I recently had an opportunity to take the Sierra Nevada Brewery tour of the east-coast facility in Mills River, NC, just outside of Asheville. It was by far, the best brewery tour I’ve ever seen. Most breweries, by no fault of their own, are in the industrial side of their town, in a warehouse facility that used to manufacture something else.
The new Sierra Nevada Brewery is different. This facility was built for east coast distribution of their most popular beers AND specifically for public tours. The attention to detail and design of the facility really shows that craft brewing has exploded, and creating a memorable tour experience for brewers is now very important.
