Sierra Nevada Announces 2nd Annual Homage to Hops: Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild Harvest Festival

From Sierra Nevada:

Chico, CA—August 28, 2014—Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. will host its second annual Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild^® Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 18, at its brewery in Chico, Calif. The acclaim from hop heads after the inaugural 2013 event inspired the beer festival’s return as a yearly fixture. Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild celebrates the fall US hop harvest, and Sierra Nevada anticipates more than 50 breweries from across the country will together provide a beer lineup that showcases:

• Single hop beers: Features only one hop variety
• Fresh hop beers: Uses dried hops that are picked, shipped and added to the brew kettle within weeks of hop harvest
• Wet hop beers: Uses un-dried hops that are picked, shipped and added to the brew kettle within days of hop harvest
• Wild hop beers: Features hops found untamed in nature. At the inaugural Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild, Sierra Nevada poured a beer made using wild hops from nearby Whitmore.

“Our excitement for this beer festival starts right now,” said Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada’s founder. “We’re watching our estate hops reach their peak, and we head to the Yakima Valley in a few short weeks to get our hands on the first hops of the season. We’ll run into our brewing friends there, and we’ll have fun imagining the great beers to come, some of them folks will be able to try at Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild.”

With great anticipation American craft brewers await hop harvest season, with their hauls from the fields helping them design and plan beers for the year ahead. The more than 3,000 US craft breweries are an inspired bunch, using more hops in more ways than ever before—an ambition that helps steer the exciting evolution of beer ingredients. Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild is a snapshot of and a salute to the brewer ingenuity that’s shaping the tastes of drinkers nationwide. 

Ticket sales for Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild begin Tuesday, September 2, at 10 a.m. PDT and are exclusively online at SierraNevada.com/SFWW. A general admission ticket includes a 6-ounce commemorative taster glass and unlimited samples, a one-time stroll through tasty pub fare prepared by the Sierra Nevada Taproom and Restaurant, and an energetic performance from the San Francisco-based band Monophonics who blend psychedelic soul and heavy funk. All ticket proceeds benefit the California Craft Brewers Association, which champions the success of the more than 450 craft breweries in the state.   

Sierra Nevada is currently finalizing its featured breweries and aims to share the list in late-September at SierraNevada.com/SFWW where festivalgoers can find all of the event details.

Single, Fresh, Wet & Wild Harvest Festival overview:

• WHEN: Saturday, October 18, from 1–6 p.m.
• WHERE: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., 1075 E. 20th St., Chico, CA 95928
• TICKETS: $75 general admission (includes commemorative glass, unlimited samples, and food prepared by the Sierra Nevada Taproom). $30 designated driver. On sale Tuesday, September 2, at 10 a.m. online at SierraNevada.com/SFWW. Must be 21 years or older to attend.