Question about Sierra Nevada sourcing and distro

You can assume what you wish.
I believe the bottle will tell you where it was brewed and bottled

 

It'll read the same on the outside of the package also...

 

Pale Ale, Torpedo, Nooner, Hop Hunter, and the seasonals are brewed in Mills River.

 

True there is a bottling code on the neck of the bottle. C means Chico M means Mills River. So far I've only seen C beer in NJ.

 

Actually probably all the ones on the east coast would probably be brewed in Mills River. I would think that would be the point of having a brewery there too. The ones here are from Chico but Chico is only a few hours away from me.

 

They have two 200 bbl open fermenters in Mills River.

 

Could be Bigfoot, which is another SN brew that is open-fermented:


(Not claiming Bigfoot is brewed in NC yet - I can't recall which I bought this year and didn't see any just now in the beer fridge. Just mentioning it as an excuse to re-post this video for those who may have missed it. )

More discussion from sierranevadabill on SN's use of open fermentation. He also noted elsewhere that Kellerweiss will be brewed in NC:

 

I think they did a small fraction of Bigfoot production in NC.

 

SN posted photos of it
https://www.facebook.com/sierraneva...54861052516/10153654859907516/?type=1&theater

 

I remember that picture now.

 

The summer variety pack shipped out of MR had Kellerweis from MR in it.

 

On the Mills River tour, they mentioned that Bigfoot was open fermented there at that brewery.

 

The list of large-release beers brewed here in M.R. changes almost weekly. So far it's been:

• Pale Ale
• Torpedo
• Hop Hunter
• Nooner
• Kellerweis
  
• Summerfest
• Celebration
• Beer Camp Hoppy Lager
  
• Oktoberfest
  
• Vienna Lager
• Flipside
• Tumbler
• Kolsch
• Bigfoot
• Rain Check
• 4 of the Beer Camp Across America beers (mixed 12-pack)

To answer the question about the open fermenters, we actually use them for a lot more beers than those only done in open fermentation (keller / Bigfoot)
We do Celebration here in NC with a portion in open fermenters, we even do Pale Ale in opens from time to time for blending flavor profiles.

As for what beer goes where... it's a complex web of shipping logistics that determine where beers will hit. For brands that we only do in Chico (Ovila, Harvest beers, Hoptimum...etc.) If a truck has a lot of those beers on it, it makes more sense to fill it up with Pale Ale (or whatever) from Chico than to send a half-full truck across country. It's a lot more complicated than proximity to the brewery itself. In NJ you'll see a mix of Chico and MR beers. depending on the runs and the logistics.

Hope this answers your question,

-Bill

 

It is true though that there is no way from looking at a bottle/can to tell weather it was produced in NC or CA, correct?

 

No, the coding stamp on the shoulder of the bottle includes the brewery:

(as does, but not shown, the bottom of the can - see SN's full date coding pdf )