Most breweries become known for a style. Sierra Nevada Brewing became known for asking questions. What happens when a former bicycle mechanic named Ken Grossman starts building brewing equipment from salvaged dairy tanks? What happens when a tiny Chico brewery introduces Americans to Cascade hops? What happens when a company famous for Pale Ale decides to explore German pilsners, Belgian abbeys, sour ales, imperial stouts, triple IPAs, and barleywines large enough to develop their own weather systems? Founded in 1980 by Grossman and Paul Camusi, Sierra Nevada grew from a scrappy Northern California startup into one of the most influential breweries in the world not because it chased every trend, but because it remained relentlessly curious. Four decades later, the brewery still treats beer less like a product and more like an ongoing conversation.
That conversation is scattered throughout today’s flight. Summerfest nods toward the crisp European lagers that inspired the brewery’s earliest ambitions. Otra Vez wanders into historical gose territory by way of lime and agave. Narwhal explores the dark depths of imperial stout. Hoptimum turns hop obsession into high art and mild recklessness. Bigfoot, first released in 1983, remains one of the foundational beasts of American barleywine. Together they tell the story of a brewery that helped build modern craft beer while refusing to stay in a single lane long enough to become predictable.
Today’s Peaks & Pints Sierra Nevada Flight follows that trail of curiosity from sunlit pilsner refreshment to hop-saturated excess, with a few monsters, myths, and legendary detours along the way.
Peaks & Pints Friday Sierra Nevada Flight
Sierra Nevada Summerfest
5% ABV | German-Style Pilsner | Chico, California
Long before hazy IPA became a personality trait and every beer required a backstory involving tropical fruit and emotional growth, there was the simple pleasure of a perfectly brewed pilsner catching sunlight in a clear glass. Fresh bread crust and delicate pilsner malt drift across the palate first before waves of floral noble-hop spice, lemon zest, and gentle herbal bitterness begin unfolding underneath like warm afternoon air moving through an open beer garden somewhere in Bavaria, the crisp lager body staying brilliantly structured while Magnum, Saphir, Tettnang, and Tradition hops provide just enough snap to keep every sip feeling freshly sharpened, finishing bright, dry, and endlessly refreshing in the way Sierra Nevada has been quietly proving for decades that classic beer styles never stopped being relevant.
Sierra Nevada Otra Vez
4.9% ABV | Gose-Style Ale with Lime & Agave
A strange and wonderful desert breeze seems to blow through Otra Vez, carrying equal parts citrus grove, roadside cantina, and the faint possibility that somebody has misplaced an entire sunset somewhere near the border. Bright lime zest splashes across the palate first before gentle tartness, soft agave sweetness, and delicate mineral notes begin unfolding underneath like warm evening air drifting through rows of cactus silhouetted against a sky that has completely surrendered to orange and pink, the body staying lean and refreshing while the gose-inspired acidity keeps everything lively without ever turning aggressively sour, finishing crisp, tangy, and beautifully thirst-quenching.
Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout
10.2% ABV | Imperial Stout
Far below the cheerful surface waters where pilsners frolic and pale ales exchange pleasantries, Narwhal drifts through darker currents carrying coffee, chocolate, and enough abyssal gravity to alter the evening’s trajectory. Roasted espresso and bittersweet cocoa roll across the palate first before layers of charred grain, dark caramel, and faint woodsmoke begin unfolding underneath like bioluminescent creatures moving through black ocean depths where sunlight surrendered hours ago, the velvety body building remarkable richness while firm hop bitterness keeps the darkness focused and purposeful instead of drifting into sugary excess.
Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Triple IPA
11% ABV | Triple IPA
Some beers politely introduce themselves. Hoptimum kicks open the door carrying an armload of pine boughs, grapefruit peel, and enough hop authority to briefly alter the room’s gravitational field. Resinous evergreen bitterness strikes first before waves of candied citrus, tropical fruit, and sticky orange oil begin unfolding underneath like sunlight pouring through a Northern California forest where every tree appears to have developed strong opinions about lupulin concentration, the substantial malt backbone providing just enough structure to support the Helios, Centennial, Chinook, CTZ, Ekuanot, Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hop barrage without letting the whole operation collapse into chaos.
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale
9.6% ABV | American Barleywine
Legends rarely arrive on schedule, but Bigfoot has been stomping through the forests of American craft beer since 1983 and still leaves enormous tracks wherever it wanders. Rich caramel malt and dark toffee surge across the palate first before layers of grapefruit rind, pine resin, dried fruit, and warming alcohol begin unfolding underneath like twilight settling over a mountain range where something large and mythical has just snapped a tree branch somewhere beyond sight, the substantial malt foundation carrying decades of barleywine tradition while aggressive Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook hops keep the sweetness from becoming complacent.
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