Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Hollenbeck2

Oregon

2.95/5  rDev -33.3%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$$

cool place, chico isn a drinking town and this place is a little too far outside of town to make it a good place to drive to unless you have someone who can drive and not drink. anyway some of the best micro brew beer around, this place is legendary in california and the beers shows it, the food leaves something to be desired but that is seconary to the great beer.

they have the classic pale ale which all other pales are compared I think to a lot of west coasters. good stop on the trail beer of life.

07-24-2007 23:39:34 | More by Hollenbeck2

IntriqKen

California

4.7/5  rDev +6.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

What a beautiful restaurant and brewery.
Stopped at the restaurant and had their beer sampler....16 current on tap beers in 4 oz glasses...that's a half gallon of beer. ($8.00) Service and knowledge of the staff was great.Menu was extensive and reasonable. Food was excellent.
Did a self tour of the brewery which again was beautiful as well as the gift shop.
My only complaint was that they don't have growlers, however I am told they should be selling growlers of beer in about a month. (that would be around July, 2006).
If I lived in Chico, this would DEFINATELY be a regular stop for me.

06-11-2006 00:08:51 | More by IntriqKen

rayjay

Hawaii

4.15/5  rDev -6.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

This happens to be my local watering hole. Many locals won't go here because it's "too expensive," but $2.50 a pint for the freshest beer in town is a bargain to me. Lots of taps, maybe 16 or so.

Very impressive looking bar, brass and high ceilings. Bartenders are friendly. I was not around to see the evolution of the place, but the brewery I see today is impressive and clean.

The beer selection is good. Mostly English style ales, maybe one or two lagers from time to time. I've always thought they should add a bit of diversity to their styles, but they are good at what they do and stick to it. They do almost exclusively "American" style beer (Am wheats, APAs, etc) and the taps are just a bit redundant. The freshness of the beer is top notch.

My big issue with the beer is that is is so filling. You want to drink more than you can fit in your belly. With a little food, it's hard to even finish a second pint.

Try to go on Thursday nights when they *sometimes* have real cask ale. One of the best ones I've had was "PaleFoot" (1/2 PA 1/2 Bigfoot)-out of the ballpark.

Food is good, call it high quality bar food. Vegetarian selections, nice desserts, and good bread baked fresh with oil and balsamic for free. They also make great pizza in a wood-fired oven.

Service is usually pretty good but there's always a chance you get stuck with a new waitress who's never worked food service before (this has only happened once or twice). Long waits for tables on the weekends, so beware. I usually go straight to the bar. Like many breweries, last call is around 9, maybe 10 on weekends, so go during the day.

NO GROWLERS!!! I think this is due to Butte Co. open container laws, though.

I highly recommend this place because it is a sight to see. Also I've always felt that their beer gets a tad stale when it travels, and here you can taste it in it's full glory. See you there!

08-11-2006 19:31:07 | More by rayjay

washburnkid

New York

4.45/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

I had the most excellent day of hiking at Bidwell Park before hitting up the Sierra Nevada brewery.
First, the atmosphere: The building was beautiful, the solar panels brought tears to my eyes, and the aromas were splendid. It was a really laid back place, and my pup got to sit right outside the patio gate so that we didn't have to leave him in the car.
The beer and food were as fresh as it gets. We two vegetarians had the lentil burger, fresh hand-cut fries, some of the brewery's very own mustard selection (porter, to be exact), and a mediterranean pizza that was loaded with fresh veggies. To wash it down, we had kellerweis (which I hope will come out in bottles someday), best bitter ale, and the brown saison. This was all for about $30 (not including tip).
Speaking of tips, I want to emphasize the great service. The waitstaff was attentive, and they were really kind in working with us to get our dog to join the experience as much as possible. They were busy, but were good with filling up our waters and beers whenever there were empty glasses.
The folks in the giftshop were also very kind and helpful. I brought three 6ers and an SN pint glass back home with me.

I look forward to going back again. Those burgers/pizza/kellerweis are worth the almost two hour drive. I look forward to trying many more beers that can only be enjoyed at the brewery.

04-12-2009 17:43:31 | More by washburnkid

BigB415

California

4.13/5  rDev -6.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

I decided to drive to Sierra Nevada from Davis pretty much the night before and I'm glad I did. Even though I couldn't find someone to go with because it was such short notice I still had a lot of fun. It was about a 2 hour drive and it was a nice drive up.

The brewery is really easy to find since it's about a minute from the highway. Parking was a little tough since there was a wedding going on but I still managed to find a spot in front. When you pull in first you drive by the restaurant then the office and then the gift shop/brewery. I wanted to do the 4pm tour but it was full so I managed to grab the last spot on the 5pm tour. I had to kill 2 hours so I went to the bar and had a beer.

3.75 for a 16 oz beer? oh ya! great price so I had a glass of the Old Chico since I have never had it and I'm not going to throw down $8.99 for a 6 pack of something I might like at my local store. I didn't have any of the food since I wasn't hungry. I got my beer and sat down in front of the kitchen and watched the chefs do their thing and I talked to the guy next to me for a good majority of the time I was there. I was wearing my Stone Brewing Company shirt which got a lot of comments but none harsh. There are no rival breweries just rival sport teams.

The tour was a lot of fun and very informative. I didn't realize the breweries property was that big. Every building on the property is used and is connected by a huge walkway. Our tour was almost an hour and a half long and the tour guide was very knowledgeable and very nice. She didn't seem uncomfortable leading 15 people around the brewery and trying to answer every question we had which was a lot. Before the tour I went on the self guided tour as well and saw a case with every beer and labels SN has made including all of the bigfoots lined up in the case.

I bought a t shirt and a pint glass in the gift shop. The gift shop people were helpful with helping me find my size. My only complaint about the place is the t shirt price which was 17 dollars but that's not surprising since most t shirts usually cost much.

Next time I go I'm getting some food and some of the special beer they only release at the brewery.

05-01-2011 19:06:23 | More by BigB415

xhcadamx

Maine

5/5  rDev +13.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$

This place defines classy. Beautiful woodwork and shined copper everywhere. The quality of the beers and food were top notch. I was really impressed with all the beers they had on tap that they do not bottle. I wish these were more available besides just in the taproom. I went two times in one weekend (that good) and both times my servers were awesome. Food was excellent I had the fish and chips which blew me away and a salad with a grilled chicken breast. If I lived in Chico I would go all the time.

01-20-2009 02:50:00 | More by xhcadamx

RedBrewer83

Oregon

4.53/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$$

Sierra Nevada, what an impressive brewery! The most sustainable, environmentally friendly, and one of the most delicious and consistent breweries in the nation. Also one of the pioneers of craft brewing, how can you not love these guys?! Anyway, onto the review...the atmosphere is nice, lots of stained dark wood with plush seating and a few brewery collectibles adorn the walls. Nothing over the top that screams brewery but very nice and comfortable. The bar sits at one end of the restaurant with the kitchen kitty corner and seating in the rest of the place, very open and inviting. Lots of patio seating but with the 110 degree weather who wants to sit outside? The quality and selection are fantastic...over 20 beers on tap so I had to do a sampler of course to find my favorite. All of them were true to the style and delicious, although nothing really stood out as being amazing save for two, the kellerweiss and the torpedo. The service was attentive and friendly and the food was a little better than typical pub food, maybe a bit pricier because of the rep that they carry. Overall this is a must visit for any true craft brew lover!

01-11-2010 18:13:22 | More by RedBrewer83

1759Girl

California

4.78/5  rDev +8.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$$

There are many things to love about Sierra Nevada, starting with the company's part in the resurgence of microbrewing in CA,not to mention nationwide.
It's pretty awesome to drive in and park in the shade of the solar panel-covered parking lot, beside the beautiful hop farm!
The tap room is always busting at the seams with convivial locals who are proud to tell you all the fabulous things that SN does for the community, and to promote green policy.
Oh, I should probably get to the beer. ...
You'll need to walk down the whole bar before choosing, because there are so many styles on tap, that you can't see all the handles in one place. The bartenders are friendly and knowledgable. You get a good pour in a proper glass everytime.
Okay on to the food. Don't think that Sierra Nevada has just kept strict quality control on their beer... Even the meat is local and organic. And, from what I hear it's awesome. The pizza is excellent. I'd rather that the caesar salad had more anchovy, garlic and lemon... and that they would make a tasty stout ranch for their fries.. but these are just suggestions from a connessieur.
Did I mention the beer garden? If it's not a million-degree Chico day, then be sure to hit it up.
Enjoy!

08-09-2008 18:50:56 | More by 1759Girl

NVbeer

Nevada

4.43/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Was down in the Chico area recently and made sure to stop at the beer mecca. Sat at the bar which is a long bar with seating for 25-30 people. The entire decor of the resturant is tastefully done in a dark mahogony making for a relaxing time. On tap were 16 ales and lagers definatly well worth the stop. I enjoyed their Rauchbeer, a pretty tasty example while my new to beer drinking friend had their sampler. The service was good and the food selection had something for everyone but nothing special. If your in Chico or driving through this is a must stop location.

05-20-2005 15:13:36 | More by NVbeer

climax

Kansas

4.45/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

This is a big place with a lot to see. The tour informed me it was the 6th largest brewery in the country in terms of production. The tour is informative and intuitive, come early it fills up quickly (15 person limit). Free stuff up the wazoo, posters and coasters.

The restaurant/bar is large, lots of tables. Everything is clean and visually appealing. Our waitress was knowledgeable and friendly. It seemed like all of the servers were beer savvy, at least somewhat. Our food was excellent, as well as the beer. The beer selection was large, most of the typical SV selections with half a dozen brewery exclusives.

The prices were really very good. The beer was cheap from the tap and most were available in three sizes. If you take the tour, everything from the gift shop is half off, and there's a number of intriguing goodies. The drive from Sacramento isn't the most exciting, but it will be made again. Had a great experience.

02-25-2011 03:40:34 | More by climax