Sounds like it will be a cinch for me to go to Beer Camp should I ever choose to attend 
“craft” is a descriptor of size, uniqueness and innovation, or as per the american brewers association small, independent and traditional. While 6 million barrels is the top of the scale and SN remains under that total I would not describe them as small. They are a true pioneer of the craft beer movement and their success has certainly inspired hundreds of current breweries. I have never opened one of their beers taken a sip and thought wow thats damn good beer. But in matters of opinion there is no argument as you can’t account for taste.
You’d get my vote - too bad it’s not an elected position. 
You think they would hire people completely ignorant of brewing or seek folks with some experience and knowledge?
I think it’s impossible to say. Maybe a mix of both, but it will be more important that the people they hire share the vision of the company and a passion for beer. Knowledge can be taught, but if they don’t buy in to the mission then they’re worse than worthless. That would be my hiring philosophy anyway.
+100
I’m sure they will hire Tubercle. ;D
People tend to be loyal to (or biased towards) the way they initially learn things, so there is a lot to be said for hiring the trainable inexperienced. However, I think Sierra Nevada has a vision, standards, and work ethic that is easy to be won over by. Enthusiasm, especially for a clear vision and purpose, is infectious.
If they were opening a brewery in Hilo, I’d volunteer my time, just to be a part of the team (and have a chance at buying some of that limited edition bourbon barrel aged Bigfoot).
Seems like the deal must be close to being done. A friend of mine posted on FaceBook last night that Ken was at the MALT meeting in Asheville.
Yes, Asheville is the current target. If I had checked with my colleagues, I would have known that. We are already working on the project.
Have not read the whole thread, but this has been in the news for a while (East Coast Brewery). At the NHC, Terence Sullivan was asked about it. His response is “no decision, Ken’s wife still has to decide”. What I read into that (this is my SWAG) is that she had input on where she was going to be living, as Ken would be there during the construction and start up. The SN quality ethic comes from Ken Grossman, so I am not worried.
New Belgium is also going to do another brewery in the Ashville area from what I read.
Got through the thread.
SN has also said that they know that beers they have bought in the Northeast and overnighted back to the brewery show signs that they are not in top condition. If you can cut out some of the time in distribution, the beer will be fresher. This is also a reason to have a brewery closer to the Eastern markets.
The water is not a big deal, as Carl says. That part of NC has soft water to beging with. They can adjust to what they want, for the beer they are brewing. Saw the big pallets of gypsum bags when I was at beer camp, just saying.
They get the base malt from Canada by the multiple rail cars at a time. Do you think there will be a rail spur/siding on site? I do.
The hops will be shipped in from the same sources. They might need bigger contracts in the future.
Ken Grossman owns the company. His kids are in line to run it, and both work there now. There are plenty of great people to run the brewry in Chico when the new one is being built. How many days a year do you guess Ken Grossman is on the road now? I would say a large fraction of the year, and things run fine when he is out on business.
One final thing on the SN quality. If you saw the talk Ken Grossman gave at the Oakland NHC, the first batch they brewed was good, but they dumped the next 12 until they found out that the yeast needed more oxygen. He said they were not bad, but not to the quality they wanted. That is some dedication to quality.
Making a quality product while still running a profitable business is a balancing act to some degree. Dumping beer is something that must be done from time to time in an effort to maintain a higher level of quality. Distributing anything short of good quality craft beer is not good for business. Keeping the focus on quality while maintaining good quality craft beer at the same time requires a lot of experience, knowledge, skill and effort, which I believe SN posesses. I think SN has a quality product due to their focus and experience.
If they establish a brewery on the east coast and maintain their current level of quality they will have to be disciplined and focused. I believe SN will have to have their key people working together in an effort to setup the new brewery initially, or at least until it can get on it’s feet. It will take a lot of hard work and will require an orchestrated effort as well as a committment by everyone involved. Good luck to SN.
Gosh, I don’t know why some of you are getting so fired up over this! Sierra Nevada has an unblemished track record, putting quality and accountability above all else.
It seems really unnecessary to be so negative about it - what a bunch of naysayers! I live smack dab in the middle of the nation, so I don’t have any regional bias whatsoever. Take a close look at how things are run at SN before you jump to a bunch of conclusions that this is a money-grab that will result in poor quality, and put aside your west-coast pride for a minute.
I just can’t believe that people are smack-talking the business motives and the beer quality of one of craft beer’s true pioneers. Get over yourselves!
+1
SN is a proven leader in the craft beer business. They have what it takes to broaden their horizons while maintaining their integrity.
Apparently Ken’s been to Ashville four times in recent months, and he mentioned “the water is good”… :-\
http://beernews.org/2011/12/more-on-sierra-nevadas-ken-grossman-visiting-asheville/
This thread is really funny.
Another relative article.
Is it only just entertainment to you bo ??? ;D Been quite informative to me. I had no Idea SN was expanding.
Anything worth talking about is worth overtalking about.
Bad bad good good something something…