Sierra Nevada invites every craft brewery to take part in Beer Camp Across America festival

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has invited every craft brewery in the country — more than 2,700 — to take part in a multi-weekend traveling beer festival this summer. Beer Camp Across America is a celebration for the entire craft beer community, bringing together brewers and the fans who have buoyed their success.

“We’re about to open a second brewery in North Carolina, and while that’s exciting for us, it’s an even greater reason to celebrate the future of craft brewers everywhere,” explained Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada’s founder. “We’ve watched and learned from each other for decades, and together we’ve seen tastes change and craft’s momentum snowball. Beer Camp Across America is our way of reflecting on this — with thousands of brewers, fans and great beers. It should be pretty fun.”

Beer Camp Across America will feature seven stops — in cities with thriving craft beer cultures — moving geographically west to east, much like the craft movement has historically spread. Each tour stop will feature that city’s local and surrounding regional brewers. The festivals will appropriately begin and end at Sierra Nevada’s two brewing locations, kicking off in Chico where it took root in 1980, and culminating in Mills River, N.C., for the grand opening of its East Coast brewery. The festival schedule is as follows:

• Sat., July 19th: Northwest Edition at Sierra Nevada Hop Field in Chico, Calif., 12-5 p.m.


• Sun., July 20th: Southwest Edition at Embarcadero North in San Diego, Calif., 1-6 p.m.


• Fri., July 25th: Rocky Mountain Edition at Sculpture Park in Denver, Colo., 5-10 p.m.


• Sun., July 27th: Midwest Edition at Navy Pier in Chicago, 12-5 p.m.


• Fri., August 1st: New England Edition at Thompson Point in Portland, Maine, 5-10 p.m.


• Sat., August 2nd: Mid-Atlantic Edition at Penn Treaty Park in Philadelphia, 12-5 p.m.


• Sun., August 3rd: Southeast Edition in Mills River, N.C., 1-6 p.m.

Each festival will feature up to two beers per brewery, food vendors and live music by the MarchFourth Marching Band spectacle. Tickets are now on sale at www.SierraNevada.com/BeerCamp and are limited to 5,000 per venue. Tickets cost $65 for general admission, which includes a tasting glass and unlimited tastings (in most locations, see the website for full details). A designated driver ticket is available for $30. Ticket prices are exclusive of taxes and fees, which will vary according to location.

In conjunction with the festivals, Sierra Nevada has partnered with a dozen exceptional craft breweries to create 12 different beers for one mixed 12-pack — including 10 bottles and two cans — another first in the craft beer world. The Beer Camp Across America 12-pack will be available throughout the United States this summer, and the dozen brewing partners will join selective legs of the festival tour.

Beer Camp Across America is also a giveback program. Proceeds will go to the state brewers guilds in the festival host states and to hop and barley research to foster the development of new types of hop varieties and barley crops to fuel the pursuit of new flavor experiences for the ever-expanding tastes of craft drinkers.