(Chico, CA) – A brief update on Sierra Nevada Beer Camp/tap stuff.

Sierra Nevada Brewing recently announced the winners of its Beer Camp contest. Over a dozen lucky fans will get the chance to participate in the program in which people to work together in the beer-making process at the Chico brewery. The result of their once-a-in-a-lifetime experience will be the creation of a draft-only beer that will appear at select establishments around the country. Check out the winning videos here. Considering Sierra Nevada is doing 26-28 beer camps a year, chances are that they will do this contest again.

Speaking of Beer Camp, the latest brew from the series is now available: Brewer’s Blackbird Black IPA. Here’s the description courtesy of Great Brewers: “A juxtaposition of the senses, this beer has the appearance of a dark porter but with the flavors of and American India Pale Ale. The rich ebony-brown body has a strong hop aroma with hints of orange peel combined with roasty malt aromas. The flavor is an interesting mix of resinous American hops and a light milk chocolate and slight smokey character from the dark grains. The finish speaks to IPA with a bold and bracing blast of citrusy hops.”

The beer is named after an actual bird that is named after an ornithologist named Thomas Mayo Brewer (say that ten times fast).

Sierra Nevada Stein Altbier was also recently released on tap. Information about this one is scarce and I’m not positive as to whether it is even a Beer Camp beer. It is currently on tap at the Sierra Tap House in Reno, Nevada. Description courtesy of RateBeer:

“An old-style German hybrid ale, brewed using super-heated river stones to boil the sugary wort which encourages kettle caramelization and enhances malt complexity. Stein Alt is golden in color with an interesting toffee-like malt flavor, paired with fruity aromas and balanced by a moderate dose of whole-cone hops. Clean, complex, and amazingly drinkable.”

Finally, there is another beer (or two) in the works: Sierra Nevada Saison Vice and Sierra Nevada Saison Versa. It will be interesting to see what the brewery has up its sleeve for this one. Perhaps an identical base beer with a few differing ingredients added? We’ll soon find out.