Sierra Nevada history

In 1979, the pair started construction of their brewery on a gravel road outside of Chico, using equipment scavenged from a dairy, a soft-drink bottler, and closed breweries.

On November 15, 1980, the first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was brewed.

However, Grossman and Camusi were not satisfied with the result, and they threw out the first nine batches (at a cost of $1,000 each) before commencing production in 1981.

A May, 1984 profile of the brewery in the San Francisco Chronicle 's Sunday Magazine gave the firm another boost, as did an article in New York's Village Voice, which helped create demand for the beer on the East Coast.

By 1987, Sierra Nevada was distributing its beers to seven states, and production had increased to 12,000 barrels per year.

By 1989, production had jumped to 30,500 barrels, and expansion of the new brewery had already begun.

The company has since grown into a multi-billion dollar company with more than 4,000 employees. It was acquired in 1994 by husband and wife Fatih Ozmen and Eren Ozmen.

In 1995, with the company's production continuing to mushroom, Grossman decided it was time to install a new bottling line.

"Sierra Nevada Installs $2 Million Packaging Plant," Erickson Report , March, 1996.

In 2000, the company opened a no-expense-spared 350-seat auditorium called The Big Room at its brewery, which soon began hosting concerts by local and nationally known folk, blues, and world-music performers.

"The Big Room," Chico News & Review , February 1, 2001.

In 2003, Sierra Nevada began limited distribution to England.