Imperial Red (Formerly Red Oric) From Heorot Included In Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Variety Pack

MUNCIE — When Stan Stephens and Bob Cox gaze upon their bottles of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s new Imperial Red Ale, they can be forgiven for having the look of proud new fathers.

After all, that ale is their baby.

Stephens, owner of the Heorot, and Cox, his friend and brewing partner, came up with the ale when they were among a select few invited to take part in the brewery’s prestigious “beer camp” last year.

Now, that special brew has been chosen for inclusion in the “Best of Beer Camp Mix” and is being distributed nationwide.

“We knew we made a really good beer,” a smiling Stephens said last week, having pulled a few bottles from the 12-pack box in which it is being shipped. The other winners inside include an Oatmeal Stout, a Floral IPA and an Imperial Pilsner. “We just wanted to brew a really good beer that people would remember.”

The ale, by the way, was originally called Red Oric, a play on the work rhetoric, though that name wasn’t kept for the nationally-distributed brew. That was fine with Stephens, though.