EAT &drink
December 15-28, 2021 EAT & DRINK
food & libations | recipes | delicious events
Sierra Sips
SOUTH SHORE’S BREWERIES BY P R I YA H UT N E R
F
rom hazy IPAs to barrel-aged beer and slow-brewed lagers, the South Shore is the perfect place to explore local craft beers. There are more than a dozen local breweries creating craft beers in the Tahoe Sierra, and in this final installment of my series on local breweries, I’ll be highlighting those on the South Shore. You can create your own pub crawl using our inaugural Sierra Sips map or read about the region’s other breweries at TheTahoeWeekly.com. South of North Brewing, South Lake Brewing, Cold Water Brewing and Sidellis also collaborated over the summer to produce “Tahoe Together” West Coast IPA to raise money for the Tahoe Together Caldor Fire Relief, a fund for food and beverage workers impacted by the wildfire. SOUTH LAKE BREWING Largest production brewery Chris Smith, head brew master, and his wife Nicole opened South Lake Brewing Company in 2017 with a commitment to creating a community-based taproom and production brewery. They survived the pandemic and evacuation from the fires last summer to rise out of the ashes and continue to brew unique craft beers. The 14
Sierra Sips Tahoe Weekly presents
Plan your own
Portola
Blairsden BREWERY
Graeagle
FEATURED LISTING (PAID)
Lost Sierra
FOOD TRUCK
DISTILLERY
FOOD
brewery tour with
Great Basin Brewing Company Sparks
67007 CA Hwy 70, Blairsden | thebrewinglair.com
846 Victorian Ave., Sparks, NV 89431 | greatbasinbrewing.com
Dedicated to high-profile ales
Great Basin Brewing Company Reno
Ronin Fermentation Project 601 Graeagle Johnsville Road #1645, Graeagle roninfermentationproject.com
WINERY
Reno & Sparks
The Brewing Lair
5525 S. Virginia St, Reno, NV 89502 | greatbasinbrewing.com
Sierraville
Classical brews married with experimental brews
Truckee
Reno
Alibi Ale Works Truckee Public House 10069 Bridge St. | alibialeworks.com
RENO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Truckee
An adventurous line-up this is always evolving
TRUCKEE AIRPORT
Donner Creek Brewing
11448 Deerfield Drive | donnercreekbrewing.com Pico brewery focused on locally grown hops
FiftyFifty Brewing
11197 Brockway Road, Suite 1 | fiftyfiftybrewing.com Barrel-aged gems from Truckee’s oldest brewery
The Good Wolf
Northstar
10990 Industrial Way B103 | thegoodwolfbrewing.com
our Sierra Sips map
Incline Village
Forest beer from local sources
Old Trestle Distillery
West River St. | Tasting room opening fall 2022 | oldtrestle.com Gin, vodka & bourbon using locally harvested botanicals
Kings Beach
Olympic Valley
Truckee Brewing Co. a. 10736 Pioneer Trail, Suite 1 b. 1001 Soaring Way (opening Jan. 2022) truckeebrewco.com
Alpine Meadows
Focus on high-quality ingredients
Truckee River Winery
10061 S. River St. | truckeeriverwinery.com Specializing in single-vineyard varietals
NV
Tahoe City
North Shore
Carson City
Alibi Ale Works Brewery and Barrel House
204 E. Enterprise St., Incline Village | alibialeworks.com
Alibi favorites & Barrel House exclusives (bring your own food)
Crafted with an eye to experimentation & variety
Homewood
Bear Belly Brewing Company
8428 Trout Ave, Kings Beach | bearbellybrew.com Small batch brewery
South Shore
TAKE THIS
CA
MAP WITH YOU
Cold Water Brewery
2544 Lake Tahoe Blvd. | tahoecoldwaterbrewery.com 7-barrel brewhouse featuring all-grain beer
Sidellis Brewery
3350 Sandy Way | sidellis.com
Specializes in rotating, small-batch brews
South Lake Brewing Company
1920 Lake Tahoe Blvd. | southlakebeer.com
16 craft brews on tap with styles for every beer lover (bring your own food)
South of North Brewing Co.
932 Stateline Ave. | southofnorthbeer.com Locally handcrafted ales
Stateline Brewery
4118 Lake Tahoe Blvd. | statelinebrewery.com
Emerald Bay
Available at
issuu.com/
Alibi Ale Works Incline Public House
931 Tahoe Blvd, Incline Village | alibialeworks.com
South Lake Tahoe
Stateline
READ OUR STORY ON
TheTahoeWeekly
TRUCKEE’S EXPANDING BREWERY SCENE IN THIS EDITION ON PAGE 16
Crafting house & seasonal favorites
Revive 15
3135 Harrison Avenue | revivecoffeewine.com
Meyers
TheTahoeWeekly.com DESIGN BY ALYSSA GANONG | TAHOE WEEKLY
Kirkwood
taproom offers 16 different beers at any given time. Food trucks offer food options on the weekend and make it easy to enjoy a meal while tasting beer. “We brew all of our beer in-house and are South Lake Tahoe’s largest production craft brewery,” says Jenna Brown, marketing and merchandise manager. Two of their flagship beers include the Marlette Sunrise Blood Orange Blonde brewed with honey, malt and blood-orange puree that provides a sweet fruity, clean and refreshing flavor and Fog Nozzle Hazy IPA, a New-England-style IPA. “This is one of our most popular beers. Hazy IPAs are all the rage. People are all about hazy IPAs,” Brown says. Fog Nozzle is full of fruity notes and is brewed with a variety of hops. South Lake Brewing is now serving seasonal darker beers with a Barrett Brown on tap. Along with a couple of new coldstyle beers like the Park Rat Cold Pale Ale and Steeze Cat Cold IPA. “This is a newer style of beer using a
Enjoying a round at South Lake Brewing. | Courtesy South Lake Brewing
different brewing and fermentation process brewed in cold conditions for a few weeks. So that’s some of the newer, exciting stuff we’ve been working on,” says Brown. “I think just another thing about our taproom that makes us unique is we are really community-focused. We’re familyfriendly, kid- and dog-friendly and a hub for the whole community,” she says. In addition to their taps, they sell canned beers through several Tahoe and Bay Area region retailers. They also have a beer membership program and are open daily. Outdoor seating on chair lifts and beer flights offered on skis, adds to the enjoyment and love of beer at this brewery. SOUTH OF NORTH BREWING Brews for every palate South of North Brewing keeps several hazy IPAs, barrel-aged sours and stouts, as well as regular stouts and porters, on tap. At any given time, there are 15 beers on tap. In addition to their brews, they pour several guest taps from local breweries to highlight some of the other microbreweries in the region. “We want to make sure that we hit every kind of palate that’s out there in terms of beer style. I definitely think that our wide variety of beers really sets us apart from a lot of breweries in town,” says general manager Savannah Rudross. “Our most popular beer is our First Light Blonde, which is light, easy drinking and aptly named after the first light of day. Our second most popular beer is our Motorcycle Mama IPA,” she says. South of North Brewing also offers a selection of pub food to accompany the variety of beers on tap and is open nightly. COLD WATER BREWERY Hand-crafted all-grain brews Cold Water Brewery & Grill crafts their distinct beers on site. Their seven-barrel
brewhouse produces roughly 200 gallons of fresh-tasting beer per batch. They have 14 beers on tap and offer IPAs, pale ales, stouts, porters, Kolschs, lagers and ambers. “We are a boutique-style brewery and have a full spectrum of beers. We honor and feature all types of beer,” says owner Debbie Brown. The brewery and grill go beyond pub food and offer a full menu with a selection of seasonal California comfort food. “We are a scratch kitchen. Everything is made from scratch. We offer beer and food pairings as well,” says Brown. The family-friendly brewery and grill is open seven days a week with indoor and outdoor seating. Sidellis Brewery Microbrewery and restaurant Owners Chris Sidell and his husband Ellwood Ellis take their home brewing to a new level with their small microbrewery along with brewer Steve Canali. They are a small microbrewery and offer five yearround brews, seasonal brews and several barrel-aged beers. Wine and cider are also on the menu. Sidellis Lake Tahoe Brewery and Restaurant is open Wednesdays through Sundays. The taproom offers beers on tap with snacks and sandwiches with indoor and outdoor dining. MOUNTAIN BREWS Newsman turned brewer Taylor Flynn is the owner of Mountain Brews and is also the publisher of “Tahoe Mountain News.” This newsman-turnedbrewer is creating a unique niche on the South Shore. When we spoke, Flynn and co-brewer Colleen Dulin were finishing a New England Pale Ale. Dulin is a fan of dark beers and they have two darks on tap, a Brown Nut Ale
and Oatmeal Stout. Some unique brews include an Apricot Blonde made with organic apricots and a Cranberry Sour made with organic cranberries. “Our West Coast IPA is big in every way with a 9.5 percent ABV. It’s our flagship beer,” says Flynn. The brewery is downstairs beneath “Tahoe Mountain News” offices and located in an industrial area. “We are off the beaten track with really good beer,” says Flynn. “We are also known for our cozy cabinstyle environment with a roaring fire,” says Dulin. Mountain Brews is open Fridays and Saturdays. n 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 nonprofit spiritual community in Florida. Visit her website at TheSeasonedSage.com. Send your comments, story ideas and food tidbits to priya@tahoethisweek.com.
Cold Water Brewing (530) 544-4677 tahoecoldwaterbrewery.com
Mountain Brews (530) 545-9338
Sidellis Brewery (530) 600 3999, sidellis.com
South Lake Brewing (530) 578-0087, southlakebeer.com
South of North Brewing (530) 494-9805, southofnorthbeer.com
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