Beginning this fall, Sierra Nevada, one of America’s premier craft breweries, will be adding an Oktoberfest beer to its lineup of seasonal offerings. This new brew was created in collaboration with the renowned, award-winning Brauhaus Riegele, which has been crafting German specialties in compliance with the Reinheitsgebot (the German beer purity law) since 1386.
Sierra Nevada’s partnership with Brauhaus Riegele is about more than beer, however. Both companies have made it their mission to keep small-batch brewing traditions alive, and they share other values, too. Most notably, Sierra Nevada and Brauhaus Riegele are family-owned businesses for whom heritage and hands-on oversight of every drop of beer that leaves the brewery are priorities.
Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada’s founder and original brewer, still oversees the brewery’s West Coast operations in Chico, California, and son Brian manages East Coast production in Mills Valley, North Carolina. At Brauhuas Riegele, Dr. Sebastian Priller-Riegele, his son Sebastian Priller-Riegele and brewmaster Frank Muller represent five generations of master brewing.
Both breweries are “aligned in so many ways, and we’re excited about the outstanding beer that’s emerged,” Grossman says.
Top: Brian and Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada
Bottom: Sebastian Priller-Riegele and Dr. Sebastian Priller-Riegele of Brauhaus Riegele
Dubbed “Oktoberfest 2015,” the Bavarian bier resulting from this alignment is described by the brewers as possessing “a deep golden color, a delicate hop note [30 IBU] and rich malt complexity from the use of traditional German Steffi barley.” With a moderate alcohol content (6 percent ABV), this unique beer promises to be both hearty and refreshing, possessing the complexity of a classic cellared Märzen yet offering the clean finish of a modern lager.
Oktoberfest 2015 will be distributed exclusively in North America and available bottled (in packs of six and 12) as well as on draught at your local Flying Saucer. The first batches of Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest should arrive this August, but true to the festival whose name it carries, the beer will not be on the market past October.
Sierra Nevada, who makes ingeniously delicious pale ales and IPAs, hasn’t released information regarding its future Oktoberfest partners, but fans can look forward to these annual brews being the product of a carefully considered joint international effort. Though the brews will be American made, every Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest will have German roots thanks to the involvement of a handpicked German brewery.
Read more about the Sierra Nevada/Brauhaus Riegele partnership here.
What’s your favorite Oktoberfest commemorative brew? Which German brewery do you think would make an ideal partner for Sierra Nevada? Drop us a line in the comments below.
