By stealing a page from the winemaker’s playbook, Chico Estate Harvest Ale will use all of the hops grown in the brewery fields for one big full-flavored Sierra Nevada beer. Typically, hops are collected and dried for use throughout the year, but as they dry, the precious oils and resins break down and some of the big flavors become muted. With Sierra Nevada’s Harvest Ale series, the brewery takes care to use the freshest hops possible, and in the case of Chico Estate and fall Harvest Ales, they use only “wet” or undried hops to add not only bitterness, but the full range of character and flavors that the small but mighty hop has to offer.

Sierra Nevada is one of only a handful of breweries anywhere in the world with the space and the dedication to produce an estate harvest ale, and they remain committed to the versatility of the hop. Previously only available on draft as “20 th Street Ale,” Chico Estate Harvest Ale will be bottled for the first time and available in limited quantity at the end of August.

As the pioneers of using fresh-harvested, wet-hopped beers, Sierra Nevada adds Chico Estate Harvest Ale to the trinity of their beloved harvest ales.

Founded in 1980, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is one of America’s first microbreweries and remains highly regarded for using only whole-cone hops and ingredients of the highest quality. Sierra Nevada has set the standard for artisan brewers worldwide as a winner of numerous awards for a line of beers and ales, including the flagship Pale Ale, Wheat, Porter, Stout, five seasonal beers and a host of draft-only specialties.

download full press release (pdf)

To make this project happen, Sierra Nevada traveled to New Zealand to harvest fresh hops, and then transported them from the southern hemisphere to Chico where they were immediately used in brewing. Like their award-winning 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. Freshly harvested hops are richer in hop oils so they impart more hop aroma and hop spiciness into beer.

“We love fresh hop ales, but until now fresh hops were only available here once a year – during the fall hop harvest,” said brewery owner and founder Ken Grossman. “So we journeyed to the southern hemisphere to catch their hop harvest, which occurs during our spring.” The result is the North-by South fusion of fresh-picked New Zealand Pacific hops with the finest North American malts. Southern Hemisphere Harvest will feature fresh Pacific Hallertau, New Zealand Motueka and New Zealand Southern Cross hops, all from New Zealand.

The introduction of Southern Hemisphere Harvest gives Sierra Nevada three fresh-hop ales in their Harvest Series. In addition to Southern Hemisphere Harvest, Sierra Nevada produces Chico Estate Harvest in late summer and its original Harvest Ale in early fall.

Chico Estate Harvest is one of the very few estate harvest ales produced anywhere in the world today. All the hops in the beer are grown organically on the premises at the Chico brewery. The brewers pick the hops themselves and then take them directly to the brew kettle, without being dried, just after picking so they retain nearly all of their natural oils and resins. It is made with Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops. Until now, this beer has only been available in draft. Starting this year, Sierra Nevada will bottle it on a very limited basis (Chico only this year) with plans to expand its availability as they expand their Chico hop field in the coming years.

The cornerstone of their Harvest Series is the beer that started the modern-day fresh hop ale phenomenon in America, the 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,” i.e., un-dried hops—the same day they are picked—to their brewery in Chico where the brewers eagerly wait to get them into the brew kettle while their oils and resins are still at their peak.

Representing the journey following the hop harvest around the globe, the Harvest Series includes hops sourced from new regions and brewed using new methods in an effort to maximize the oily, resinous qualities of the hops from each harvest as they transported them to the brewery in Chico, California.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was founded in 1980 and is one of America’s first microbreweries. It is regarded as the standard of quality for American craft brewers and has won numerous awards for its beers and ales. Its flagship product, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, has been the number one selling craft beer brand in America for the past five years according to IRI scan data. The brewery is still 100% owned by Ken Grossman.

In addition to Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada makes a Wheat, Porter, and Stout year-round, a host of draft-only specialty beers, and offers five seasonal beers. Harvest Ale will be available in limited supply nationwide in 24-ounce bottles and draft. The cost is slightly above Sierra Nevada’s year-round products.

download full press release (pdf)

“Our ESB blends the best of English tradition with the boldness of West Coast style. Featuring English ingredients, we added a Sierra Nevada twist by leaving the ale unfiltered, which enhances mouthfeel and hop aroma creating a slightly reddish-copper hue,” said brewery founder Ken Grossman.

The 2008 ESB features England’s premier heritage malt, Maris Otter, and is blended with Canadian two-row malt to create a uniquely rich, malty sweetness. With the addition of hand-selected English Challenger hops (used for their earthy spiciness) and blended with U.S. Goldings, the beer presents a woodsy-cedar note and a slight citrusy aroma.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was founded in 1980 and is one of America’s first microbreweries. It is regarded as the standard of quality for American craft brewers and has won numerous awards for its beers and ales. Its flagship product, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, has been the number one selling craft beer brand in America for the past five years according to IRI scan data. The brewery is still 100% owned by Ken Grossman.

In addition to Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada makes a Wheat, Porter and Stout year-round, a host of draft-only specialty beers, and offers five seasonal beers.

download full press release (pdf) | ESB (Early Spring Beer)

“With the addition of our solar panels, we are approaching our goal of providing 100% of our energy needs with clean on-site alternative energy generation,” said brewery founder and CEO Ken Grossman.

When completed in 2008, the solar project will produce over 1.4 MW of AC power for the brewery. This—coupled with its existing 1 MW fuel cell plant—will provide for the majority of the brewery’s electrical energy needs with clean power produced on-site. Surplus electrical energy will be available to help supply the overloaded California power grid during peak power usage periods.

The already completed 442-kW elevated tracking array generates a significant amount of electricity to power brewery operations, as well as providing the added benefit of shaded parking for brewery and restaurant visitors as well as employees. Over 2000 Sunpower 220-watt high-efficiency panels were installed utilizing an intelligent tracking system that aims the array toward the sun throughout the day, increasing the output almost 30% over a fixed panel installation. This system should provide a total 892,859 per year of kilowatt hour (kWh) power output.

The next phase of installation is currently underway. Covering a majority of the brewing facility’s roofs, this system will utilize over 6700 Mitsubishi 185-watt lead-free panels. This installation will produce an additional 1 MW of AC power, and should be completed by early 2009.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was founded in 1980 and is one of America’s first microbreweries. Since its inception almost thirty years ago, it has pioneered many innovations to conserve resources and focus on sustainable business practices. It is regarded as the standard of quality for American craft brewers and has won numerous awards for its beers and ales. The brewery continues to be 100% owned by founder Ken Grossman.

In addition to Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada makes a Wheat, Porter and Stout year-round, a host of draft-only specialty beers, and offers four seasonal beers.

download full press release (pdf) | SNBC's Environmental Efforts

"People have been asking us to bottle Harvest for years and we just didn't have the capacity to do it," said brewery owner and founder Ken Grossman. "Each fall we gear up for production of our winter seasonal beer, and up until now that hasn't left room for us to do any of our specialty beers. But this year we decided we would find a way to bottle Harvest Ale, because so many people have asked for it."

Eleven years ago, Sierra Nevada was the first American brewer to experiment with "fresh hops" when brewing their first batch of Harvest Ale, using nothing but hops that had been harvested in Yakima, Washington the same day. Freshly harvested hops are richer in the hop oils that impart hop aroma and spiciness into beer. The popularity of Harvest Ale-combined with the growing enthusiasm for highly-hopped ales among craft beer aficionados-has created dozens of new entries into the fresh-hop ale category.

Brewing fresh hop ales for eleven years has really helped Sierra Nevada understand that fresh hop ales are more art than science. "As the brewing develops, you usually find that you have more or less of one variety than the other," said head brewer Steve Dresler. "This allows you to reformulate the brews as you go along to use all the hops shipped, and consequently the different fermenters each have unique flavors and aromas that can be experienced prior to blending."

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was founded in 1980 and is one of America's first microbreweries. It is regarded as the standard of quality for American craft brewers and has won numerous awards for its beers and ales. Its flagship product, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, has been the number one selling craft beer brand in America for the past five years according to IRI scan data. The brewery, located in Chico, California, is still 100% owned by Ken Grossman.

In addition to Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada makes a Wheat, Porter and Stout year-round, a host of draft-only specialty beers, and offers five seasonal beers. Harvest Ale will be available in limited supply nationwide in 24-oz. bottles and draft. The cost is slightly above Sierra Nevada's year-round products.

download full press release (pdf) | Harvest Ale

“When we heard people had driven all the way from San Francisco last year to try some of this beer, and how disappointed they were when they couldn’t take some home, we figured it was time to make our Anniversary Ale available to everyone on a consistent basis,” said brewery founder and CEO Ken Grossman.

Despite the pent-up demand, the company has historically only been able to produce its Anniversary Ale intermittently. Yet that hasn’t stemmed interest from devout followers who eagerly anticipate anything new from Sierra Nevada, which has been one of the innovators of the craft brewing renaissance since its founding in 1980.

“Ever since we put out our 25th Anniversary Ale in 2005, the demand to make this an annual beer has increased,” said Sierra Grossman, the company’s brand manager and daughter of the founder. “Since we don’t offer growlers to-go at the brewery, people have been pretty frustrated over the years that they haven’t been able to take any Anniversary Ale home.”

The 2007 Anniversary Ale features prominent usage of Cascade hops– the signature hop used in Sierra Nevada’s most popular product, Pale Ale. It is an American Style IPA with a big, fragrant pine and citrus hop aroma balanced by the sweetness of two-row pale and caramel malt. It finishes with an additional Cascade dry-hopping creating a big hop aroma Sierra Nevada fans will look forward to.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was founded in 1980 and is one of America’s first microbreweries. It is regarded as the standard of quality for American craft brewers and has won numerous awards for its beers and ales. Its flagship product, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, has been the number one selling craft beer brand in America for the past five years according to IRI scan data. The brewery is still 100% owned by Ken Grossman.

In addition to Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada makes a Wheat, Porter and Stout year-round, a host of draft-only specialty beers, and offers five seasonal beers.

download full press release (pdf) | Anniversary Ale