Sierra Nevada, Boulevard Brewing collaborate on Terra Incognita

“The base beer is a roasty, hopped-up brown ale that evolves in such interesting ways when it spends time in wine and whiskey barrels,” said Sierra Nevada Head Brewer Steve Dresler. “We hosted Boulevard at our Chico brewery and together tasted various blending ratios until we had a final beer that captivated us. We imagine craft beer drinkers will be similarly impressed.”

“Collaborating with Sierra Nevada on Terra Incognita the past three years has been a great experience,” said Steven Pauwels, Boulevard’s Brewmaster. “We learn from each other, laugh a lot, and the beer we’ve made has impressed my taste buds every time. This year is no exception.”

Terra Incognita celebrates and merges strengths of Sierra Nevada (savvy use of whole-cone hops) and Boulevard (barrel aging prowess). The beer’s name means “land unknown” and recalls the centuries old California Trail that connects the two breweries—an overland wagon trail across the western half of the United States from Missouri river towns to what is now the state of California. This year’s final blend of Terra Incognita is a precise ratio: 55 percent wine barrel-aged ale, 32 percent bourbon barrel-aged ale, and 13 percent fresh ale. Sierra Nevada assertively hopped the brown ale before splitting it between red wine and bourbon barrels where it matured for 6 months, resulting in a 9.8-percent ABV blended beer whose earthy malt flavors are dressed in notes of tart fruit, vanilla and coconut.