Courtesy of Bill Manley, Sierra Nevada Brewing

(Chico, CA) – At Sierra Nevada Brewing, a program to teach some in the industry the arts of craft brewing is underway. The program kicked off in May with a batch of Super 7 Pilsner. August brought Pilot House S8zon, the brewery’s first saison. And just this past November, a group brewed Hop Secret 393.

Jeff Walker, Owner of JJ Brewsky’s actually chronicled much of the first beer on his blog. “Our goal was to brew a strong pilsner with lighter color, moderate IBUs, a dry finish and nice hop aroma. After much discussion, we decided on a target ABV of 7.7 percent.” Walker and a team from San Diego Brewing were selected to work with one of the Head Brewers, Scott Jennings.

After deciding on a pilsner, they were able to sample a variety of malts and hops to formulate the beer. “We chose a mix of Pale, Pilsner, Vienna and Munich malts and Magnum, Pacific Hallertau and Mutueka hops.” Day 1 also included a tour and history lesson. Twenty barrels of

Super 7 Pilsner

were brewed on Day 2 and the beer made its way on tap at JJ Brewsky’s and a couple other spots in early July.

Pilot House S8zon

: August brought about another group including well-known publicans, Dave Keene of the Toronado in San Francisco and Dave Alexander of the Brickskeller in Washington D.C. The Washington Post featured a blurb about the beer this past October:

Alexander admits that saison is not his favorite style; he had suggested doing a “West Coast witbier” with an extra dose of spices and hops. His comrades had other ideas, but they did make a concession by adding coriander and orange peel — the traditional spices in a witbier — to the brew kettle.

“The head brewer was freaking out,” says Alexander. “He had never done a spiced beer before.” Specifically, there was concern that white pepper — a third condiment added to the mix — would dominate the flavor. That fear proved groundless; the pepper is noticeable only in the aroma. The beer has the sour tang and fruitiness of a saison, but there is a strong note of coriander and the softer mouth feel of a wit.

And that brings us to the week before Thanksgiving. Fred Crudder, Beverage Manager for Taco Mac sports bars, was invited to leave the Atlanta area for a few days to brew beer in Chico. Crudder’s knowledge was put to the test after the group had gone through the beer history routine. He came out on top and, as a result, was the one that got to build the recipe to brew. So why

Hop Secret 393

? From Crudder’s blog:

There was a bale of experimental hops there that Sierra was given by one of their growers to play around with. It had never been used to brew beer with before, and did not even have a name. It was simply called “Hop 393.” It smelled great, and the temptation to use it was impossible to resist. The beer is designed to showcase this hop (along with others) in a medium bodied red ale. Think Celebration Ale with more body, and the hops toned down a little.

The beer should be out shortly after the first of the year but note that these are all draft-only offerings. Crudder didn’t reveal who he worked with (some may be able to figure that out in the pics below) but does expect to be given ten kegs for his restaurants. Those in Georgia should feel pretty lucky to have the opportunity to try out this beer.

Have a look at some of the Brew Day photos posted on Flickr by Sierra Nevada’s Bill Manley.