Brewing beer is a science and an art. Homebrewers have long touted their expertise and creativity to produce small-batch beers, but local brewers need to create tasty, interesting beers to attract and keep customers in this highly-competitive market. In the Tahoe Sierra, there are more than a dozen local breweries creating craft beers stretching from the Lost Sierra to the South Shore.
Homebrewers have long touted their expertise and creativity to produce small-batch beers, but local brewers need to create tasty, interesting beers to attract and keep customers in this highly-competitive market.
Over the next few months, I’ll be highlighting these breweries creating one-of-a-kind brews in our community starting first with the breweries of Truckee. I invite you to sample the unique creations at each of the breweries for yourself and to support these locally owned and operated small businesses.
Plan your visit with our Sierra Sips tasting map
You can create your own pub crawl using our inaugural Sierra Sips map of the region in this edition. Enjoy.
FiftyFifty: Truckee’s oldest
The oldest brewery in Truckee is FiftyFifty Brewing Co., owned by Alicia and Andy Barr. The couple were engineers when they decided to change careers, move to Truckee, brew beer and open a pub restaurant in 2007. In 2018, they were awarded Brewery Group of the Year by the Great American Beer Festival.
“We researched why there wasn’t a brewery up here,” says Alicia, who had been homebrewing.
Known for their barrel-aged beer, the Barrs have partnered with Woodford Reserve and George Dickel to make some of their signature brews and they’ll celebrate their 15th anniversary in May 2022.
Their barrel-aged, big, imperial stout known internationally is called Eclipse and offers 10 to 15 styles of stout. Currently, they are bottling this year’s vintage. They make several pastry stouts, as well.
Alicia set out a number of FiftyFifty’s top sellers during a recent visit. She poured the highly popular Eclipse, a German Chocolate Cake pastry stout that is sweet and dark with coconut notes. Next up was the Donner Party Porter, which was delicious. I tend to lean into dark beer in the fall and winter. Their porter was rich and dark with a nutty flavor that comes from the toasted oats they brew with. The West Coast Haze IPA is delicious with lots of citrusy flavors and is less bitter than a traditional IPA. I loved Tahoe Pilz, a Czech-style pilsner. It is an easy and light brew and enjoyable. CAPA is their California Pale Ale. It is smooth and offers a touch of pine.
“This pale ale is perfect for the everyday drinker. That’s what I go for,” says Alicia.
The Barrs still brew in their current location in Truckee but outgrew their space and moved their brewing distribution operation to West River Street.
“We produce almost everything for distribution at the West River Street location, but we still brew here. We call it our pilot system where we do small batch and some experimenting. We can play around and be creative,” explains Alicia.
In 2019, the Barrs set their sights on distilling and the Old Trestle Distillery was born. They distill gin, vodka and bourbon on West River Street. COVID-19 hindered their ability to open a tasting room, but plans are back in the works. They anticipate opening a tasting room and restaurant in a new building in the fall of 2022 on West River Street.
They are also opening a new location at the Truckee Railyard with a pilot brewery with a tasting room and restaurant in 2023. In the interim, they will host the annual Eclipse Release Party outside the new Railyard location on Dec. 11.
Alibi Ale Works: Ever evolving
Alibi Ale Works brews in Incline Village, Nev., but their Truckee Public House is a happening scene. It has become the place to gather for good beer and food and live music in downtown.
Alibi Ale Works brews with water from Lake Tahoe and is known for its variety and experimentation in its lineup that is always evolving. As the brewery was born on the North Shore, I’ll be talking more about Alibi in our North Shore segment of the series in our next edition.
Good Wolf: Forest beer
Matt and Heidi Petyo are the proprietors of Good Wolf Brewing, known for its signature foraged brews.
“Our specialty is forest beer, which is foraged beer. It’s forged ingredients from Tahoe national forests, with locally produced malts and flavors inspired by the forest,” says Matt.
During my recent visit, they had a Golden Beet Ale, an Elderflower Cream Ale and their Campfire Ale made with house-smoked foraged juniper. In addition, The Good Wolf brews hop-forward beers, IPAs, along with low-gluten beers and a cider-beer hybrid.
Truckee Brewing: High-quality ingredients
Truckee Brewing Company owner Dustin Hurley opened his brewery in 2018, with a second location in the works.
“We focus on high-quality ingredients,” says Hurley. They just finished canning their 530 Lager using locally grown, organic Admiral Malt. In addition to lagers, they brew IPA’s and Sours (currently on tap is the Tango Sour and the Blueberry Tart.) They don’t serve food at the Pioneer location but stay tuned for the opening of their new location by the Raley’s Supermarket targeted for January. The Tap House will serve Maryland-inspired cuisine, along with a raw bar, pizza and elevated bar food.
Donner Creek: Fans of local hops
The newest brewery in town is Donner Creek Brewing, owned by husband and wife team Greg Speicher and Wendy Lautner. They took the leap and opened during the pandemic. Speicher is a fan of locally grown hops. They call themselves a pico (smaller than nano) brewery and offer a few in-house brews on tap. They also prepare gourmet grilled-cheese sandwiches to pair with their brews.
While our small community continues to grow, there is no question that brewing and distilling is growing.
FiftyFifty Brewing Co. | fiftyfiftybrewing.com
Old Trestle Distillery | oldtrestle.com
The Good Wolf | thegoodwolfbrewing.com
Truckee Brewing Company | truckeebrewco.com
Donner Creek Brewing | donnercreekbrewing.com
Alibi Ale Works Truckee Public House | alibialeworks.com
