60. Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, CA (#78)

This entry will catch me up on my Growler List visits … I’ve now made it to 78 out of 125. Whew. What a concerted effort! But I am determined to complete as much of the list as I can — all in the name of good beer drinking!

#60 on the Growler List is the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, CA. I visited this place a few days after visiting Deschutes in Bend, OR in 2019. I loved both places — the difference in the vibe (to me) is that Deschutes is employee-owned (similar to New Belgium) and Sierra Nevada is family-owned … although the people loved working there (Sierra Nevada), you still felt like it was just their job–but what a great job! lol. Fantastic people and awesome beer.

They have a selection of different tours — we took the in-depth one … they showed you around everywhere, answered all my esoteric questions, and generally had a great time doing it. If you can make it to Chico, it’s well worth the stop and visit. Highly recommend!

Beer Mentor

The Growler List: 125 Places to Have a Beer Before You Die.

As I stated in a previous post, All About Beer magazine published a list of 125 places to drink beer before you died … Kind of a bucket list without calling it a bucket list. They published it in 2008 — however, the magazine went out of business a few years ago. So I decided to publish the list here for reference.

You should note that this list is with my modifications — there are a few places on the original list that were 1) closed, 2) defunct festivals, 3) or what I considered “experiential activities”–in other words: subjective. I have bolded those entries and recommend you come up with your own experiences. I’ve also bolded those places that I know have closed (or are defunct)–of those I haven’t visited, don’t know if they are open or not. The entries I have visited have the year visited in parentheses.

The Growler List: 125 Places to Have a Beer Before You Die (My Modification)
1Great American Beer Festival, Denver, CO (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2016)
2The Grand Place, Brussells, Belgium (2010, 2012)
3U Fleku, Prague, Czech Republic (2012)
4Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London, England
5Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany (1998, 2012)
6Augustiner Keller, Munich, Germany (2012)
7Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval, Orval, Belgium (2009) (2012)
8The Gravity Bar, Guinness St. James Gate Brewery, Dublin, Ireland
9Monk’s Café, Philadelphia, PA
10The Great Canadian Beer Festival, Victoria, BC (2017)
11Hofbrauhaus, Munich, Germany (1997, 1998, 2001, 2012)
12The Brickskeller (now Bier Baron), Washington, DC (2011)
13Rick’s Café, Negril, Jamaica
14The Market Porter, Stoney Street, London, England (2010)
15Cat’s Eye Pub, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD (2011)
16Mod: Camden Yards drinking Clipper City on Tap (2007, 2008)
17Mondial de la Bière, Montreal, Quebec
18Horizon’s Café, CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario (2016)
19Mod: Beer Tent, Glengarry Highland Games, Maxville, Ontario (2003)
20Beer Club Popeye, Tokyo, Japan
21The Publick House, Brookline, MA
22Mod: Hahnenfest (Queidersbach, Germany [1995-1999])
23Henry’s 12th Street Tavern, Portland, OR (2018)
24The Hopleaf, Chicago, IL (2013)
25World Beer Festival, Durham/Raleigh, NC (2011)
26Mod: Mardi Gras Festival, Shreveport, LA (1999, 2000)
27Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy
28Zum Uerige, Dusseldorf, Germany (2012)
29Toronado, San Francisco, CA (2017)
30The Olde Mitre Tavern, Ely Court, Hatton Garden, London, England (2010)
31Mod: Cowboys/Redskins Game, FedEx Field, DC (2009)
32Rogue Brewery, Newport, OR (2017)
33The Wynkoop Brewery, Denver, CO (2011)
34Spuyten Duyvil, Brooklyn, NY
35Great Lakes Brewing, Cleveland, OH
36McMenamins Kennedy School Hotel, Portland, OR (2018)
37Atelier am Dom, Cologne, Germany (2012)
38Anchor Brewing Tasting Room, San Francisco, CA (2017)
39The Flying Saucer, NC, SC, TN, AR and TX (2010)
40Arend’s Nest, Amsterdam, Holland
41Mod: Mercury’s, Stone Town, Zanzibar) (2012/2013) (Original entry closed)
42Mod: Great Divide Barrel Bar (Denver) (2016) (Sandlot was always closed)
43Clark Street Ale House, Chicago, IL (2013)
44Mod: Tailgating at a Frankfurt Galaxy Game (1997, 1998)
45Selin’s Grove Brewing, Selinsgrove, PA (2009)
46The Great Lost Bear, Portland, ME
47The Map Room, Chicago, IL (2013)
48The Blue Tusk, Syracuse, NY (2010)
49Woolwich Arms, Guelph, ON
50Beach Bar at the Atlantis Hotel, Paradise Island, Bahamas
51The White Horse Pub, Parsons Green, London, England (2010)
52Redbones Restaurant, Somerville, MA
53Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, Sydney, Australia [2019]
54Falling Rock Tap House, Denver, CO (2011) [CLOSED – 2021]
55Sleeping Lady Brewery/Snow Goose Restaurant, Anchorage, AK
56In de Wildeman, Amsterdam, Holland
57Andechs Monastery, Andechs, Germany (2010, 2012)
58Charlie’s Bar, Copenhagen, Denmark
59Mod: Fruhlingsfest, Stuttgart, Germany (2010)
60Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, CA [2019]
61Krcma, Ceske Krumlov, Czech Republic (2012)
62Sapporo Beer Garden, Higashi-ku, Japan
63Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, MI
64Sail and Anchor Brewpub, Fremantle, Australia
65F.X. Matt Brewery Tasting Room, Utica, NY
66Delerium Café, Brussels, Belgium (2010, 2012)
67Birreria l’Orso Eletricco, Rome, Italy
68Gösser Bierklinik, Vienna, Austria (2012)
69Bariloche Ski Resort, Rio Negro, Argentina
70d.b.a., New York, NY
71Brewer’s Art, Baltimore, MD (2009)
72Au General Lafayette, Paris, France
73Schlenkerla Brewery Tavern, Bamberg, Germany (2012)
74De Hopduvel, Antwerp, Belgium
75Mr. Sancho’s Beach, Cozumel, Mexico
76City Tavern, Philadelphia, PA
77Die Weisse, Salzburg, Austria (2012)
78Halve Maan Brewery, Bruges, Belgium (2012)
79Tinkoff, Moscow, Russia
80Le Bier Circus, Brussels, Belgium (2010, 2012)
81TY Harbor Brewery, Tokyo, Japan
82Irseer Klosterbrauerei, Irsee, Germany (2010, 2012)
83Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
84Goose Island Brewing, Chicago, IL (2013)
85Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2014)
86Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY
87Deschutes Brewery & Publick House, Bend, OR [2019]
88Baumgartner’s Cheese Store & Tavern, Monroe, WI (2014)
89Icebergs Bar, Sydney, Australia [2019]
90Cantillon Brewery and Gueuze Museum, Belgium (2012)
91Dogfish Head Ale House, Rehoboth Beach, DE (2010)
92Belgo Centraal, London, England (2010)
93Mod: Big Beers, Belgians, and Barley Wines Festival (Breckenridge) (2015, 2016, 2017) (Other Festival Defunct …)
94Felix in The Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong [2018]
95Brasserie Federal, Bahnhof Zurich, Switzerland
96Heineken Brewery, Amsterdam, Holland
97Clark’s Ale House, Syracuse, NY (2010)
98The Shakespeare, Aukland, New Zealand [2019]
99Mahar’s, Albany, NY
100Steamworks Brewing, Vancouver, BC (2015)
101Cooter Brown’s, New Orleans, LA
102McSorley’s Ale House, New York, NY
103Kelly’s Caribbean Bar, Grill & Brewery, Key West, FL (2007)
104Rose & Crown Pub, Epcot Center, Orlando, FL (2006)
105The Church Brew Works, Pittsburgh, PA
106Brick Store Pub, Decatur, GA (2011)
107Sunset Grille & Tap, Boston, MA
108The Ghost Bar at the Palms Hotel, Las Vegas, NV (2015)
109Norwich Inn/Jasper Murdock’s Brewery, Norwich, VT
110The Gingerman, Austin, TX (2010)
111Library Ale House, Santa Monica, CA
112t’BrugsBeertje, Bruges, Belgium
113beerbistro, Toronto, Canada (2016)
114The Dubliner, Washington, DC (2010)
115John Barleycorn, Chicago, IL (2013)
116Anchor Bar, Buffalo, NY
117Gritty McDuff’s, Portland, ME
118Top of the Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Chapel Hill, NC (2011)
119The Bell, Aldworth, Berkshire, England
120The Golf Tavern, Edinburgh, Scotland
121Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington, DC (2010)
1225 Seasons Brewing, Atlanta, GA (2011)
123Mod: In de Vrede, Westvleteren, Belgium) (2009, 2012) (Original Entry Closed)
124Stumbling Monk, Seattle. WA (2011)
125The Happy Gnome, St. Paul, MN (2014)

Wherever you end up drinking a beer — I hope it is a fantastic experience!

Beer Mentor

#51: John Barleycorn (115)

First, I have to apologize to my legions of fans for slacking on my posting for the last month … I have no excuse.  Just accept it and let’s get on with it.  LOL.  Secondly, sorry to disappoint you, but I put the hiatus on my 365 beers in 365 days.  I couldn’t stand the pressure … plus, sometimes I like drinking the same beer.  Oh well.  So life goes.  But let’s get back to the task at hand!  The Growler List.   This last weekend I had to be in Chicago.  Sweet!  Why is this sweet you say?  Well … there are 5 places on the Growler list in Chicago … yes. I knocked out all 5.  Today’s post is the first one I visited … #115 on the list — John Barleycorn.

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There are four versions of this place in Chicago.  Although not the original, this one was outstanding.  I showed up a few minutes before they were supposed to open and they welcomed me right in!  The manager, Mr. Brett Mizera, was very knowledgeable and really set the tone.  He handed me over to Miko and she was also well informed.

They had a great selection of local brews, so I had the sampler (with a couple of subsitutions … thanks Miko).

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I chased down my beers with the Patty Melt on Texas Toast. Of Course!  haha.  Definitely deserves to be on the list.  Worth a visit if you are in the city.

Enjoy!  Beer Mentor

 

#42: Gösser Bierklinik (68)

Third entry in the “Catch Up” series.  Continuation of the report on our two-week European Beer Excursion we titled The Gypsy Beer Experience.  This link will take you to a copy of the Itinerary:The Gypsy Beer Experience

This is #4 of 18 places on the All About Beer Magazine’s Growler List we visited.  The first three were: 1) Oktoberfest (#5), 2) Hofbrau Haus (#11), and 3) Die Weisse.

This is #68 on All About Beers Growler list: Goesser Bierklinik.  You can’t go wrong with a place that’s been doing the same thing since 1683.  haha.  This was actually our last stop of the day … we started in Munich, drove through Salzburg (visited Die Weisse), visited Melk Abbey (stunning), and then attended the Mozart Concert at the Music Hall in Vienna.  It only made sense to us that we stop here for our nightcap(s).

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Although their beer list is short (see menu below), they were served with gusto and a lot of fun.  The food, beer, and atmosphere were all great.

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Definitely a worthy entry on the Growler List.  Stay tuned for more updates from The Gypsy Beer Experience.

Beer Mentor