Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s Beer Camp is the ultimate brewing experience. The Chico, California, brewery invites beer industry folks and fans into its brewery for three days where Beer Campers inspect the bottling line at an arm’s reach; explore a freezer bigger than a house where hops are stacked to the ceiling; pedal across Sierra Nevada property on a 12-seater beer bike outfitted with fresh kegs of Celebration Ale; watch the research lab test batches; shovel hops; taste experimental batches; and, ultimately, brew their own beer on Sierra Nevada’s pilot brewing system with its head brewer, Abe Kabakoff. Peaks and Pints co-owner Ron Swarner was part of the 10-member Beer Camp #175 this past July, where he did all that and much more. His Sierra Nevada Beer Camp #175 Chicocabra Imperial Stout with aroma of Mexican hot chocolate and taste of intense cocoa will be tapped Saturday, Jan. 28 at Peaks and Pints, along with many other Sierra Nevada craft beers, including Beer Camp Golden IPA, Pale Ale, Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale and the recently released Sidecar Orange Pale Ale.

LINK: The backstory on the making of Sierra Nevada Beer Camp #175 Chicocabra Imperial Stout