Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.: Home-brewed Roots

KEN GROSSMAN FOUNDED SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO. in Chico in 1979 with the goal of providing his customers with the kind of beer he liked to drink — hoppy, dark, and flavorful, according to the American Homebrewing Association.

His background in homebrewing helped him build one of the nation’s largest craft breweries.

Ken’s son Brian grew up there. “I learned how to ride a bike in the parking lot,” he wrote in a column in The New York Times. Now he jokes he’s the “second generation brewer.” Brian and his sister Sierra will run Sierra Nevada when Ken retires.

RESILIENCE IPA

When it comes to Kentucky Fried Chicken, Coca-Cola and In-N-Out’s burger sauce, the recipe is supposedly a secret.

But the recipe for Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s new Resilience IPA is being shared openly among breweries and home brewers — a shining example of being collegial, not competitive. An estimated $15 million from about 1,500 breweries will go to Camp Fire relief efforts.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. began brewing its Resilience IPA, and brewers from coast- to-coast joined the effort — a sign of coming together. A recipe for homebrewers was circulated too.

Sierra Nevada Resilience IPA, American IPA
Alcohol content: 6.8% by volume
Beginning gravity: 16.0° plato
Ending gravity: 4.0° plato
Bitterness units 65

Ingredients:
Yeast: Ale yeast
Bittring hops: Chinook, Centennial Finishing hops: Cascade, Centennial
Malts: Two-row Pale, Caramel

For a 5 gallon batch for homebrewers:
11 lb. Rahr 2-Row (90%)
1.25 lb Crisp Crystal 60L (10%)
1 oz. Centennial hops @ 80 min (33 IBU)
1 oz. Cascade hops @ 15 min (8.5 IBU)
1 oz. Centennial hops @ 15 min (15.5 IBU) .5 oz. Cascade hops @ Whirlpool (2.6 IBU) .5 oz. Centennial hops @ Whirlpool (4.7 IBU)
.5 oz. Cascade hops @ dry hop (0 IBU)
.5 oz. Centennial hops @ dry hop (0 IBU) Imperial Dry Hop yeast or American ale yeast of your choice.

Specifications:
Original Gravity: 1.065 (16 P)
Final Gravity: 1.016 (3.9 P)
IBU: 64, SRM: 11

— AMERICAN HOMEBREWERS ASSOCIATION

COMING TOGETHER TO BREW RESILIENCE IPA
Alibi Ale Works in Incline Village
Auburn Alehouse Craft Brewery and Restaurant
The Annex Taproom & Provisions
FiftyFifty Brewing in Truckee
Grass Valley Brewing Co.
Loomis Basin Brewing Co.
LBB Gastropub & Smokehouse
Moksa Brewing Co.
The Monk’s Cellar Brewery & Public House
ol’ Republic Brewery

(Photo: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.)

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