WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.780 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. So you've shared 00:00:01.780 --> 00:00:04.000 your sources and our mission today is pretty 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:06.379 clear. We're going to explore the incredible 00:00:06.379 --> 00:00:09.980 story of a company that really started with almost 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.919 nothing. Right. Just borrowed money and scrap 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:16.780 metal. Exactly. And somehow it ended up defining 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:19.460 not just, you know, the flavor of modern American 00:00:19.460 --> 00:00:24.059 beer, but also setting this amazing ethical framework 00:00:24.059 --> 00:00:27.789 for sustainable, large scale manufacturing. We 00:00:27.789 --> 00:00:30.309 are plunging into the history of Sierra Nevada 00:00:30.309 --> 00:00:32.670 Brewing Company. And this isn't just a story 00:00:32.670 --> 00:00:34.789 about good beer, though, I mean, it is definitely 00:00:34.789 --> 00:00:36.689 about that. Oh, for sure. But it's also this 00:00:36.689 --> 00:00:40.149 remarkable blueprint for longevity. and for a 00:00:40.149 --> 00:00:42.210 business character. We're looking at how Ken 00:00:42.210 --> 00:00:44.810 Grossman and Paul Camusi took what was basically 00:00:44.810 --> 00:00:47.329 a home brewing obsession. And turned it into 00:00:47.329 --> 00:00:49.909 the seventh largest brewing company in the entire 00:00:49.909 --> 00:00:52.509 United States. And what's really key, the third 00:00:52.509 --> 00:00:55.049 largest privately owned brewery. That's a huge 00:00:55.049 --> 00:00:56.990 part of the story. Okay, and when we talk about 00:00:56.990 --> 00:00:59.009 scale, we should probably calibrate what that 00:00:59.009 --> 00:01:00.649 actually means for a minute. When we say seventh 00:01:00.649 --> 00:01:03.149 largest, we are talking about serious, serious 00:01:03.149 --> 00:01:08.849 industrial volume. 1 ,250 ,000 U .S. beer barrels 00:01:08.849 --> 00:01:11.790 produced annually. Which is a number that's hard 00:01:11.790 --> 00:01:15.010 to even picture. It is. For context, if you're 00:01:15.010 --> 00:01:18.349 listening, a standard U .S. beer barrel or BBL 00:01:18.349 --> 00:01:21.670 is 31 gallons of liquid. So we're talking about 00:01:21.670 --> 00:01:24.689 nearly 39 million gallons of beer every single 00:01:24.689 --> 00:01:27.560 year. It's immense. An immense operation. It 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:30.560 employs over 1 ,000 people, 1 ,050, primarily 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:33.159 out of their original Chico, California headquarters. 00:01:33.540 --> 00:01:35.519 And, of course, their newer facility in Mills 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:37.680 River, North Carolina. And what makes this deep 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:40.120 dive so compelling, I think, is that contrast, 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:43.840 you know, the massive scale versus the intensely 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:46.900 ethical way they seem to operate. That dual identity 00:01:46.900 --> 00:01:48.480 is really the core of what we're looking at. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:50.819 And the key insights right off the bat show this 00:01:50.819 --> 00:01:53.519 perfectly. First, you have Sierra Nevada, universally 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:55.920 seen as one of the arc— of the entire American 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:58.579 craft beer movement. A true pioneer. And second, 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:01.420 they're these environmental titans. I mean, they 00:02:01.420 --> 00:02:04.000 won the EPA's Green Business of the Year Award 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.780 all the way back in 2010. That really says it 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:11.400 all. This is a story where passion met real mechanical 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:14.240 ingenuity, where the necessity of their early 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:17.199 days, that thriftiness. Later became a principal 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:19.759 choice when they were a huge, mature company. 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:21.969 Right. We want to show you how that original 00:02:21.969 --> 00:02:25.569 commitment to quality and, frankly, being frugal, 00:02:25.689 --> 00:02:29.969 became woven into the very DNA of the company. 00:02:30.110 --> 00:02:32.629 It's how they built a foundation that could survive 00:02:32.629 --> 00:02:34.669 the last four decades. Yeah, that foundation 00:02:34.669 --> 00:02:37.030 is everything. OK, let's unpack this journey. 00:02:37.210 --> 00:02:39.289 When we look at the very beginning, we're talking 00:02:39.289 --> 00:02:44.689 1979, 1980. The story is just one of pure, unadulterated 00:02:44.689 --> 00:02:47.669 bootstrapping. It really is. Forget venture capital. 00:02:47.710 --> 00:02:50.590 Forget high interest bank loans. This was fundamentally 00:02:50.590 --> 00:02:53.629 a hobby that they tried to commercialize on sheer 00:02:53.629 --> 00:02:55.930 willpower. And with very little money. That's 00:02:55.930 --> 00:02:57.889 the defining context. Yeah. Ken Gross. Postman 00:02:57.889 --> 00:03:00.250 and Paul Camusi started with incredibly limited 00:03:00.250 --> 00:03:02.710 resources. They managed to pull together just 00:03:02.710 --> 00:03:05.129 $50 ,000 in startup capital. And that wasn't 00:03:05.129 --> 00:03:07.889 from a bank? No, not at all. It was secured entirely 00:03:07.889 --> 00:03:10.009 through small loans from friends and family. 00:03:10.110 --> 00:03:13.129 This was their entire budget for building a commercial 00:03:13.129 --> 00:03:16.469 brewery, which is just a staggering fact when 00:03:16.469 --> 00:03:17.870 you think about the industrial equipment you 00:03:17.870 --> 00:03:20.719 need. $50 ,000 today wouldn't even get you a 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:23.219 proper commercial mash ton, let alone back then. 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:26.819 So they rented this tiny 3 ,000 square foot warehouse 00:03:26.819 --> 00:03:30.520 in Chico. And this led to maybe the most iconic 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:33.620 part of their origin story. The DIY scavenger 00:03:33.620 --> 00:03:36.560 hunt. Exactly. The scavenger approach to equipment. 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:39.379 It was pure mechanical inventiveness and it was 00:03:39.379 --> 00:03:41.439 born out of financial necessity. They didn't 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:44.159 buy new equipment. They engineered it. They literally 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:47.199 pieced together their initial brewing setup using 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:49.460 discarded... dairy equipment. Which is amazing. 00:03:49.659 --> 00:03:51.819 I mean, think about the complexity of sanitizing 00:03:51.819 --> 00:03:54.080 and adapting high -volume milk tanks and piping 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:56.340 for brewing beer. It is not a simple switch. 00:03:56.560 --> 00:03:59.199 Not at all. And the sources say they were scouring 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:01.900 scrapyards for metal and spare parts just to 00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:04.500 build the basic infrastructure. The very foundation 00:04:04.500 --> 00:04:06.780 of their high -tech, award -winning brewery today 00:04:06.780 --> 00:04:11.020 was, you know, built on repurposed trash. It's 00:04:11.020 --> 00:04:13.639 incredible. Later on, they did get some secondhand 00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:15.919 copper brewing kettles, but they had to be sourced 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:18.500 all the way from Germany and imported. And that 00:04:18.500 --> 00:04:20.800 speaks volumes about the hands -on mechanical 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:23.639 dedication Grossman had. He wasn't just a great 00:04:23.639 --> 00:04:26.120 home brewer. He understood the machinery. He's 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:28.279 a trained machinist, right, and had worked in 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:30.560 bottling facilities. Exactly. So he understood 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:33.180 the mechanical realities that just sink so many 00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:37.410 passionate but... unprepared entrepreneurs. That 00:04:37.410 --> 00:04:39.790 intimate knowledge was crucial to their survival. 00:04:40.009 --> 00:04:42.189 And yet, with all that industrial grit, they 00:04:42.189 --> 00:04:45.009 chose a name that was purely inspirational. Yeah, 00:04:45.089 --> 00:04:47.730 not industrial at all. The company was named 00:04:47.730 --> 00:04:51.230 Sierra Nevada because of Ken Grossman's deep 00:04:51.230 --> 00:04:53.910 connection to the mountains. It came from his 00:04:53.910 --> 00:04:56.509 love of hiking there. It rooted the identity 00:04:56.509 --> 00:04:58.790 of the beer in the natural, rugged landscape 00:04:58.790 --> 00:05:01.269 of California. right from the start. So with 00:05:01.269 --> 00:05:04.089 this cobbled together Frankenstein brewery finally 00:05:04.089 --> 00:05:06.810 up and running, they brewed their first commercial 00:05:06.810 --> 00:05:10.529 batch in November of 1980. And that first brew 00:05:10.529 --> 00:05:12.730 was the pale ale. The one that would become their 00:05:12.730 --> 00:05:14.889 signature. And then the following year, 1981, 00:05:15.250 --> 00:05:18.009 they introduced Celebration, an IPA that's been 00:05:18.009 --> 00:05:20.389 a classic winter seasonal ever since. But it 00:05:20.389 --> 00:05:23.569 wasn't an instant success story. The immediate 00:05:23.569 --> 00:05:26.250 reality of the market was, well, it was brutal. 00:05:26.700 --> 00:05:28.699 We often look at them now and assume it was, 00:05:28.819 --> 00:05:31.000 but the early 80s were a massive struggle for 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:33.600 them. Craft beer wasn't even a category yet. 00:05:33.660 --> 00:05:36.519 It was a niche, almost a curiosity. They faced 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:39.360 really severe financial and marketing problems. 00:05:39.540 --> 00:05:41.420 I mean, remember, the distribution infrastructure 00:05:41.420 --> 00:05:44.199 for small specialty breweries just didn't exist. 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:46.220 So they had to do it themselves. Grossman and 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:49.199 Camusi had to take on the massive logistical 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:51.319 headache of distributing the beer themselves. 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:54.779 Driving it around Northern California in vans, 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.800 selling it directly to retailers. It was a grind. 00:05:58.019 --> 00:06:00.319 And if the quality was so high, why was it such 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:02.500 a struggle? I think it comes down to cultural 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:06.120 context. In 1980, the vast... vast majority of 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:09.120 American drinkers consumed mass -produced light 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:11.899 luggers. Right. And this heavily hopped, robust 00:06:11.899 --> 00:06:14.980 pale ale was a radical departure. People just 00:06:14.980 --> 00:06:16.360 didn't know what to do with it. So what was the 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:18.560 turning point? That's where the inflection point 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:21.259 becomes so vital. Two things really gave them 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:23.860 the legitimacy they needed. First, an article 00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:26.600 in 1982 in the San Francisco Chronicle. That 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.980 gave them critical media exposure. It signaled 00:06:29.980 --> 00:06:32.300 to a wider, more educated audience that, hey, 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:35.139 this niche product is worth seeking out. But 00:06:35.139 --> 00:06:38.420 I think the truly revolutionary move was getting 00:06:38.420 --> 00:06:41.399 their beer into trend -setting culinary institutions, 00:06:41.819 --> 00:06:45.019 specifically getting it sold at Alice Waters' 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:47.459 famous restaurant in Berkeley, Chesapeenese. 00:06:47.620 --> 00:06:50.060 That's the key, isn't it? Absolutely. Chesapeenese 00:06:50.060 --> 00:06:52.279 wasn't just any restaurant. It was the epicenter 00:06:52.279 --> 00:06:55.060 of the whole local food movement. Getting placed 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:58.519 there signaled that this pale ale was a sophisticated, 00:06:58.939 --> 00:07:01.620 high -quality artisanal product. It deserved 00:07:01.620 --> 00:07:03.879 a spot next to fine wine. It basically created 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:06.240 a legitimate culinary market for craft beer where 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:08.420 one hadn't really existed before. And that early 00:07:08.420 --> 00:07:12.120 traction proved the concept. They sold 950 barrels 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:14.339 in their first year, which is respectable for 00:07:14.339 --> 00:07:16.879 a scratch operation. But they doubled that volume 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:18.980 in the second year, and that kind of exponential 00:07:18.980 --> 00:07:22.740 growth quickly demands scale. For sure. By 1987, 00:07:23.449 --> 00:07:25.430 They were distributing to seven different states 00:07:25.430 --> 00:07:28.850 and production had surged to 12 ,000 U .S. beer 00:07:28.850 --> 00:07:32.009 barrels a year. That tiny 3 ,000 square foot 00:07:32.009 --> 00:07:35.110 warehouse was clearly maxed out. So this is when 00:07:35.110 --> 00:07:37.490 they made their first major infrastructure leap. 00:07:37.610 --> 00:07:40.709 In 1988, they moved into the much larger facility 00:07:40.709 --> 00:07:43.790 that still houses their headquarters in Chico 00:07:43.790 --> 00:07:47.100 today. And this new space had a... state -of 00:07:47.100 --> 00:07:49.259 -the -art for the time, a 100 -barrel brew house 00:07:49.259 --> 00:07:52.079 and four open fermenters. That growth also meant 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:54.180 they needed a professional staff. And we should 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:55.939 pause and recognize some of the critical people 00:07:55.939 --> 00:07:57.860 they hired back then. Yeah, like Steve Harrison. 00:07:58.410 --> 00:08:01.430 He was SMBC's very first employee. He handled 00:08:01.430 --> 00:08:03.930 sales and marketing, really establishing the 00:08:03.930 --> 00:08:06.389 brand identity in those seven key states. And 00:08:06.389 --> 00:08:08.189 maybe even more critically, they hired Steve 00:08:08.189 --> 00:08:10.889 Dressler in 1983. He went on to become the head 00:08:10.889 --> 00:08:13.310 brewer and was instrumental in maintaining the 00:08:13.310 --> 00:08:15.629 precise quality and consistency of that pale 00:08:15.629 --> 00:08:18.769 ale recipe for decades. Right up until he retired 00:08:18.769 --> 00:08:21.629 in 2017. Wow. I mean, think about that consistency 00:08:21.629 --> 00:08:24.569 for a moment. 34 years of guiding the foundational 00:08:24.569 --> 00:08:26.689 flavor of a brand that grew from a few hundred 00:08:26.689 --> 00:08:29.089 barrels to over a million. That level of dedication 00:08:29.089 --> 00:08:32.570 is just. It's virtually unheard of in high growth 00:08:32.570 --> 00:08:35.309 companies. It ensured that as the company scaled, 00:08:35.549 --> 00:08:38.250 the product itself didn't suffer. And we should 00:08:38.250 --> 00:08:40.789 also touch on the ownership structure. Paul Camusi 00:08:40.789 --> 00:08:44.350 decided to retire in 1998 and he sold his share 00:08:44.350 --> 00:08:46.830 of the company to Ken Grossman. Which left Ken 00:08:46.830 --> 00:08:49.990 Grossman as the sole owner. A crucial factor 00:08:49.990 --> 00:08:52.570 in keeping that private ownership structure that's 00:08:52.570 --> 00:08:55.450 allowed them to chase their quality and sustainability 00:08:55.450 --> 00:08:59.220 goals without... No, answering to external shareholders. 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:01.039 And this brings us right to their historical 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:03.679 context. Why do we call them a pioneer? Well, 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:06.940 they, alongside the now defunct New Albion Brewing 00:09:06.940 --> 00:09:09.840 and Anchor Brewing, basically defined the modern 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:12.139 American craft beer category. They didn't just 00:09:12.139 --> 00:09:14.399 join a movement. They helped build the road for 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:16.700 it. And Grossman's early mechanical focus gave 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:19.360 them a huge advantage. He observed that a lot 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:21.820 of early microbrewers failed, not because their 00:09:21.820 --> 00:09:24.159 beer was bad. But because they just weren't prepared 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:26.080 for the scale and the mechanical complexity, 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:28.019 the financial burdens of commercial brewing. 00:09:28.139 --> 00:09:30.399 He famously said that moving from home brewing 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:32.720 to commercial scale is a much different process. 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:35.980 And Sierra Nevada endured because of the superior 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:39.399 character and complexity of its beers, yes. But 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:41.879 also because the operation itself was so physically 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:44.820 stable. It was built on a foundation of engineering 00:09:44.820 --> 00:09:47.909 thrift. not just recipe innovation. You could 00:09:47.909 --> 00:09:50.590 really see the respect for that legacy in 2010 00:09:50.590 --> 00:09:53.669 for their 30th anniversary. They released collaborative 00:09:53.669 --> 00:09:56.350 beers with the other founding titans of the movement, 00:09:56.409 --> 00:09:59.350 like Fritz Maytag of Anchor and Jack McAuliffe 00:09:59.350 --> 00:10:01.980 of New Albion. A real tribute. And they weren't 00:10:01.980 --> 00:10:05.039 just a factory either. Ken Grossman clearly understood 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:07.940 that community engagement was key. So in 1989, 00:10:08.279 --> 00:10:10.960 they added the Sierra Nevada Taproom and Restaurant 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:13.559 to the Chico facility. Right, giving customers 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:16.000 a direct, high -quality way to connect with the 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:18.500 brand. And then that idea expanded again in 2000 00:10:18.500 --> 00:10:21.460 with the opening of The Big Room, a full -fledged 00:10:21.460 --> 00:10:23.740 live music venue right inside the facilities. 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:25.659 And this isn't just some corporate cafeteria 00:10:25.659 --> 00:10:28.720 with a stage. It hosts legitimate national acts 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:32.360 across country, folk. rock, blues. They created 00:10:32.360 --> 00:10:34.399 a destination that is part of the cultural fabric 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:36.980 of Chico. OK, so now that we've established this 00:10:36.980 --> 00:10:39.860 foundation of thrift and engineering and community, 00:10:40.120 --> 00:10:42.700 let's turn our attention to the actual liquid. 00:10:42.940 --> 00:10:45.840 If the company is a pioneer, then the pale ale 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:48.419 is the flagship that fired the first shot. Absolutely. 00:10:48.659 --> 00:10:51.179 The pale ale is the definition of an American 00:10:51.179 --> 00:10:54.940 original. When it came out in 1980, it was a 00:10:54.940 --> 00:10:56.899 radical departure from what everyone was drinking. 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:00.519 Which was mostly light, colorless, highly filtered 00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:03.720 lagers. Exactly. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale basically 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:06.860 told American drinkers that beer could be flavorful, 00:11:07.019 --> 00:11:09.899 aromatic, and complex. And that flavor profile 00:11:09.899 --> 00:11:13.379 is so distinct. It's described as balancing aggressive 00:11:13.379 --> 00:11:16.500 hops and hearty malt flavor. This wasn't some 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:18.860 weak, watery effort. It was meant to be noticed. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:21.139 And we know the specific ingredient that gave 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:24.129 it its identity. Cascade hops. Ah, the classic. 00:11:24.269 --> 00:11:26.669 One of the early signature American hops. And 00:11:26.669 --> 00:11:28.769 it provided that incredible grapefruit aroma 00:11:28.769 --> 00:11:31.950 and that distinctive fruity palate. It's really 00:11:31.950 --> 00:11:34.230 impossible to overstate how revolutionary that 00:11:34.230 --> 00:11:37.169 flavor profile was in the early 1980s. It tasted 00:11:37.169 --> 00:11:39.789 like nothing else on the shelf. Nothing. And 00:11:39.789 --> 00:11:42.629 its staying power is just remarkable. Even as 00:11:42.629 --> 00:11:45.110 recently as 2012, with thousands of new craft 00:11:45.110 --> 00:11:47.570 competitors on the market, it was still cited 00:11:47.570 --> 00:11:50.649 as the best -selling pale ale in the United States. 00:11:50.789 --> 00:11:52.889 That shows such enduring quality and relevance. 00:11:53.330 --> 00:11:55.669 And there's a key technical aspect that really 00:11:55.669 --> 00:11:58.250 speaks to their commitment to quality and longevity. 00:11:58.549 --> 00:12:00.450 And it's vital for our listeners to understand. 00:12:00.610 --> 00:12:03.379 And that's bottle conditioning. Okay, that sounds 00:12:03.379 --> 00:12:05.980 technical, but it's a huge choice for a large 00:12:05.980 --> 00:12:08.519 brewery to make. Can you unpack exactly what 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:12.240 bottle conditioning is and why it matters to 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:14.600 the person drinking the beer? Sure. So bottle 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:16.840 conditioning means that instead of filtering 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:19.539 out all the yeast before you bottle and then 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:21.820 force carbonating it with CO2. Which is what 00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:24.440 most big breweries do. Right. Instead, they leave 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:26.580 a small amount of live yeast in the beer and 00:12:26.580 --> 00:12:29.279 add a little dose of fresh sugar right before 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:32.129 they put the cap on. The yeast then ferments 00:12:32.129 --> 00:12:35.389 that sugar inside the sealed bottle, which naturally 00:12:35.389 --> 00:12:37.250 creates the carbon dioxide and the pressure. 00:12:37.370 --> 00:12:39.009 So it's naturally carbonated inside the bottle. 00:12:39.169 --> 00:12:42.629 Exactly. And that achieves a very fine, persistent 00:12:42.629 --> 00:12:45.409 bubble structure and a softer mouthfeel than 00:12:45.409 --> 00:12:48.190 you get with forced carbonation. But more importantly, 00:12:48.370 --> 00:12:51.029 the yeast acts as a natural preservative. How 00:12:51.029 --> 00:12:54.070 does it do that? It scavenges any stray oxygen 00:12:54.070 --> 00:12:56.480 that might be in the bottle. This means the beer 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:59.159 has significantly better shelf stability, and 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:02.299 it actually matures slightly over time, developing 00:13:02.299 --> 00:13:05.139 greater complexity and rounding out the hop profile. 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:08.480 Wow. So it's a commitment to traditional brewing 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:10.700 that really flies in the face of mass production 00:13:10.700 --> 00:13:13.840 efficiency. It's a riskier, slower, and more 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:16.960 expensive process, for sure. But it delivers 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:19.889 a demonstrably better product. It's one of those 00:13:19.889 --> 00:13:22.230 foundational choices that just speaks to the 00:13:22.230 --> 00:13:24.450 company's DNA. It connects right back to that 00:13:24.450 --> 00:13:26.309 idea of longevity we talked about. They were 00:13:26.309 --> 00:13:28.230 building beers that were meant to age and travel 00:13:28.230 --> 00:13:30.629 well, not just be consumed right off the line. 00:13:30.850 --> 00:13:33.029 Precisely. And while the pale ale was defining 00:13:33.029 --> 00:13:35.889 a new era, their commitment to traditional brewing 00:13:35.889 --> 00:13:38.750 was there from day one. They weren't just chasing 00:13:38.750 --> 00:13:40.950 new trends. They were respecting history. You 00:13:40.950 --> 00:13:42.710 see that in their other foundation styles, right? 00:13:42.769 --> 00:13:45.409 The porter and the stout. Exactly. Both have 00:13:45.409 --> 00:13:47.549 been in continuous production since the company's 00:13:47.549 --> 00:13:52.029 very first year, 1980. These are robust, dark 00:13:52.029 --> 00:13:54.190 ales, proving they weren't just a one -trick 00:13:54.190 --> 00:13:56.750 pony relying on hops. And these weren't just 00:13:56.750 --> 00:13:58.970 placeholders either. I mean, the legendary beer 00:13:58.970 --> 00:14:01.110 writer Michael Jackson gave them high praise, 00:14:01.190 --> 00:14:04.350 describing the porter and stout as gently coffee 00:14:04.350 --> 00:14:07.570 -ish and beautifully roasty. So they were mastering 00:14:07.570 --> 00:14:11.029 traditional European dark beer. At the same time, 00:14:11.029 --> 00:14:13.190 they were pioneering the new American pale ale. 00:14:13.580 --> 00:14:15.879 Just incredible versatility. And then moving 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:18.259 into the 21st century, the company showed it 00:14:18.259 --> 00:14:20.840 could still innovate. In 2009, they introduced 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:23.840 two new year -round beers. Right, which further 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:26.000 cemented their quality across different styles. 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:29.600 The first was Torpedo Extra IPA. Ah, Torpedo. 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:32.580 The rise of the IPA was unstoppable by then, 00:14:32.679 --> 00:14:35.120 and this was their answer. It's a classic American 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:37.860 IPA, really known for its intense but clean hop 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:39.899 bitterness and aroma. And it helped them capture 00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:42.779 a huge part of the growing IPA market. Torpedo 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:44.899 also introduced a proprietary piece of equipment 00:14:44.899 --> 00:14:47.539 they invented, the Hop Torpedo. Another example 00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:50.559 of their mechanical ingenuity. It is. It allows 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:52.940 for dry -hoffing in a way that maximizes the 00:14:52.940 --> 00:14:55.360 hop aroma without adding a lot of astringency. 00:14:55.500 --> 00:14:58.220 Again, engineering in service of flavor quality. 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:00.820 And the second major launch that year was a total 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:04.200 departure from that. A complete 180. Kellerweiss 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:07.299 Hefeweizen? A traditional Bavarian Hefeweizen? 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:10.889 A cloudy wheat beer? That they could so seamlessly 00:15:10.889 --> 00:15:13.370 pivot from the aggressive West Coast hop style 00:15:13.370 --> 00:15:16.909 to a delicate traditional German style that showed 00:15:16.909 --> 00:15:20.029 true brewing mastery. And of course, the portfolio 00:15:20.029 --> 00:15:23.049 keeps evolving. They've since added Hazy Little 00:15:23.049 --> 00:15:25.549 Thing, successfully entering the popular New 00:15:25.549 --> 00:15:28.429 England IPA category, proving they can stay relevant 00:15:28.429 --> 00:15:30.730 while maintaining their core standards. And this 00:15:30.730 --> 00:15:32.889 quality isn't just, you know, marketing talk. 00:15:33.070 --> 00:15:35.210 It's backed up by decades and decades of awards. 00:15:35.429 --> 00:15:37.269 That's where the numbers really tell the story. 00:15:37.690 --> 00:15:39.649 Their award history at competitions like the 00:15:39.649 --> 00:15:41.450 Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer 00:15:41.450 --> 00:15:44.470 Cup shows a consistency that very few breweries, 00:15:44.490 --> 00:15:47.370 regardless of size, can match. You can just track 00:15:47.370 --> 00:15:49.769 the pale ale winning multiple GABF golds between 00:15:49.769 --> 00:15:53.769 1983 and 1995. That alone illustrates the level 00:15:53.769 --> 00:15:55.870 of enduring excellence that defined them in those 00:15:55.870 --> 00:15:58.570 critical growth years. And the recognition is 00:15:58.570 --> 00:16:01.340 so much broader than just the pale ale. You look 00:16:01.340 --> 00:16:03.679 at the long -term medal winners, Bigfoot Barley 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:06.679 Wine, their Stout, and more recently medals for 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:10.240 Keller Weiss, Kolsch, even specialty releases 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:12.659 like their Barrel -Aged Narwhal. So they aren't 00:16:12.659 --> 00:16:16.120 just famous for one recipe. No. They are masters 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:19.240 of multiple global styles. And that speaks to 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:21.820 the technical prowess they maintained even while 00:16:21.820 --> 00:16:24.240 undergoing massive scaling. So we've seen the 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:26.899 pioneering quality of the beer itself. Now we 00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:29.200 pivot to the pioneering quality of the operation. 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:33.039 And this is where the sheer scale of their sustainability 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:35.659 efforts becomes, well, just astonishing and where 00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:38.500 that scrappy resource conscious founding DNA 00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:40.720 really shines through. The environmental commitment 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:42.759 is not secondary. It's integral to who they are. 00:16:42.860 --> 00:16:44.960 The highest recognition of this was getting the 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:46.840 U .S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:50.580 Business of the Year Award in 2010. For a manufacturer 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:53.220 that uses vast amounts of water and power, that 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:55.779 is a monumental achievement. It is. Let's start 00:16:55.779 --> 00:16:58.960 with the most dramatic feature. The solar commitment 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:01.799 at the Chico facility. And we aren't talking 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:04.279 about something cosmetic like a few panels for 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:06.319 show. We're talking about building a significant 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:09.480 power plant right on their own site. Exactly. 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:12.500 They installed 10 ,000 photovoltaic modules. 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:15.299 They cover their extensive rooftops and parking 00:17:15.299 --> 00:17:18.700 areas. And they generate 2 .6 megawatts of solar 00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:21.059 electricity. Which provides a substantial portion 00:17:21.059 --> 00:17:23.019 of the power needed to run the entire brewing 00:17:23.019 --> 00:17:25.630 and bottling operation. And as a way of integrating 00:17:25.630 --> 00:17:28.450 this into the community and employee life, the 00:17:28.450 --> 00:17:30.849 premises also include charging stations for electric 00:17:30.849 --> 00:17:32.890 vehicles. It's a holistic approach, you know, 00:17:32.910 --> 00:17:35.930 generate clean power and incentivize clean transportation. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:38.460 But the true genius, and this connects right 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:40.960 back to their scrapyard origins, is the closed 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:43.339 -loop waste management system. This is where 00:17:43.339 --> 00:17:45.500 it gets really impressive. While a lot of companies 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:48.220 aim for sustainability, Sierra Nevada is achieving 00:17:48.220 --> 00:17:51.519 industrial near -perfection. They divert over 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:55.740 99 .5 % of the brewery plant's solid waste from 00:17:55.740 --> 00:17:58.759 landfills. That is an almost unheard -of diversion 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:01.480 rate for a facility producing over a million 00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:04.230 barrels beer a year. Let's break down how they 00:18:04.230 --> 00:18:06.490 do it, starting with generating energy from their 00:18:06.490 --> 00:18:09.690 own waste. This is their spanked grain, which 00:18:09.690 --> 00:18:12.190 is still rich in nutrients and fiber, is sold 00:18:12.190 --> 00:18:14.910 immediately to local cattle ranchers. It serves 00:18:14.910 --> 00:18:17.849 as high quality livestock feed. That eliminates 00:18:17.849 --> 00:18:20.289 the need for expensive disposal and benefits 00:18:20.289 --> 00:18:23.930 local farms. And water. The most critical resource 00:18:23.930 --> 00:18:26.150 in brewing. Industrial brewing consumes huge 00:18:26.150 --> 00:18:28.750 amounts of water, which then becomes spent water 00:18:28.750 --> 00:18:30.869 needing municipal treatment. Sierra Nevada just 00:18:30.869 --> 00:18:33.730 bypassed that. They bypassed that expensive and 00:18:33.730 --> 00:18:36.029 environmentally taxing reliance on municipal 00:18:36.029 --> 00:18:38.970 services by building their own advanced water 00:18:38.970 --> 00:18:41.430 treatment plant on site. So they handle it all 00:18:41.430 --> 00:18:44.009 themselves. All of it. This allows them to treat 00:18:44.009 --> 00:18:46.410 the spent water internally and then reuse it, 00:18:46.490 --> 00:18:49.130 primarily for drip irrigation on their surrounding 00:18:49.130 --> 00:18:52.119 fields. They are minimizing their draw on local 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:54.799 water and keeping the cycle closed. This end 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:56.900 -to -end commitment even extended into logistics, 00:18:57.240 --> 00:18:59.460 which demonstrates a massive capital investment 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:02.099 in green infrastructure. This is maybe the most 00:19:02.099 --> 00:19:04.579 surprising detail of all. Sierra Nevada actually 00:19:04.579 --> 00:19:08.079 owns one mile of private railway spur in Chico. 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:10.559 A private railway? That's not a heritage track 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:12.640 for show, right? This is an active logistical 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:15.819 asset. It is. It's used for intermodal freight 00:19:15.819 --> 00:19:19.180 transport. So why is a private railway spur such 00:19:19.180 --> 00:19:21.539 a big environmental investment for a brewery? 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:23.920 Because it drastically cuts their carbon footprint 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:27.839 related to ingredients. By bringing large shipments 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:30.200 of bulk ingredients like malt via rail directly 00:19:30.200 --> 00:19:33.380 to their facility, they avoid a huge amount of 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:37.000 road transport. And one rail car holds way more 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:39.940 than a truck. One single rail car can hold the 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:42.299 equivalent volume of four semi -trailers of grain. 00:19:42.809 --> 00:19:45.150 Imagine the reduction in diesel fuel consumption 00:19:45.150 --> 00:19:47.950 and road congestion they achieve with that one 00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:51.130 mile of rail. It's a massive efficiency gain 00:19:51.130 --> 00:19:53.650 disguised as a piece of infrastructure. And the 00:19:53.650 --> 00:19:55.670 same rigor applies to the ingredients themselves. 00:19:56.109 --> 00:19:58.349 Absolutely. They're the single largest buyer 00:19:58.349 --> 00:20:01.650 of organic hops in the United States. But true 00:20:01.650 --> 00:20:03.730 to their character, they also farm their own 00:20:03.730 --> 00:20:06.349 ingredients, cultivating organic hops and barley 00:20:06.349 --> 00:20:08.920 on site. And that's used for their special annual 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:11.640 Chico Estate Harvest Ale release. The ultimate 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:14.220 local product. So they set this incredibly high 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:16.619 bar in Chico, but when they built their second 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:19.019 facility on the East Coast, they didn't just 00:20:19.019 --> 00:20:21.039 meet that standard, they somehow exceeded it. 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:23.559 The Mills River, North Carolina facility, which 00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:26.980 opened in 2014, is a testament to their unwavering 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:29.900 environmental philosophy. It was designed from 00:20:29.900 --> 00:20:33.559 the ground up for maximum efficiency, and it 00:20:33.559 --> 00:20:37.240 achieved the highest possible standard. LEE Platinum 00:20:37.240 --> 00:20:40.519 certification. LEE Platinum. That's the top designation 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:43.119 for leadership in energy and environmental design. 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:45.299 Achieving that for an industrial manufacturing 00:20:45.299 --> 00:20:48.220 facility is incredibly difficult. It really is. 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:50.980 It requires maximizing efficiencies in water 00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:53.420 use, energy performance, material selection, 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:55.940 and site development. And you see that commitment 00:20:55.940 --> 00:20:58.079 in the construction details. The Mills River 00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:00.700 site was built on a forested tract, but they 00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:02.680 don't just clear cut and discard the lumber. 00:21:02.819 --> 00:21:05.359 No, they reuse the cut down trees as structural 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:07.700 lumber inside the building. And they even fashion 00:21:07.700 --> 00:21:10.140 them into rainwater cisterns to flush the toilets. 00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:12.440 Just constantly thinking about how to reuse and 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:15.180 conserve. That facility is also certified as 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:17.880 a platinum zero waste facility by the U .S. Zero 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:20.509 Waste Business Council. It really solidifies 00:21:20.509 --> 00:21:23.289 that connection we identified earlier. The necessity 00:21:23.289 --> 00:21:26.049 of thrift during the startup phase has been transformed 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:29.589 into this core, award -winning, large -scale 00:21:29.589 --> 00:21:32.230 corporate philosophy. They don't waste resources 00:21:32.230 --> 00:21:34.410 because they never learned how to. It makes you 00:21:34.410 --> 00:21:37.609 wonder, right? Did their $50 ,000 scrapyard start 00:21:37.609 --> 00:21:39.690 accidentally hardwired their engineering team 00:21:39.690 --> 00:21:42.109 to think about conservation first? It feels like 00:21:42.109 --> 00:21:44.599 it. They had to be mechanical geniuses and thrift 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:47.299 leaders to survive, and they simply applied that 00:21:47.299 --> 00:21:50.279 same innovative, resourceful mindset when they 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:52.319 had millions of dollars to spend on infrastructure. 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:54.700 All right, moving from the factory floor back 00:21:54.700 --> 00:21:57.259 to the fermenter, let's explore the seasonal 00:21:57.259 --> 00:21:59.599 and special releases that maintain their reputation 00:21:59.599 --> 00:22:01.900 for innovation. And we have to start with the 00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:04.799 strongest of them all, Bigfoot barley wine style 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:07.779 ale. Bigfoot is one of the most anticipated annual 00:22:07.779 --> 00:22:10.099 releases, usually hitting shelves in January 00:22:10.099 --> 00:22:13.509 or February. It's an American legend, recognized 00:22:13.509 --> 00:22:15.710 as one of the first widely available American 00:22:15.710 --> 00:22:18.990 barley wines. And it is strong. It tops out at 00:22:18.990 --> 00:22:22.690 9 .6 % ABV. It's brewed with two types of malt, 00:22:22.849 --> 00:22:25.369 three different hops. It's designed to be big, 00:22:25.410 --> 00:22:27.910 bold, and highly cellarable. It's been winning 00:22:27.910 --> 00:22:31.349 medals since the mid-'80s. But there's that great 00:22:31.349 --> 00:22:34.759 legal nuance tied to its name. Why does it have 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:37.339 to be called a barley wine style ale? Right. 00:22:37.420 --> 00:22:39.819 Why this style ale part? That's due to historical 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:43.359 U .S. alcohol regulation. Federal laws stipulate 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:45.839 that only fermented alcohols derived from fruit, 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:49.319 like grapes, can be legally marketed simply as 00:22:49.319 --> 00:22:51.960 wine. Ah, so since barley wine is from grain, 00:22:52.099 --> 00:22:55.339 from barley, it has to carry that style ale designation. 00:22:55.880 --> 00:22:59.200 Exactly. To avoid confusing consumers or violating 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:01.900 labeling laws, even though the strength and character 00:23:01.900 --> 00:23:04.480 are very comparable to wine. A classic example 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:06.799 of regulations catching up to a traditional style, 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:09.279 but maybe the most influential seasonal releases 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:12.299 they pioneered were the harvest ales, the ones 00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:14.799 that focus on wet hops. The harvest ales are 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:16.759 crucial to understanding their innovation cycle. 00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:19.000 The Northern Hemisphere Harvest Ale introduced 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.200 in 1996 was a historical landmark. This is the 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:24.440 first commercial fresh hop ale brewed and sold 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:27.180 in the United States. OK, so what does fresh 00:23:27.180 --> 00:23:30.299 hop or wet hop actually mean and why is it so 00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:32.589 difficult to do commercially? So typically when 00:23:32.589 --> 00:23:35.009 hops are harvested in late summer, they have 00:23:35.009 --> 00:23:37.849 to be immediately kilned or dried to reduce their 00:23:37.849 --> 00:23:40.549 moisture from around 80 % down to 10 % or less. 00:23:41.150 --> 00:23:43.549 This preserves them for year -round brewing. 00:23:43.789 --> 00:23:46.369 But the drying process sacrifices some of the... 00:23:46.890 --> 00:23:49.390 What, the aroma? It sacrifices some of the intense 00:23:49.390 --> 00:23:52.230 volatile oils that give hops their delicate, 00:23:52.329 --> 00:23:54.970 fresh -off -the -vine aroma. So a wet hop ale 00:23:54.970 --> 00:23:58.410 bypasses that drying process entirely. They use 00:23:58.410 --> 00:24:00.769 them fresh. Precisely. They use hops that have 00:24:00.769 --> 00:24:03.230 been picked within hours, sometimes minutes of 00:24:03.230 --> 00:24:04.930 being harvested, while they're still full of 00:24:04.930 --> 00:24:07.509 moisture. This captures an incredibly vibrant, 00:24:07.690 --> 00:24:10.730 green, intense aromatic profile you just can't 00:24:10.730 --> 00:24:12.980 get from dried hops. The logistical challenge 00:24:12.980 --> 00:24:15.480 must be immense. It is. They have to get the 00:24:15.480 --> 00:24:17.519 hops from the fields in eastern Washington to 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:19.940 the brewery and into the kettle almost immediately, 00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:23.259 often within 24 hours, before the undried hops 00:24:23.259 --> 00:24:25.420 start to degrade. Wow, that's a huge commitment 00:24:25.420 --> 00:24:28.059 to freshness. And they later expanded this idea 00:24:28.059 --> 00:24:30.420 globally, right? They did, with the Southern 00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:33.319 Hemisphere Harvest Ale. They apply the same principle 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:36.240 but use freshly harvested wet hops imported all 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:38.640 the way from New Zealand, allowing them to capture 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:41.240 the unique flavor profiles of those distinct 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:43.579 hop varieties. And then linking back to their 00:24:43.579 --> 00:24:45.960 sustainability efforts, the peak of this is the 00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:48.319 Chico State Harvest Ale. Which is brewed exclusively 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:50.839 with the organic wet hops and barley grown right 00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:53.440 on the brewery's own premises. That is the definition 00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:56.369 of a hyper -local farm -to -glass product. Beyond 00:24:56.369 --> 00:24:58.509 those specialty releases, you have the seasonal 00:24:58.509 --> 00:25:01.210 mainstays like Celebration Ale. It's been their 00:25:01.210 --> 00:25:04.410 winter seasonal since 1981. A beautiful example 00:25:04.410 --> 00:25:06.910 of consistency. Celebration is interesting because 00:25:06.910 --> 00:25:09.609 its style can be a little confusing. Right. It 00:25:09.609 --> 00:25:12.250 often wins medals in the IPA category, but a 00:25:12.250 --> 00:25:14.309 lot of people describe it as more of a hoppy, 00:25:14.309 --> 00:25:17.210 malty amber ale or even a bigger version of the 00:25:17.210 --> 00:25:19.529 pale ale. It has that aggressive hop structure, 00:25:19.710 --> 00:25:22.690 but with a richer, darker malt profile that's 00:25:22.690 --> 00:25:25.369 perfect for winter. Its longevity speaks for 00:25:25.369 --> 00:25:27.529 itself, having been around almost as long as 00:25:27.529 --> 00:25:29.589 the company. And their commitment to diverse 00:25:29.589 --> 00:25:31.869 styles continues with their other seasonals. 00:25:31.930 --> 00:25:34.970 You've got the Summerfest Lager, a crisp Pilsner 00:25:34.970 --> 00:25:37.809 in the Czech style, their annual Oktoberfest 00:25:37.809 --> 00:25:41.170 collaboration, and B Beer Camp Hoppy Lager. And 00:25:41.170 --> 00:25:42.890 we also have to note their dedication to their 00:25:42.890 --> 00:25:45.710 local roots. They produce the old Chico brand. 00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:49.160 including Old Chico Crystal Wheat, named in memory 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:51.660 of the 19th century Chico Brewery. And that's 00:25:51.660 --> 00:25:54.160 a tribute to local history that is only distributed 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:56.519 in the immediate Northern California area around 00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:59.160 Chico. It really reinforces their local identity 00:25:59.160 --> 00:26:01.960 despite their global scale. Right. And finally, 00:26:02.019 --> 00:26:03.799 we get to what is arguably the most powerful 00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:05.900 story of their character and community impact, 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:10.559 the Resilience Butte County Proud IPA. This goes 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:13.519 way beyond brewing and touches on deep corporate 00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:16.559 responsibility. This emerged in late 2018 after 00:26:16.559 --> 00:26:19.039 the devastating Camp Fire, which was the deadliest 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:21.059 and most destructive wildfire in California's 00:26:21.059 --> 00:26:23.759 history. And it ravaged communities right near 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:26.400 the Chico Brewery. And tragically, about 50 of 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:28.960 Sierra Nevada's own employees lost their homes 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:31.400 in that fire. The company's response was not 00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:34.200 just to donate money, but to mobilize the entire 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:37.430 industry. They announced the creation of Resilience 00:26:37.430 --> 00:26:40.210 IPA, a limited edition beer designed to raise 00:26:40.210 --> 00:26:43.650 funds for the campfire recovery. And what followed 00:26:43.650 --> 00:26:46.509 was just this unprecedented act of industry collaboration. 00:26:47.269 --> 00:26:49.630 Sierra Nevada took the initiative to publish 00:26:49.630 --> 00:26:53.150 the exact recipe for the Resilience IPA and invited 00:26:53.150 --> 00:26:55.890 any brewery in the world to brew it. They provided 00:26:55.890 --> 00:26:58.849 the framework, the name, and the commitment to 00:26:58.849 --> 00:27:01.490 donate 100 % of their sales proceeds to the relief 00:27:01.490 --> 00:27:04.549 fund. And that invitation was answered on a massive 00:27:04.549 --> 00:27:07.609 scale. Over 1 ,500 other breweries across the 00:27:07.609 --> 00:27:10.109 U .S. and internationally signed up to brew and 00:27:10.109 --> 00:27:13.210 sell that exact same Resilience IPA recipe. I 00:27:13.210 --> 00:27:15.109 mean, think about the logistical nightmare of 00:27:15.109 --> 00:27:17.069 coordinating that many different businesses, 00:27:17.109 --> 00:27:20.230 from tiny microbreweries to established regionals, 00:27:20.230 --> 00:27:22.789 to use the same name, recipe, and commit to the 00:27:22.789 --> 00:27:25.529 same charitable goal. It required immense leadership 00:27:25.529 --> 00:27:28.240 from Sierra Nevada. And the result was just staggering. 00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:31.140 This collective effort, marshalled and led by 00:27:31.140 --> 00:27:33.480 Sierra Nevada, ultimately raised a total of $15 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:36.079 million for Camp Fire Relief. It just showed 00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:39.380 the immense emotional and economic power of the 00:27:39.380 --> 00:27:42.259 craft beer community when it's guided by a credible, 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:45.690 respected leader. And it's a crucial detail that 00:27:45.690 --> 00:27:47.950 while they led this massive collaborative effort, 00:27:48.490 --> 00:27:51.170 Sierra Nevada has consistently maintained a neutral 00:27:51.170 --> 00:27:54.069 public stance on broader political issues. Right. 00:27:54.190 --> 00:27:56.250 They focus strictly on their business and their 00:27:56.250 --> 00:27:59.230 community impact. They even had to publicly reiterate 00:27:59.230 --> 00:28:02.029 this back in 2010 when a beer industry group 00:28:02.029 --> 00:28:05.250 mistakenly linked them to opposing California's 00:28:05.250 --> 00:28:08.009 Proposition 19, which would have legalized marijuana. 00:28:08.410 --> 00:28:10.549 So they're a company focused squarely on their 00:28:10.549 --> 00:28:13.109 product, their employees and their environment. 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:16.980 So after this extraordinary deep dive into Sierra 00:28:16.980 --> 00:28:20.460 Nevada, what does it all leave us with? I think 00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:22.619 it's clear their success is defined by this dual 00:28:22.619 --> 00:28:25.079 legacy of pioneering excellence, both in the 00:28:25.079 --> 00:28:27.400 glass and in the factory. They didn't just stumble 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:30.160 into success. They pioneered the aggressive, 00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:32.819 hop -forward flavor profile that defined American 00:28:32.819 --> 00:28:35.480 craft beer. And at the same time, they pioneered 00:28:35.480 --> 00:28:38.130 an ethical, sustainable industrial model. Everything 00:28:38.130 --> 00:28:40.450 from their railway spur ownership and their closed 00:28:40.450 --> 00:28:43.210 loopway systems. To achieving late platinum certification 00:28:43.210 --> 00:28:46.410 at their newest facility. It just sets the benchmark 00:28:46.410 --> 00:28:49.549 for responsible large -scale manufacturing. It's 00:28:49.549 --> 00:28:51.910 truly amazing to trace their journey from that 00:28:51.910 --> 00:28:55.150 initial $50 ,000 borrowed from friends and family 00:28:55.150 --> 00:28:57.650 and the equipment they built from scrapyard parts 00:28:57.650 --> 00:29:00.160 and old dairy machinery. all the way to this 00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:03.500 highly influential 1 ,000 -plus employee operation 00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:06.519 with environmental accolades that rival the biggest 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:09.180 corporations on Earth. This continuous commitment 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:11.980 to thrift and ingenuity really does form a perfect 00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:14.099 circle. In the beginning, they had to conserve 00:29:14.099 --> 00:29:16.940 and repurpose resources just to survive. And 00:29:16.940 --> 00:29:20.220 now, as a massive company, They choose to own 00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:23.220 their supply chain farming organic hops, installing 00:29:23.220 --> 00:29:25.900 massive solar arrays, treating their own water, 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:28.119 because they fundamentally understand the value 00:29:28.119 --> 00:29:30.539 of every single resource. That original mechanical 00:29:30.539 --> 00:29:33.019 necessity became their greatest ethical strength. 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:35.660 And that's the powerful takeaway we want to leave 00:29:35.660 --> 00:29:38.539 you with. Consider the relationship between the 00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:41.440 necessity of frugality during that 1980 startup 00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:44.259 phase, when survival depended on building equipment 00:29:44.259 --> 00:29:47.009 from scrap metal, and the choice of award -winning, 00:29:47.089 --> 00:29:49.470 comprehensive sustainability that defines the 00:29:49.470 --> 00:29:52.470 mature company today. Was their environmental 00:29:52.470 --> 00:29:54.670 leadership pre -programmed by the simple financial 00:29:54.670 --> 00:29:57.509 constraints of their first days? A profound thought 00:29:57.509 --> 00:29:59.089 for you to contemplate the next time you hold 00:29:59.089 --> 00:30:01.329 a bottle of pale ale. Thank you for joining us 00:30:01.329 --> 00:30:02.029 for The Deep Drive.