Chico Tours

Ken Grossman couldn’t have known that his early fascination with taking apart household appliances would eventually lead to welding together Sierra Nevada’s first malt mill and customizing its bottling equipment. Ken’s determination to brew the kind of beer he liked to drink, and to be his own boss, led to the rise of one of America’s best-loved craft breweries — and one of the world’s most iconic beers: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

On this tour, we will tell the story of Ken’s youthful adventures and the evolution of craft beer; dive into the brewing process and ingredients; explore extensively throughout the original Sierra Nevada facility; and immerse you in the rare sights of one of the nation’s top craft brewers.

We will finish the experience with a ride around the facility on the storied, but rarely seen, Time Machine Beer Bike and, of course, a tasting of our award-winning brews.

Sierra Nevada’s humble beginnings go back to 1979, in a warehouse over on Gilman Way in Chico, CA. It was also the same year the federal government legalized homebrewing. The nascent craft beer movement started picking up steam. And Ken Grossman, first a homebrewer and the founder of Sierra Nevada, leaned in.

After almost a decade of making it work on Gilman way, Ken doubled down and broke ground at our 20th Street facility, beginning with the East Brewhouse. This tour will take you along Ken’s 20th Street journey as he launched Sierra Nevada into the forefront of the craft beer revolution. We will explore how the original 2-acre facility evolved into our current facility that produces 2 million kegs annually! As we walk through how our brewery became a cornerstone in craft, we will share the professional and personal challenges that faced Ken as Sierra Nevada grew to be bigger than anything he could have imagined.

This journey is a half-mile walk through our brewery maze. At the end of your adventure, we will provide you with a refreshing flight so you can see what all the fuss is about and know why Sierra Nevada is still the one.

Get ready for our nerdiest tour yet!

The return of our beloved Beer Geek tour brings back the ultimate deep dive into beer and Sierra Nevada. This small and intimate tour starts with our company’s history and how our founder, Ken Grossman, paved the way for American craft beer. We explore all of our brewhouses onsite, taste beer directly from the original dish bottom tanks, visit our expansive beer warehouse, and stop by our innovation-focused pilot cellar. We finish this exploration with a drive around campus on our elusive Time Machine and an extensive tasting and sensory training from our expert Beer Adventurer team.

This tour includes:

·        3-hour tour of the Chico brewery including an extensive tasting

·        Beer Geek t-shirt

·        Custom 4-pack of specialty beer

·        Tasting glass and key chain

Lo guiaremos a través del proceso de elaboración de la cerveza en nuestra hermosa Westside Brewhouse, donde podrá contemplar nuestras relucientes teteras; luego aventúrese en nuestro Hop Cooler para tener en sus manos nuestro ingrediente favorito; y finalmente hable sobre la fermentación mientras está parado debajo de nuestros enormes tanques de 800 barriles. ¡Esta aventura termina en nuestro Brewhouse Bar donde probarás cuatro de nuestras deliciosas cervezas de Sierra Nevada!

Política de registro de visitas

El check-in para su recorrido es 15 minutos antes de la hora de inicio del recorrido.

Todo su grupo debe estar presente para registrarse.

¡Nuestros tours comienzan a tiempo! Si llega más de 5 minutos tarde, su boleto será cancelado.

Nuestros recorridos recorren una buena parte de las instalaciones, y la ruta total del recorrido es de media milla (eso es 6583 latas de cerveza seguidas).

Informe a los guías sobre las necesidades de acceso a la movilidad antes del inicio del recorrido.

Los recorridos no saldrán a empaquetar cuando las temperaturas excedan los 105f

La ruta del recorrido y las áreas cubiertas dependen de las preocupaciones sobre el clima y la seguridad.

Póngase en contacto con [email protected] para solicitudes de programación

Our sustainability tour covers much of the sunny brewery grounds, showcasing our alternative energy efforts and many of the initiatives based on our “reduce, reuse, recycle, rot” philosophy. You’ll check out one of California’s largest privately owned solar installations (10,500+ panels!), our micro turbine technology, and the remarkable HotRot composter. We’ll also discuss our recycling and conservation program that helps us divert 99.8% of our solid waste away from landfills. There’s not much that beats walking through our lush garden while you enjoy a 12oz offering of our popular brews

*Sustainability tour season runs April-October. Private tours available year-round. Please note that this tour requires closed-toe shoes and will take place rain or shine. Protective weather gear is recommended.

Tour Route and Areas covered are dependent on Weather & Safety concerns. Since this tour is almost entirely outside, if Severe weather conditions occur, the tour will be cancelled & you will be provided with a full refund.

Have a large group or event coming up and need to book a tour?  Please email [email protected] directly to book this tour and consider the following:

• Tours over 15-20 participants will be spilt into groups per each 15 participants per tour guide for the exploration of the facility, The tastings will be held as a whole group

• Tours will need to operate during normal business hours

• Please inform us of any constraints that will effect the tour operations

Tour Starts in June 2024

We’ll guide you through the brewing process, where you can gaze into our shimmering kettles; then venture into our Hop Cooler to get your hands on our favorite ingredient; then we’ll talk about the magic that is fermentation while standing beneath our massive 25,000-gallon tanks! This adventure ends in our Brewhouse Bar where you will chose & try four of our delicious Sierra Nevada beers!