President of Beers: #18

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, California

By Martin Cizmar
We're drinking the flagship craft beer from every state in the Union, counting down from 50-1, to find which is home to the President of Beers.

#18: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: Sierra Nevada Brewing, Chico, California

State: The biggest, baddest state of all. California has more people than Canada—something I won $5 for knowing at breakfast this very morning.

Brewery: Chico's Sierra Nevada, which is north and west of the mountains that gives it a name. California's largest brewery is an eight hour drive from the prettiest parts of the Sierras—you won't confuse the Sacramento Valley for the Owens Valley—and possibly the most interesting thing going on out in the hinterlands north of Napa and south of Eugene.

Beer: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, the best-selling craft beer in the country.

Difficulty of Obtaining in Oregon: Very easy here or anywhere else in the country.

Rating: A very respectable 68.66. (I gave the beer its highest score, 90, which was one of my highest ratings of our blind taste test.)

Harvest Wet Hop Ale

Click on a state to read more President of Beers posts:

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