It's always nice to see coverage of one of Chico's breweries, so I was pleased to turn on KVIE's "Viewfinder" program and see Sierra Nevada featured in the episode, "On Tap."
As someone with just a passing familiarity of the NorCal beer scene, I liked the half-hour episode. It featured stops at Anchor Brewing in San Francisco, Napa Smith Brewery and Sierra Nevada. Napa Smith is a new brewer, but it has some roots in the long-defunct New Albion Brewery (the first micro-brewery).
Host Gary Gelfand interviews Ken Grossman on the brewery's second floor. Grossman talked briefly about the brewery's early years and its current initiatives on energy and resource conservation.
There are no commercials, so the episode ran for about 26 minutes. I'm sure some people could talk for hours about the intricacies of brewing, but I thought it was a concise look at highlights of Northern California's impact on modern brewing. It also matches with my brief reading on the subject -- home brewers got a huge boost when it was legalized in the late-1970s, but quality control was vital for companies to survive and expand.
For a program from a Sacramento-based broadcaster, I thought it did a nice job of covering the north state. Sacramento gets its mentions -- for the old Buffalo beer and a panel recommending their favorite Sac brews. UC Davis also gets a segment for its brewing program.
The episode is available through Wednesday via Comcast On Demand in the Local section. I'm also embedding the episode here (YouTube via KVIE). Bottoms up ... in moderation, of course.