series, scheduled for release in July, will be a Saison, the traditional Belgian-style farmhouse ale made in honor of the Monk’s dedication to labor in the fields surrounding their abbey. The third will be released in time for the holidays. It will be a Trappist-style Quadrupel rich with dark fruit flavors and the unique wine-like characters of these strong Abbey ales.
Proceeds from this project will benefit the monks of the Abbey of New Clairvaux in their efforts to rebuild an architectural marvel—a 12th century, early-gothic Cistercian chapter house—on their grounds in Vina, California a few miles north of Sierra Nevada’s home in Chico. The medieval chapterhouse—Santa Maria de Ovila—was begun in 1190, near the village of Trillo, Spain.
Cistercian monks lived, prayed, and worked there for nearly 800 years. In 1931, California newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst purchased the abbey and shipped it to Northern California. Hearst’s plans were never realized, and the stones fell into disrepair. In 1994, the Trappist-Cistercian monks of the Abbey of New Clairvaux, gained possession of the ruins, and began the painstaking stone-by-stone reconstruction of the historic abbey.
Located in Vina, California, the Abbey of New Clairvaux is a Cistercian Abbey of Strict Observance (Trappist). The abbey was founded in 1955 on 590 acres of Leland Stanford’s famed Vina Ranch. The monks follow the Rule of St. Benedict—Ora est Labora (Prayer and Work) and spend their days in prayer, meditation, and tending to the labor of the working farm located at the abbey.”
Beer Camp
In the past, Beer Camp at Sierra Nevada has been by invitation only.
Now it is being opened up as a contest for anyone who would like to experience beer the Chico way.
As I write this, I am thinking of what kind of entry that I could send their way.
Estate Beer from Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is honored to announce the release of Estate Ale–one of the world’s only estate-made beers brewed with 100% all-natural, locally-grown hops and barley, which are produced at the brewery in Chico, California. Inspired by the renowned winemaking region of its Napa and Sonoma neighbors, Sierra Nevada is the first brewery to develop its own terroir. This beer is brewed with ingredients that reflect the flavors of the environment and the seasonal rhythms of nature.
From Los Angeles to Portland
Los Angeles to Portland by car seems foolhardy. You can be at PDX in under 3 hours by plane and be going from brewery to restaurant to brewpub tasting all that you can.
The problem for me is that when I am up there, I see all kinds of bottles that I want to bring home and try at my leisure. And the TSA thinks it is strange to want to bring 5 or 10 bottles of great beer on a plane. So driving it is. And to make the most of it, I decided to stop along the way at the great beer places in California and Oregon.
My first stop was Paso Robles. The home of Firestone-Walker and lead brewer Matthew Brynildson. I chose a stool in the tasting room and ordered a glass of their Bavarian Wheat and Li’l Opal.
The Bavarian Wheat is a lovely hefe. Great clove and banana aroma. It pours a hazy golden with a spicy bite at the end. Very refreshing. It really cools a person down. The Li’l Opal is a saison. Very similar in color to the wheat. Has a sweet, malty aroma as well as a touch of the farmhouse funk. Just a touch sour with yeasty notes to it. Then I asked for a quick tour before I got back on the road. Veronica was kind enough to show me around and halfway through we ran into Matthew and he passed over a sample of their new Imperial IPA, Double Jack. It wa great to try something that hadn’t even been released yet! Just from that taste, I could tell that Double Jack will be a hit with the hop crowd. But I like that the malt was balancing all that bitterness.
I bid adios and headed for San Francisco, and after getting through some typical Bay Area traffic, found myself at 21st Amendment Brewery on a night that the Giants were playing just down the street. I had a glass of the Dahm Kolsch which was a lovely straw color. It is a very crisp beer. No soft edges on it. An uber-pilsner. Then I had the Rathskeller Alt. Not much aroma on it and unfortunately not much flavor either. Little malt sweetness. All of the beers were lower alcohol which is great.
I headed over to ThirstyBear to re-try one of the beers that started me on this journey to beer consultant. The Valencia Wheat. A California wit bier. Alas, it was not as good as the memory of ten years ago. Perhaps, I have had too many great beers since then and this one has faded to middle of the pack.
Then I found by serendipitous chance, the awesome City Beer Store that I will talk about in a separate post because I loved it so much.
The next day it was on to Chico, California. The home of Sierra Nevada. After a couple of wrong turns, I found the huge complex that houses their brewery operations, gift shop and restaurant. I had their new Kellerweis, served in the traditional glassware. It was a hazy orange/yellow color with an aroma more banana than clove with a little sourness at the end. Good Stuff. I also sampled their Southern Hemisphere IPA which was delicious. So delicious that I bought a bottle of it.
Then it was on to Ashland. After walking around the town, I headed for Standing Stone Brewing and ordered up their beer sampler. I received their Cream Ale, Hefeweizen, Amber, Rye, IPA, DIPA and the Oatmeal Stout. My favorites were the Cream ale which was golden and clear with fruit tastes to it and the Oatmeal stout which was a lovely, mild roasted coffee stout.
My last stop before Portland was Eugene, Oregon where I stopped at the McMenamin’s on High Street. I ordered up the Ruby Ale. My sister-in-law’s favorite beer and thanked the gods that the driving was close to the end. I also tried the Jalapeno Wheat. I could not even finish it. I am a pepper wuss and this was peppery.