Growing Brew Scene in Chico, Ca.

BOB357

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Our daughter flew in from St. Louis this past Thursday. We headed out for Chico Friday morning to visit the Sierra Nevada Brewery. Had a great dinner and some nice beers there Friday evening. Decided to do some exploring Saturday and found that there were some new breweries and Cideries in town.

Our first stop was Secret Trail Brewing, https://www.secrettrailbrewing.com/ . Before even tasting their excellent beers, we were impressed by the cleanliness and order in the serving area. We sampled a variety of their offerings and none disappointed. A couple of IPAs and their ESB were my favorites. My wife and daughter loved their Barleywine and Berliner Weisse. The 6 beers we sampled were all excellent, and quickly put them among the top 3 on our must revisit list. That's no easy feat considering some of the excellent breweries we've visited.

We were lucky enough to meet Jesse Fischer, one of the owners, and their assistant brewer, Jake Dickman. I asked Jesse what bittering hop(s) they used in their No Quarter IPA. It had the greatest catty bitterness I'd ever tasted. Not being a brewer himself, he wasn't sure, but quickly grabbed a binder of brewing notes. Just as he was listing the hops, Jake walked in and filled in the blanks. Both were very happy to spend time talking about their beers and answering my questions.

When I asked Jesse if he'd mind if I posted some pics on Brewers Friend, he told me that would be fine and offered to give us a tour or the brewery. Impressive beer and an impressive 3 year old small brewery. Pics below:
Secret Trail1.jpg


Secret Trail2.jpg


Secret Trail3.jpg

And a final pic Jesse took of my ugly mug and our much better looking daughter:)

Sectet Trail4.jpg




 
Thanks TW, and our wishes that you and your family have a great Christmas too.
It was a great time and I'll be posting a few more pics and comments about other places we visited. Burnt out from the trip home, so it ain't gonna happen tonite :)
 
Our daughter flew in from St. Louis this past Thursday. We headed out for Chico Friday morning to visit the Sierra Nevada Brewery. Had a great dinner and some nice beers there Friday evening. Decided to do some exploring Saturday and found that there were some new breweries and Cideries in town.

Our first stop was Secret Trail Brewing, https://www.secrettrailbrewing.com/ . Before even tasting their excellent beers, we were impressed by the cleanliness and order in the serving area. We sampled a variety of their offerings and none disappointed. A couple of IPAs and their ESB were my favorites. My wife and daughter loved their Barleywine and Berliner Weisse. The 6 beers we sampled were all excellent, and quickly put them among the top 3 on our must revisit list. That's no easy feat considering some of the excellent breweries we've visited.

We were lucky enough to meet Jesse Fischer, one of the owners, and their assistant brewer, Jake Dickman. I asked Jesse what bittering hop(s) they used in their No Quarter IPA. It had the greatest catty bitterness I'd ever tasted. Not being a brewer himself, he wasn't sure, but quickly grabbed a binder of brewing notes. Just as he was listing the hops, Jake walked in and filled in the blanks. Both were very happy to spend time talking about their beers and answering my questions.

When I asked Jesse if he'd mind if I posted some pics on Brewers Friend, he told me that would be fine and offered to give us a tour or the brewery. Impressive beer and an impressive 3 year old small brewery. Pics below:
View attachment 8267

View attachment 8268

View attachment 8269
And a final pic Jesse took of my ugly mug and our much better looking daughter:)

View attachment 8270



What a privilege Bob!
How clean is that brewery gee you could eat your dinner off of any surface!
Cheers thankyou for sharing.
Is that a plate chiller to the left of your daughter with all the valves poking out of it?
 
What a privilege Bob!
How clean is that brewery gee you could eat your dinner off of any surface!
Cheers thankyou for sharing.
Is that a plate chiller to the left of your daughter with all the valves poking out of it?

Not a plate chiller. I was distracted by all of the shiny objects and really didn't pay much attention to it :)
 

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