Rainy Friday, but we didn't let that get in the way of our very first visit to Sierra Nevada's new facility in Mills River, NC. Lots of construction still on-going, so no restaurant, tap room or retail store, but the place is brewing, so we can see that operation.
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| These beers are brewed here, some in Chico as well. |
Tours begin beneath a pop-up tent for the time being, especially in the rain.
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| Tour Guide, Chris "Ivy" Ivesdal hands out hard hats and prepares the group for the tour. |
After a long walk down a hallway (the regular tour entrance is not yet ready) we came into the very impressive brewing room with these stunning copper-clad mash tuns. This day, no mashing was in progress but lots of cleaning was. Cat walk aroung the top perimeter of the room is not yet complete. That will be part of a self-guided tour eventually.
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| Heading into the fermentation area, the infamous Torpedo in the foreground! |
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| Hop lovers' manna: the hops room, chilled and fragrant! |
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| Chinook Whole Cone hop with a bale filling the storage bin behind. |
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| Bales of hops. |
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| Corridor that will lead to the new taproom and restaurant in the near future. |
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| Packing the new 4 Way IPA collection |
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| Bottling line quiet this day. |
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| "Ivy" pouring our samples. Bottle conditioning pays off! |
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| Leaving with a smile, I am. |
So, what was that name again, Mr. Tour Guide:
Ok, thanks.
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| Till next time. By end of next month there should be some major completions. |
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| My prized possession! Almost unavailable now. |
Great job on the blog Marv. Thanks for making me look good. I hope that you and Jon will make it back up the mountain once things are operational.
ReplyDeleteAlso, where did you find that BCAA 12 pack? Great score!
~Ivy