Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

A drive to the ocean? No. An outing in the country? Not exactly. A road trip to drink beer? You hit it on the head!

Driving up the highway a bit to Chico, we went to lunch at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Might seem like a far off destination for lunch, but years ago I had a list of brewpubs I wanted to visit. And with some arm twisting from a friend (and some emails I sent him from 2003!), we drove up for the afternoon.

Their beer sampler had a whopping 16 samples, from the weak summer ale to the scary 1,200% alcohol brew (OK, it was only like 9% alcohol but surprisingly, I didn't like it. I drank it, but didn't like it). Of the selection only that and the Porter were not so good, otherwise, great tasting stuff.

I came home with a large bottle of their 30th Anniversary Sierra beer (aka Charlie, Fred & Ken's Bock - really that's the name) and their Summertime brew. Looking forward to both in the coming weeks.

Oh yea, the food was delicious too. The lone female at the table had the best meal of us 4: the steak salad (I'm still jealous!). But my gumbo special was tasty with all those beers (I swear it wasn't that much - the server said it was equivalent to only 2 pints total!).

The town of Chico? Not sure if we were in the wrong area (since none of us knew where to go) or maybe it's more lively when school is in session (it's a college town after all), but it seemed pretty dreary. The brewery was the definite highlight and shining star in what felt like the middle of nowhere!

By the way, on the way home we stopped at a fruitstand set waaaaaaaay back from the highway. Came away with some lovely cherries, plums, and some apricots. Actually they're hybrid apricots with plums (can't remember the funny name they gave them). Yet, another great find so I wanted to give the stand a shout out!

A nice drive in the country... for beer...