Cigar City Brewing Proudly Announces 2014 Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Collaboration
(Tampa, FL)—Cigar City Brewing has been invited by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. to join 11 other craft breweries in a celebration of craft beer called Beer Camp Across America. Inspired by Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp® program—multi-day beer-making workshops—Beer Camp Across America comprises the creation of a variety 12-pack—one beer per brewery partner—to be released in summer 2014 preceded by a multi-weekend, west-to-east tour of regional festivals that highlight each locale’s craft beer community. The journey will culminate in Mills River, North Carolina, where Sierra Nevada will open the doors of its new East Coast brewery.
Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman and his son, Brian, co-leader of Sierra Nevada’s North Carolina brewery, personally reached out to Joey Redner, founder of Cigar City Brewing, and Wayne Wambles, Head Brewer of Cigar City Brewing, to invite them to join the lineup.
“Every since I started drinking craft beer in the early 90’s, Sierra Nevada has always been a standard of quality and consistency for the craft brewing industry,” said Wambles. “Their Pale Ale was a great inspiration for me as an up-and-coming homebrewer and still remains an inspiration to me today as a commercial brewer. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to brew with one of my favorite American craft breweries. I’m thinking hops—lots and lots of hops.”
“Cigar City puts incredible emphasis on its local history and culture, so it’s no wonder they’ve excelled in just a few years,” said Ken Grossman. “It’s a special perspective they’re bringing to Chico, and we stand to learn a lot from this young and talented brewery.”
Opening a second brewery is no small feat for Sierra Nevada, but the Grossmans are adamant about highlighting the greater momentum of craft beer, not just their own next step.
“We’ve been in the game for a while, but we don’t reach a milestone like this without our peers,” said Ken Grossman. “We support each other and we challenge each other. Why not celebrate that spirit and what it’s done for craft beer across the country?”
The specific travel path for festivals is a work in progress, but this fall, Cigar City Brewing will visit Chico, Calif., to develop recipes alongside:
- Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, ME
- Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA
- Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI
- 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
Beer Camp Across America will also support hops and malt research as well as champion the Florida craft beer community through the Florida Brewers Guild.
Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp program started in 2008 when a group of distributors wanted to visit Chico and learn how to brew beer. It evolved into a national contest where winners from all over the country head to Chico for a two-day, hands-on brewing session. Sierra Nevada recently reached Beer Camp number 100.
“There are no reins in Beer Camp,” said Ken Grossman. “We typically bring a dozen folks in who don’t know a ton about beer and let them have at it. This time we‘ll be brewing 12 beers with as many pros. It has potential to be epic.”
“The privilege to brew with whole-cone hops and hop varieties that I have never had the pleasure of using before immediately comes to mind,” said Wambles. “That is miniscule compared to the opportunity to see the inner workings of Grossman’s brewery, which I’ve never had the benefit of visiting. In addition to the opportunity to work with Sierra Nevada, it is also thrilling to be involved in a collaborative package with so many other talented breweries. Can’t wait!”
About Cigar City Brewing
Cigar City Brewing opened its 15 barrel brewery in Tampa, FL in 2009 as the city’s only small-scale production brewery. From the beginning, the brewery’s marketing focus was a celebration of Tampa history and culture as reflected by brand names that reflect local cultural touchstones such as Jai Alai IPA, Maduro Brown Ale and the Humidor Series. From the days of the Tocobaga, the pre-Columbia native inhabitants of Tampa Bay, through its years as the world’s largest producer of hand-rolled cigars, Tampa has witnessed many monumental changes and Cigar City Brewing’s mission is to brew beers that reflect the complex and diverse elements that make Tampa the dynamic city it is today. Learn more at cigarcitybrewing.com
About Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Founded in 1980, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is one of America’s premier craft breweries, highly regarded for using only whole-cone hops and the finest quality ingredients. The pioneering spirit that launched Sierra Nevada spans more than three decades, with innovation emerging from both the brewhouse and sustainability initiatives. Sierra Nevada has set the standard for artisan brewers worldwide as a winner of numerous awards for its extensive line of beers including Pale Ale, Torpedo®, Porter, Stout, Kellerweis® and a host of seasonal, specialty and limited release beers. Learn more at www.sierranevada.com.
