DRINK: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

WHAT: From the north valley of California comes a variety of remarkable, award-winning micro brewed beers. The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, established in 1979 in Chico, California, brews over 700,000 barrels of world-renowned beer a year, ranks consistently on BeerAdvocate.com's Top 25 list, and has been featured on television shows such as FRIENDS and SEX IN THE CITY.

WHY: I usually only drink beer on special occasions, and last week was one of them. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is the second best-selling "craft beer" in the United States - behind Samual Adams - yet it's exceeds the competition. I write this as unbiased as I possibly can, having spent my secondairy education in Chico, where the brewery also has a very nice restaurant that was opened in 1989. More recently, they opened "The Big Room," a venue for live music that has featured bands as diverse as Huey Lewis & the News and Steve Cooley Band.

Their most popular and widely distributed beer is the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - this is the beer that made the brewery famous. It's great with a meal or straight out of the bottle. While I currently prefer their Celebration Ale, my brother likes their Stout - yet they brew a selection of seasonal, classic, and limited selection beers numbering somewhere between 10 and 12 -- you can search their website for a distributor near you, or visit the brewery itself in beautiful Chico, just 70 miles north of Sacramento.

http://www.sierranevada.com

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