Ah, summer camp. A few weeks spent in the woods with friends, dabbling in archery, canoeing and leather crafts in the prime of youth. If only there were something like that for adults.
One of the pioneers of the craft beer movement, Sierra Nevada, has made that dream a reality with its Beer Camp Across America series. While no bows and arrows are involved, the revered brewery has made up for that deficiency with a range of unique beers from a hand-selected group of world-class brewers in its 2016 installment.
For those unfamiliar, Beer Camp Across America is both a festival tour and limited release beer series celebrating the diversity of the country’s best craft breweries and the spirit of collaboration.
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The mixed box of twelve beers will begin arriving on store shelves in May. It showcases the work of 31 breweries that combined efforts to create six specific regional beer styles. In addition to those listed below, Sierra Nevada collaborated on all of the brews, either from its Chico, CA brewery or its Mills River, NC location.
Northern California/Hawaii brewers collaborated on a “Hoppy Red Rye Ale”
- Bear Republic Brewing Co.
- Maui Brewing Co.
- Faction Brewing Co.
- Magnolia Brewing Co.
- Mad River Brewing Co.
Pacific Northwest/Rockies brewers crafted an IPA
- Bale Breaker Brewing Co.
- Barley Brown’s Beer
- Melvin Brewing Co.
- Black Raven Brewing Co.
- Odell Brewing Co.
Southeastern US brewers devised a “Tea-inspired Southern Table Beer”
- Funky Buddha Brewery
- Wicked Weed Brewing
- Austin Beerworks
- Bayou Teche Brewing
- Creature Comforts Brewing Co.
Southwest brewers made a “Big American Stout”
- Beachwood BBQ & Brewing
- Port Brewing Co./The Lost Abbey
- Bagby Beer Co.
- Societe Brewing Co.
- Smog City Brewing Co.
Northeast/Mid-Atlantic brewers united for a “Colonial-Inspired Pale Ale”
- Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
- Devils Backbone Brewing Co.
- Lawson’s Finest Liquids
- Stoudts Brewing Co.
- Trillium Brewing Co.
Midwest breweries decided on a “Big Brown Ale”
- August Schell Brewing Co.
- Dark Horse Brewing Co.
- Sun King Brewery
- Perennial Artisan Ales
- Half Acre Beer Co.
Even a quick glance at this brewery list reveals that these are no lightweights. This may be the most impressive collection of breweries ever assembled for a single product.
Here’s a video to whet your thirst
As a complement to trying these bottles at home, the Beer Camp Across America tour creates a festival-like atmosphere to showcase even more breweries in six different US cities. Hundreds of local and regional breweries will be participating, giving attendees the chance to try a wide variety of diverse, exceptional beers. Tickets go on sale in February.
- June 4, 2016: Tampa, FL
- June 11, 2016: Seattle, WA
- June 11, 2016: Milwaukee, WI
- June 18, 2016: San Francisco, CA
- June 18, 2016: Boston, MA
- June 25, 2016: Los Angeles, CA
The second Beer Camp Across America sees Sierra Nevada adding to its impressive history by embarking on this massive project. Sierra Nevada’s reputation for producing excellent beer is enhanced by its passion of encouraging and helping up and coming breweries to achieve. So whether you’re picking up a twelve pack, journeying to a tour stop (or both!) be sure to raise a pint to Sierra Nevada for keeping beer delicious, interesting and fun.
