North Shore Breweries

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Sierra Sips

NORTH SHORE’S BREWERY SCENE

Craft beer brewing in Tahoe is a hap pening scene. While cruising around the lake, there are many places in which to sample di erent brewers and their creative and experimental beers. Whether you tend to lean toward IPAs, ales, pilsners or lagers, there is something for every palate. As the seasons change, so do the brews. Darker, richer beers become more popular in the winter months.

“ They’re very rarely a single batch of beer.

So, we might take one that is 3 years old and blend it with one that is maybe 6 months to 9 months old. The thing about barrel-aged beers that makes it the most interesting is the magic in the blending.” –Joe Steinfelds

In the Tahoe Sierra, there are more than a dozen local breweries creating craft beers stretching from the Lost Sierra to the South Shore. Over the next few months, I’ll be highlighting these breweries and invite you to sample their creations.

You can create your own pub crawl using our inaugural Sierra Sips map available at eTahoeWeekly.com. Read my rst article on Truckee breweries online.

ALIBI ALE WORKS:

EVER-CHANGING VARIETY

Creating good beer is an art and Alibi Ale Works owners Kevin Drake and Rich Romo have created such a brewery.

Joe Steinfelds is the head brewer at Alibi Ale Works. He is a well of beer and brewing knowledge. He dons a black, German-styled hat speckled with a multitude of buttons from around the world, each telling a story related to his love of beer, including his status as a German beer sommelier. He greets Tahoe Weekly Publisher Katherine Hill and me at the Brewery and Barrel House location in Incline Village, Nev., to discuss his favorite topic. His wild, ginger mustache and feathered hat, along with a backdrop of barrels of beer, create an Old World feel.

“Usually, these are blends. ey’re very rarely a single batch of beer. So, we might Vietnamese Style Pulled Pork along with the tofu-version of this tasty and spicy sandwich, along with an Alibi Mustache Pretzel (a nod to their logo) with homemade beer cheese.

With three locations, Alibi Ale Works is a go-to for community events, music, bingo and damn good beer. e Incline and Truckee Public Houses both have a restaurant, as well. | alibialeworks.com

BY PRIYA HUTNER

ABOVE: A tasting extravaganza with Joe Steinsfelds, head brewer for Alibi Ale Works. | Katherine E. Hill LEFT: Adam Latham of Bear Belly Brewing works on a new creation. | Heidi Peinthor Photography, Bear Belly Brewing

take one that is 3 years old and blend it with one that is maybe 6 months to 9 months old. e thing about barrel-aged beers that makes it the most interesting is the magic in the blending. One, this might be a little bit acidic, you might think it tastes really good, but it has a little bit of a bite and then you mix it with something that’s a little younger to round that out,” says Steinfelds as he points to the wall of barrel-aging beers. “No two barrels are ever the same.”

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Sierra Sips Tahoe Weekly presents Sierra Sips Tahoe Weekly presents Portola Portola Portola Portola

Blairsden Blairsden

Graeagle Graeagle

BREWERY BREWERY

Lost Sierra Lost Sierra

The Brewing Lair The Brewing Lair

67007 CA Hwy 70, Blairsden 67007 CA Hwy 70, Blairsden | thebrewinglair.com| thebrewinglair.com

Dedicated to high-profi le ales Dedicated to high-profi le ales

Ronin Fermentation Project Ronin Fermentation Project

601 Graeagle Johnsville Road #1645, Graeagle 601 Graeagle Johnsville Road #1645, Graeagle roninfermentationproject.com roninfermentationproject.com

Classical brews married with experimental brews Classical brews married with experimental brews Sierraville Sierraville

Truckee Truckee

Alibi Ale Works Truckee Public House Alibi Ale Works Truckee Public House

10069 Bridge St. 10069 Bridge St. | alibialeworks.com| alibialeworks.com

An adventurous line-up this is always evolving An adventurous line-up this is always evolving

Donner Creek Brewing Donner Creek Brewing

11448 Deerfi eld Drive 11448 Deerfi eld Drive | | donnercreekbrewing.com donnercreekbrewing.com

Pico brewery focused on locally grown hops Pico brewery focused on locally grown hops Truckee Truckee

FEATURED LISTING FEATURED LISTING

(PAID) (PAID) WINERY WINERY DISTILLERY DISTILLERY FOOD TRUCK FOOD TRUCK FOOD FOOD

Reno & Sparks Reno & Sparks

Great Basin Brewing Company Sparks Great Basin Brewing Company Sparks

846 Victorian Ave., Sparks, NV 89431 846 Victorian Ave., Sparks, NV 89431 | | greatbasinbrewing.com greatbasinbrewing.com

Great Basin Brewing Company Reno Great Basin Brewing Company Reno

5525 S. Virginia St, Reno, NV 89502 5525 S. Virginia St, Reno, NV 89502 | | greatbasinbrewing.com greatbasinbrewing.com

TRUCKEE TRUCKEE AIRPORT AIRPORT Reno Reno

RENO RENO INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AIRPORT

FiftyFifty Brewing FiftyFifty Brewing

11197 Brockway Road, Suite 1 11197 Brockway Road, Suite 1 | fi ftyfi ftybrewing.com| fi ftyfi ftybrewing.com

Barrel-aged gems from Truckee’s oldest brewery Barrel-aged gems from Truckee’s oldest brewery

The Good Wolf The Good Wolf

10990 Industrial Way B103 10990 Industrial Way B103 | thegoodwolfbrewing.com| thegoodwolfbrewing.com

Forest beer from local sources Forest beer from local sources Northstar Northstar Incline Village Incline Village

Old Trestle Distillery Old Trestle Distillery

West River St. West River St. | | Tasting room opening fall 2022 Tasting room opening fall 2022 | oldtrestle.com| oldtrestle.com

Gin, vodka & bourbon using locally harvested botanicals Gin, vodka & bourbon using locally harvested botanicals

Truckee Brewing Co. Truckee Brewing Co.

a. 10736 Pioneer Trail, Suite 1a. 10736 Pioneer Trail, Suite 1 b. b. 1001 Soaring Way (opening Jan. 2022) 1001 Soaring Way (opening Jan. 2022) truckeebrewco.com truckeebrewco.com

Focus on high-quality ingredients Focus on high-quality ingredients

Truckee River Winery Truckee River Winery

10061 S. River St. 10061 S. River St. | | truckeeriverwinery.com truckeeriverwinery.com

Specializing in single-vineyard varietals Specializing in single-vineyard varietals Olympic Olympic Valley Valley

Alpine Alpine Meadows Meadows

North Shore North Shore

Alibi Ale Works Brewery and Barrel House Alibi Ale Works Brewery and Barrel House

204 E. Enterprise St., Incline Village 204 E. Enterprise St., Incline Village | | alibialeworks.com alibialeworks.com

Alibi favorites & Barrel House exclusives (bring your own food) Alibi favorites & Barrel House exclusives (bring your own food)

Alibi Ale Works Incline Public House Alibi Ale Works Incline Public House

931 Tahoe Blvd, Incline Village 931 Tahoe Blvd, Incline Village | | alibialeworks.com alibialeworks.com

Crafted with an eye to experimentation & variety Crafted with an eye to experimentation & variety

Bear Belly Brewing Company Bear Belly Brewing Company

8428 Trout Ave, Kings Beach 8428 Trout Ave, Kings Beach | | bearbellybrew.com bearbellybrew.com

Small batch brewery Small batch brewery

South Shore South Shore

Cold Water Brewery Cold Water Brewery

2544 Lake Tahoe Blvd. 2544 Lake Tahoe Blvd. | tahoecoldwaterbrewery.com| tahoecoldwaterbrewery.com

7-barrel brewhouse featuring all-grain beer 7-barrel brewhouse featuring all-grain beer

Sidellis Brewery Sidellis Brewery

3350 Sandy 3350 Sandy Way Way | sidellis.com| sidellis.com

Specializes in rotating, small-batch brews Specializes in rotating, small-batch brews

South Lake Brewing Company South Lake Brewing Company

1920 Lake Tahoe Blvd. 1920 Lake Tahoe Blvd. | southlakebeer.com| southlakebeer.com

16 craft brews on tap with styles for every beer lover 16 craft brews on tap with styles for every beer lover (bring your own food) (bring your own food) Tahoe Tahoe City City

South of North Brewing Co. South of North Brewing Co.

932 Stateline Ave. 932 Stateline Ave. | southofnorthbeer.com| southofnorthbeer.com TAKE THIS TAKE THIS MAP MAP

WITH YOU WITH YOU

READ OUR STORY ON READ OUR STORY ON Kings Kings Beach Beach

NV NV

Homewood Homewood

CA CA

Carson Carson City City

Emerald Bay Emerald Bay

Locally handcrafted ales Locally handcrafted ales

Stateline Brewery Stateline Brewery

4118 Lake Tahoe Blvd. 4118 Lake Tahoe Blvd. | | statelinebrewery.com statelinebrewery.com

Crafting house & seasonal favorites Crafting house & seasonal favorites TRUCKEE’S EXPANDING TRUCKEE’S EXPANDING BREWERY SCENE BREWERY SCENE

IN THIS EDITION ON PAGE 16 IN THIS EDITION ON PAGE 16

Revive Revive

3135 Harrison Avenue 3135 Harrison Avenue | revivecoffeewine.com| revivecoffeewine.com South South Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe Stateline Stateline

Meyers Meyers

TheTahoeWeekly.com TheTahoeWeekly.com

DESIGN BY ALYSSA GANONG | TAHOE WEEKLY DESIGN BY ALYSSA GANONG | TAHOE WEEKLY

Kirkwood Kirkwood Plan your own brewery tour with

our Sierra Sips map

Read about Truckee breweries at

TheTahoeWeekly.com

As we enter the brewery, huge bags of malt grains sit ready to be processed, pipes wind through across the ceiling to massive barrels in the back of the building. e place is like a giant laboratory. Brewing is clearly a science, as well as an art.

“Beer is a living thing with four main ingredients: malt grains, hops, yeast and water,” says Steinfelds, who admits he really loves German-styled beers.

We walk over to one of the large silver tanks labeled Snow ake White IPA and Steinfelds pours beer into a glass and hands it to me. It smells like citrus with a hint of coconut. Soon it will be ready to drink. is beer is only made in the winter.

We move back into the bar area to do some tasting. e vibe is low key; people are sitting at tables playing games and hanging out at the bar. Everyone is drinking draft beers.

We sit at a long high top. e chalkboard over the board is the beer menu. Each of the beers on tap has creative, clever and often cheeky names: the Jaded Local, the Heretic and Arousal catch my eye. e rst beer we try is the MoPils, a modern pilsner that Steinfelds is excited about. It’s got a bit of bitterness, a touch of sweetness and a subtle hint of candied lime. MoPils is just being released and is de nitely one to try. It is delicious.

We try the last of a summer brew, Cucumber Gose, made with 1,000 pounds of cucumbers. We taste the Alt Beer, which is akin to an amber ale, malty with a gentle sweetness to it, and a pale ale, Alibi’s No. 1 selling beer. We enjoyed English-styled beer, followed by the London Gentleman, a darker IPA. Arousal Alibi’s Belgium Dark Ale is 11.8 percent alcohol and not for the faint of heart. It was delicious, as was their porter. Before we knew it, there were a lot of glasses spread out before us. e character of each beer was uniquely di erent.

Joe and his brewers are true creative artists when it comes to brewing and it’s all done with a great sense of humor.

“ e one thing I love about working here is that we have such a wide range of beers. And it never gets boring,” he says.

Afterward, we head over to the Incline Public House to sample the cuisine paired with their Oatmeal Stout enjoying the

BEAR BELLY:

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

Tucked away in Kings Beach is a small brewery owned and operated by Adam Latham. is nano-brewery, Bear Belly Brewing Company, is open Wednesdays through Sundays and o ers small-batch beers.

“I have ve draft handles and brew about 30 di erent beers. I’m pretty much brewing two kegs of beer at a time. And to keep up with demand, I have to brew a lot. I go through my beer so quickly that it’s always fresh and turning over constantly,” says Latham.

Alibi Ale Works alibialeworks.com

Bear Belly Brewing Company

bearbellybrew.com

Tahoe National Bear Company

tahoenational.beer

He always has two IPAs on draft because it’s a fan favorite in his brewery. He brews seasonal beers and currently is pouring a Pumpkin Stout. His Imperial Stout is almost ready. e release party for that brew is Nov. 20. Now We Taco’N Food Truck is on site Fridays and Saturdays. e brewery also hosts Wednesday movie nights and ursday trivia nights along with fun events throughout the year.

TAHOE NATIONAL BREWING:

COMING SOON

Tahoe City, get ready for a brewery in your neighborhood. e opening date is yet to be announced. ey’ll be serving freshly brewed beers, wines, cocktails and food. Located lakeside behind the Safeway, the site will include a dining room with a built-in bar and a patio with a gas replace. | tahoenational.beer 

Priya Hutner is a food writer, personal chef and owner of The Seasoned Sage, a local meal delivery and catering company. Priya has been creating and preparing meals from an early age. She has worked in the restaurant industry in New York City, attended catering school, and was the head chef and executive director of a nonprofi t spiritual community in Florida. Visit her website at TheSeasonedSage.com. Send your comments, story ideas and food tidbits to priya@tahoethisweek.com.