FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CHICO, Calif. — Jan. 25, 2012 —Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is pleased to announce that it has chosen a site in western North Carolina for the future home of an East Coast brewery. The site, approximately 90 acres in the Henderson County Town of Mills River— along the French Broad River, 12 miles south of Asheville — will be home to the new production facility, as well as a proposed restaurant and gift shop. “We are thrilled to have found an ideal location in western North Carolina for our second brewery,” says Ken Grossman, founder of Sierra Nevada. “The beer culture, water quality and quality of life are excellent. We feel lucky to be a part of this community.”

The new facility will add much needed capacity for Sierra Nevada, and will allow for the quick shipment of brewery-fresh beer to consumers in the east. The East Coast brewery will start with a capacity around 300,000 barrels, with room to grow. The added barrelage will accommodate wider production of the myriad of seasonal beers and bottled specialties Sierra Nevada has produced in recent years, as well as an expansion of the brewery’s well?known flagship product: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Sierra Nevada began the search for a new location several years ago. The brewery looked at hundreds of potential sites, eventually narrowing the search down to a handful of locations. The list of criteria was long and included quantifiable factors such as ease of shipping and water quality, as well as quality of life issues for its employees. Sierra Nevada has a reputation for a laid-back brewery culture and a love of the outdoors, and the new facility will retain this same tone. The Asheville area offers Sierra Nevada Brewing the perfect confluence of community, recreation and craft beer culture.

Sierra Nevada’s eastern brewery site is expected to employ approximately 90 workers, with additional staff in the restaurant to follow. The brewery anticipates being operational by early 2014.

About Sierra Nevada Founded in 1980, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is one of America’s premier craft breweries, highly regarded for using only whole-cone hops and ingredients of the finest quality. Sierra Nevada has set the standard for artisan brewers worldwide as a winner of numerous awards for its extensive line of beers including the flagship Pale Ale, Torpedo, Porter, Stout, Kellerweis, four seasonal beers, Estate Ale, Harvest Ales, Ovila Abbey Ales and a host of draught-only specialties.

Additional links from beernews.org:

Sierra Nevada Ken Grossman’s statement on North Carolina
Sierra Nevada Brewing to invest $107.5 million over next five years in North Carolina brewery

Announcing the first ever Asheville Beer Week

For immediate release: January 24, 2011

The first ever Asheville Beer Week will take place May 24 through June 3, 2012. The ten days celebrating beer and Beer City, USA, will culminate at Asheville’s third Beer City Festival on June 2.

Our mission is to celebrate that nectar known as beer—to taste many different styles of beer and variations on those styles; to pair beer with a smorgasbord of delicious foods; to learn about and explore beer in all its delectable complexity; and, most of all, to have fun drinking beer in the brewery-centric mountains of Asheville, NC.

The “week” will include seminars, tastings, dinners, and special events with “beer celebrities” from around the country and the world. More than 40 breweries are slated to appear at Beer City Festival already.

Organized by a beer-loving bunch of regional beer industry folks, Asheville Beer Week will offer a variety of events and include as many bars, restaurants and breweries as possible.

If you’re interested in holding an event, please contact us at avlbeerweek@gmail.com, and we’ll send you a sign-up sheet. Event sign-ups are due by February 17, after which time, we’ll produce an official Asheville Beer Week calendar.

Whether or not you’d like to participate or attend, please spread the word about Asheville Beer Week.

We’re also holding a logo contest. Submissions for the Asheville Beer Week logo also are due by February 17. The winner will receive two tickets to Beer City Fest, two tickets to Brewgrass (Sept. 15), and two tickets to an Iron Man Chef Competition to be held during Asheville Beer Week.

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Contacts:

Mike Rangel, Asheville Brewers Alliance and Asheville Brewing Company, asheville.ninja@gmail.com.

Anne Fitten Glenn, beer writer/educator/Brewgasm.com., annefittenglenn@gmail.com.

General email: avlbeerweek@gmail.com

Facebook: Asheville Beer Week

Twitter: @avlbeerweek

This week we’re sampling Pale Horse Brewing from Salem, Oregon. Come get a little taste of the Pacific Northwest from 5:00-7:00 p.m. tomorrow!

Hillbilly Blonde: A crisp, refreshing, light ale suitable for any occasion. Hillbilly is golden blonde in color with a fruity, floral scent; this ale has a light hop profile, allowing the malty flavor to be thoroughly enjoyed. Smooth to the taste and bubbly to the tongue, this highly drinkable ale will satisfy the most discerning of beer lovers, yet finds itself comfortable in quenching the thirst at a backyard barbecue, wetting the palate after a hot afternoon of lawn mowing, or being found in the pint glasses of friends meeting at a local watering hole.

Hopyard Dog IPA: Brewed with a well balanced blend of malts and Cascade hops, Hopyard Dog IPA has an authoritative but pleasant bite. Notes of citrus and vanilla blend well with the malty body and large hop profile of this smooth, satisfying, golden India Pale Ale. Get “RUFF n’ TUFF” yet keep it smooth with Hopyard Dog IPA.

Pale Horse Export Stout: Obsidian in color with deep garnet hues, aroma and flavor carrying hints of coffee and chocolate, Pale Horse Export Stout is a carefully crafted balance between smooth sweetness and smoky hop bitterness. Brewed in the style of great Irish breweries, yet crafted from local ingredients and Yankee ingenuity, this stout is unique and extremely tasty. The perfect choice for the dark beer lover, treat your senses to one today!

Pale Horse Winter Seasonal (Heavy Scotch Ale): A deep lustrous brown with hints of woodsmoke, cedar and dark fruits such as raisins and plums in the aroma, our Winter Seasonal will warm your insides with its 9.5% abv while the outdoors are claimed by winter’s tantrum. This ale is heavy in body and smoky sweet over the tongue, a perfect pairing for strong cheeses and fruit. This is an ale to savor and by the end of bottle, you’ll be feeling the season’s cheer in a jolly big way!

Bockor Cuvee des Jacobins
Great Divide Whiskey Barrel Aged Yeti
Peak Oak Aged Mocha Stout
Nantahala Sticky Dog Stout
Sprecher Black IPA
Sprecher Doppelbock
Sprecher Winter Brew
Stillwater Folklore
Stillwater/Hof Ten Dormal Bronze Age (collaboration)
Sweetwater Happy Ending
Terrapin The Dark Side

First tasting of the  2012 is with Kevin Fox of Heavy Seas, Baltimore, MD. Join us tomorrow, Thursday, December 12 from 5:00-7:00pm for a flight.

Loose Cannon: “Burnished gold with a rich citrus hop aroma, it is wonderfully drinkable with a big hop flavor. We’ve knicknamed it Hop³ (hop cubed) ale to reflect the enormous amount of hops in this beer: over 3 pounds per barrel! It is hopped 3 ways: in the kettle, in the hop back, and dry hopped. Pairs well with strong cheeses and steak. 2nd Place CAMRA award winner at the 2010 Great British Beer Festival.” [7.25% abv]

Black Cannon: “The style is an oxymoron but this ale is an extension of our Loose Cannon style brewed with black malt. Available Jan – March.” [7.25% abv]

Hang Ten: “A classic German-style weizen bock, slightly cloudy and bursting with flavor. It will benefit with aging up to two years. VINTAGE DATED.” [10.0% abv]

Smoke On The Water: “A rich dark porter with added complexity from subtle smoked malt. Pair this porter with anything cooked on the grill and smoked gouda. RETIRED.” [8.0% ABV]