Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Chico, California, USA · Est. 1980
From the record
What we have established
California production brewery; company also operates a brewery in Mills River, NC.
Tally’s Take
The spark of a revolution. Before Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, American beer was almost entirely light, flavorless lager. Grossman's aggressive use of the then-experimental Cascade hop — piney, citrusy — rewrote the nation's palate and laid the groundwork for the entire craft explosion.
The founding thesisHomebrewer Ken Grossman scrounged and welded recycled dairy equipment together to build his dream brewhouse.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1980Welded from scrap
Ken Grossman builds the original brewhouse from recycled dairy equipment.
- 1980Pale Ale debuts
The Cascade-forward Pale Ale becomes the template for American craft.
The People
Behind the beer
Homebrewer-turned-pioneer of the American craft beer movement; still family-owned.
The Beer Library
Beers
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Year-RoundAmerican Pale Ale
Defined by the then-experimental Cascade hop.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bigfoot Barleywine
SeasonalAmerican Barleywine
Released every winter since 1983 and built to be cellared. Vintages are dated because the beer genuinely changes — the hop bite fades and the malt turns to sherry and dried fruit over five or six years.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Celebration Ale
SeasonalAmerican IPA
A fresh-hop IPA released every November since 1981, brewed with the first hops of the Yakima harvest. It was an IPA before the American market had a word for one.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Pale Ale
Year-RoundPale Ale
Aliases: https://sierranevada.com/brews/pale-ale. Official current product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Torpedo
Year-RoundIPA
Aliases: Torpedo Extra IPA. Official current product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Hazy Little Thing
Year-RoundIPA
Aliases: https://sierranevada.com/brews/hazy-little-thing. Official current product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Celebration IPA
Year-RoundIPA
Aliases: https://sierranevada.com/brews/celebration-ipa. Official current seasonal product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bigfoot
Year-RoundBarleywine-style Ale
Aliases: https://sierranevada.com/brews/bigfoot-barleywine-style-ale. Official product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Trail Pass IPA
Year-RoundNon-Alcoholic IPA
Aliases: https://sierranevada.com/brews/trail-pass-ipa. Official NA product page; traditional brewing methods, less than 0.5% ABV.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Trail Pass Golden
Year-RoundNon-Alcoholic Golden
Aliases: https://sierranevada.com/brews/trail-pass-golden. Official NA product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Trail Pass Hazy IPA
Year-RoundNon-Alcoholic Hazy IPA
Aliases: https://sierranevada.com/shop/products/trail-pass-hazy-ipa. Official NA product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Trail Pass Juicy IPA
Year-RoundNon-Alcoholic IPA
Aliases: https://sierranevada.com/brews/trail-pass-juicy-ipa. Official NA product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Travel Guide
Plan a visit
- Full kitchen
- Taproom
- Guided tours
Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's California master, Pass 187, which cited https://www.sierranevada.com for this entry. The cited page has not been opened by the archive.
Tally's California master, Pass 187 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-19Reviewed 2026-08-19
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
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