Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Press release here:
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is celebrating the opening of its new Mills River, North Carolina, brewery by bringing revered craft brewers to North Carolina via a cross-country festival path in 2014. A dozen craft breweries across the U.S., both up-and-comers and noted names, will join Sierra Nevada in the creation of a variety 12-pack—one partner brewery per beer—to be released in summer 2014. A multi-weekend, west-to-east tour of regional festivals will culminate with the Mills River doors opening.
“We want to highlight the success of craft beer, not just our own next step,” said Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada’s founder. “Craft brewers are a close bunch, and we’ve all helped each other get to this point. This is a fun way to showcase even just a fraction of the talent that’s out there, and somehow 12 beers doesn’t feel like enough. If this weren’t already a logistical mammoth, we’d brew with even more of our great peers.”
The specific travel path for festivals is a work in progress, but in spring 2014, these breweries will visit Chico to develop recipes and begin brewing:
- Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, ME
- Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA
- Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI
- Cigar City Brewing, LLC, Tampa, FL
- Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
- New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, WI
- Ninkasi Brewing Company, Eugene, OR
- Oskar Blues Brewing Company, Longmont, CO
- Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, CA
- Three Floyds Brewing, LLC, Munster, IN
- Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, PA
- Local brewing community in Asheville, NC
The collaboration will also champion advances in the industry and the greater craft beer communities surrounding the partner breweries.
In the meantime, construction of the Mills River brewery just south of Asheville is picking up steam. Here’s the latest from Sierra Nevada’s blog. Click over to read the entire post:
As the warm weather settles in, the pace of construction at our Mills River brewery is hitting a fever pitch. We’re reaching new milestones weekly, and it’s starting to look more and more like a working brewery every day.
Our most recent milestone is as symbolic as it is significant. For months, large crates holding the brewhouse vessels have been stored on site. But now, the tanks are set in place where they belong and we’re prepping them for brewing.
The brewhouse is the heart of the brewery; it is where every drop of beer first starts its life. The brewhouse is that place where the magic of brewing begins, where kernels of malted barley mix with water, and the unseen transformation— equal parts artistry, chemistry, and blind faith—creates sweet wort, the building block of beer.
FYI Not just young people like to take tours, have a beer etc…
Why do you not have any benches to sit on when taking a tour. There are Seniors, people with health issues that like to get out but need a place to sit for a minute.