(Chico, CA) – Sierra Nevada Brewing has nixed Anniversary Ale and will replace it with Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale later this year.

[7/25 Update: This beer is already on shelves in some areas as of early this week. Perhaps this means that we see Celebration Ale a little early this year?]

Anniversary Ale, an American IPA, was introduced in August of 2007 and made a brief three-year run. I asked Sierra Nevada Brewing’s Bill Manley why the brewery is making the change:

“First of all, since we are celebrating our 30th anniversary in 2010 with this series of special beers, we thought it would be strange to release another ‘anniversary’ beer in a 12-ounce package in addition to all of these big-bottle specialties.

Secondly, we wanted a beer that was more appropriate for the fall season. Something that suggested the rich and roasty flavors that we come to associate with cooler temperatures. Tumbler is made with fresh roasted malt straight from the roasting kilns and into the brewery. We have an agreement with our maltsters to deliver our malt within days of cooling for a much more pronounced roasted-grain flavor to the beer. Think of coffee…coffee fresh out of a roaster, tastes much different from coffee that’s been sitting on the shelf for weeks. The same principals apply to malt. These grains have a similar caramelization and volatile aroma profile, and we want to harness it as quickly as possible.

Thirdly, we have been working so much with fresh hops coming out of our own hop-yard for our Estate Ale, as well as out of Yakima for our Harvest beers. At one time last year, we had Pale Ale, Torpedo, Estate, Northern Hemisphere Harvest, and Anniversary Ale on the shelf at one time. That’s a lot of hops-forward American ales! Anniversary is a good beer…a great beer maybe, and an example of the more restrained and drinkable side of single IPA. That said, we found it got lost in the shuffle of these marquee hoppy beers that all release at nearly the same time.”

Brown ales struggled to keep pace with IPAs and some other fast-rising styles in 2009 according to industry data. As I’ve mentioned before in this space, some other big regional breweries including Deschutes Brewery and Goose Island have gone away from their brown ales. It will be interesting to see how this moves once it hits the market. Manley expects this to be a permanent replacement going forward.

The new beer will be available in 6-packs and 12-packs as an autumn seasonal.

Tumbler makes six new bottled beers for Sierra Nevada in 2010. The four 30th Anniversary Series beers are very much a celebration of the past, an homage to pioneers, a recognition of the growth of craft beer, a tip of the cap to 30 years of brewing and history made in Chico. The collection, in a way, celebrates those accomplishments and closes a third chapter for the brewery . . . and Glissade (debuted in January) and Tumbler signify the opening of a new chapter.