Latest reviews from Chico

“A large complex with many buildings. If you are facing the main brewery building the taproom and restaurant are to your left and the gift shop and tours are toward your right. I did the sustainability tour, their first offering of it in five years, and it was enjoyable. The bar in the tour area has different beers from the main taproom. Nice place.“

Travlr 62 days ago

“Stopped in for a pizza and there was a live mic thing going on. Their space is huge, mainly a medium sized bar and a lo of restaurant tables. Wood fired pizza oven but they don't use enough wood so the pizza is a bit much - tasty enough, just a very doughy crust. The beers are mainly malt bombs, which I like, so I thought they were OK. No need to rush here.“

Travlr 62 days ago

“Taproom in two halves, one of which had a live band. I chose the other side, where two of the owners were having a beer at the bar. Brewhouse visible through glass next to the bar. Nice range of styles, including three variations of a Baltic porter. Owners also have a stake in Lassen Cidery as well as a new brewery in town called Ramble West. Dog & kid friendly. Food trucks at peak times.“

Travlr 63 days ago

“Recommended by Ben at Lassen Cider, this place is as close as you'll get to a genuine (i.e. not fake for the tourists) modern British Pub in what looks like an old mill building. Handful of food items, mostly savoury pies and salads, pretty tasty. Three cask beers on handpull and a half dozen on keg of varied styles. The British styles were spot on genuine. Flights available, fortunately in American sizes, not thirds. Service was British style - pay up front for your food and drink and get it later; I never understood why a place would do that, but it works well enough here except for a long queue, and the fact that a solo person like me has to give up their table to order food or get another drink. Oh well, still a good place. Pricey“

Travlr 63 days ago

“First stop in Chico and owner Ben served me a tasting flight of the three ciders he had on draft - all dry, tannin-free and delicious. But then he kept going, opening bottles and pouring more samples. Nice conversation about cider as well. Good to se the traditional product in the US.“

Travlr 63 days ago

“A big complex with a taproom/restaurant off to one side. Pretty busy on a Friday afternoon, I could only imagine what weekends look like. Plenty of seating inside or on the patio. Wide range of styles, plenty of rotating and seasonal taps. There is a small Taproom in the gift shop. It has mostly "Innovation" Beers that aren't available in the main taproom, free samplers (2-3oz). Great service. I'd recommend to just come here first.“

Sledutah 219 days ago

“Huge facility for a classic brewery. They have more than just the stuff you always see here including some variants you don't often see of the classics. Worth the trip if for no other reason than to pick up some swag from the source.“

WestCoastHawkeye 1460 days ago

“Since Sierra Nevada closed for JUly 4, this was Plan B. And it was worth it. Nie cozy little place in a commercial/industrial area. Decent sized brewing system keeps about 14 taps flowing. Their German styles were spot on, and te rest were in the groove. Wasn't disappointed with any of them. Steady stream of customers on our nation's birthday, but still quiet. No TVs blaring. Definitely worth a visit.“

stevoj 1802 days ago

“I've always had good experience's at Raley's, usually finding a few local ticks that I haven't had yet. erhaps it was too close to the one in Ororville, but cam up dry. Single selection not as good as Oroville, mostly six packs. You can always get foor here though.“

stevoj 1816 days ago

“What looks like an unassuming corner liquor store on the outside, opens up to a beer lover's heaven, with bottles stacked floor to ceiling. Big selection of imports, I wish I had more time to explore. My focus was on the big selection of regional craft, a lot available as singles. Way too much for me to absord on a single visit. It wil definitely be worth a return trip.“

stevoj 1824 days ago

“Great selection. But this is just a liquor store.“

andy_capp 2097 days ago

“Shopping center location. Some tables as you walk in and 2 long skinny bars/halls down either side of center. Very nice beer selection, especially for an out of towner with different distro. Good mix of local regional and nation wide breweries, and nice style mix. Prices are more than a bit high...would come into play if this were a regular place. Free chips or pretzels with the flights. Friendly service, maybe colored by the fact I visited with a regular.“

slowrunner77 2293 days ago

“Small warehouse location with a small bar and a few tables. Nice little patio area out by the parking. I had the place to myself at opening on a Sunday. Very friendly service. Only tried 5 (about half) of the beers. Not terribly impressed with any of em, but nothing bad either. Food truck on weekends and busy nights. They're new, so I'll be back most likely. Passed up a Sierra Nevada visit on the this trip, though, and not sure it was worth it.“

slowrunner77 2293 days ago

“The whole location - brewery, shop and bar are well organised with a good layout. Service was really good through-out. Strong tap-list covering a variety of styles. My absolute favourite beer here was the wine barrel aged version of the Bigfoot Ale, which was fantastic stuff. Also really liked the Know Good IPA. Food was good pub-style fayre, everything we had was really tasty. Prices for food, beers, bottles and schwag were all very good. An absolute must visit. Big plus for the tour - it is free and you get to taste a lot of different beers. Slight grumble that we couldn't take our infant daughter with us due to health and safety rules, also you didn't actually see any beer at any point on the tour until the tasting room.“

UKBeerGeek 2422 days ago

“Choose to stop in at Ray’s based on bhensonb’s place review, since we didn’t have time to drive all over Chico and my wife would eventually pull the plug on my beer stops efficiency is important. For what I was expecting, Ray’s had quite a bit bigger selection. Easily double the 60+ bottles listed above. Not really a ton of singles, for mixed sixers, but mostly bombers. Many special releases and limited edition beers. I was able to pick up a few local bottles to bring back to Boise for RBSG that have a handful of rates. Prices were a little bit on the high side, but not outrageous. Unless you wanted one of the Cascade sours, but those are priced stupid anywhere you go.“

jake65 2528 days ago

“Huge, impressive facility looks like it’s very new. Tons of parking and it filled up quickly on a Wednesday around noon. We sat at the bar and had a few beers; they do samplers and/or flights, for $3.00 you could get four 2oz pours of any of the 19 beers currently on tap… I had 2 of these flights and it cost me six bucks to try eight beers. Still a bargain after leaving a tip. Food menu looked good, but we didn’t eat. Had to take my wide to In-n-Out Burger as part of her letting me drag her around to beer relate stops today… totally worth it by the way. The wood in here is very cool and there is tons of it. Lots of steins and mugs behind the bar to look at and I loved the copper bar top. Service was good, plenty attentive even as the room started to fill up. Before we left there we people standing in the bar waiting for a seat. We also checked out the gift shop and I would categorize this as the best brewery gift shop I’ve ever seen. Definitely run by someone with merchandising experience and I would assume very profitable. Lots of cool items available and priced in line with a destination brewery (a little high, but not too high that you’d cringe). Lots of beer available to-go, priced about the same as the local stores. Overall this was a great stop. I’ve always wanted to come here as we have family within an hour’s drive and it’s one of the biggest pioneers of craft beer in the country. I’ll check it off the bucket list for now, but I would absolutely come here again and recommend it to anyone. “

jake65 2528 days ago

“What a great place! This is my 3rd time here and every visit has been outstanding. Our server Andi was great. I’ve always been a fan of the Narwhal so getting the barrel aged version was fantastic. I had the panko halibut and my girlfriend had the beer and cheese burger. Both were excellent. We’re probably going back for lunch before we head back to Oregon.“

treign 2791 days ago

“I’m quite surprised I haven’t rated this before. I’ve never been on the tour, because brewery tours are essentially all the same. This is an attractive building with nice aesthetics. The merchandise area is nice, with lots of swag. They often offer several rare 750mLs at a time, and I also believe they sell some vintage Bigfoot. The prices used to be really cheap on cases, but now they’re no less expensive than your local bottle shoppe. The restaurant is large, and spacious. There is almost always a wait, and the bar-area is small and crammed. They have 20 beers on tap, but the smallest size they come in is 8oz. This is a drag. The other thing I dislike is that the restaurant does wood fired pizza, which causes the bar to smell like smoke. This makes is more difficult to enjoy the subtle beer aromas. The service is usually attentive and spot-on. The food menu has several offerings that interest me. The food itself is above average, but I think it’s a bit overpriced. All in all, this is a place that is very historic, and worth going to.“

DYCSoccer17 2888 days ago

“This was a great experience that I want to repeat asap. Amazing beer variety, and multiple options to enjoy at your own rhythm. Great tours. Friendly staff, not intrusive.“

davidm 2936 days ago

“Large tap room and restaurant. Packed but the line moves quickly and also very loud. Staff is efficient and always trying to upswell food, but not beer. Beer list is great with some old bottles as well. Flight is cheap and 2oz each, so great for tickers. A good stop, but not sure if it is a destination.“

Ferris 3055 days ago

“In a strip mall, but the inside is beautiful, and some decent patio seating as well. Service was great, fast, friendly, and incredibly knowledgeable. Selection was outstanding, lots of options on draught and in bottles. As other people say, if you want to avoid coleege kids downtown, this is the best option in Chico.“

jbruner 3109 days ago

“The big boy that was one of the firsts. Aesthetics were definitely on the forefront in public areas, because this place is beautiful; lots of copper and everything very well maintained. Service was great, firendly, knowledgeable, accomodating. Food was great, from upscale pub fare to low end fine dining. A little pricey for the food, but its no more than you would expect, and the beer was definitely reasonable. A vast selection of their beer, including new test batches not released anywhere else. The west coast mecca for beer and a great example of what everyone in craft is striving for.“

jbruner 3109 days ago

“Very nice restaurant. Food was a little pricey. They had a couple things on that I had not seen.“

fidel 3151 days ago

“Another solid place in Chico. Mostly a bar, it seems, but they do have some food. Nice corner location in an old brick building with a good sized bar and some tables in the main area along with some more seating in the back.

On top of having a pretty solid draft list with stuff from all over California, they also have some great and interesting bottles and really solid pricing on everything, too! I ended up having a glass of a new Track 7 DIPA as well as a bottle of Prairie Americana (girlfriend opted for a couple of sour draft offerings).

Super friendly, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable staff here as well. They are doing a great job here and highly recommend a stop.“

brokensail 3221 days ago

“Finally made it. A solid place for rating #1100. A true icon in US and California beer. Easy to spot from the street and perhaps maybe doesn’t initially appear to be quite as big as you might expect. Beautiful facade with the classic Sierra Nevada Bewing Company name and font on the wall.

Inside, the place is incredibly well done and decorated. There is a small waiting room for tours and gift shop where you can also buy bottles. Just really quite immaculate. Windows peak into brewing areas provide a nice view of the fermentation tanks and copper brewing equipment.

They also have a really ornate and beautiful taproom and restaurant a couple doors down form the lobby/gift shop area. About 20 draft offerings and they do flights, halves, and full pours, all of which are very cheap. The only real downgrade here was the service from our bartender wasn’t terribly friendly. Our tour guide more than made up for it.

I don’t normally do brewery tours, but they offer a Sustainability Tour here. I found this tour to be incredibly interesting and worthwhile and really made me respect the brewery and Ken Grossman a lot more for his efforts to reduce the impact of his brewery. You also get a great chance to see a lot of the brewery grounds and some things like their hop and fruit/vegetable gardens. It’s free, too.

Probably an aspect of nostalgia for me at play in my score, but this place is really special and unique. A real must visit and I only wish it was closer.“

brokensail 3225 days ago

“Pretty good sized restaurant located in downtown Chico. Big patio out front and high ceilings and lots of open space inside. Kind of an old world feel to the decor, perhaps. Very beer-centric, at the very least.

Food is, you guessed it, focused on burgers. But there is some good variety to the menu at least. The portion size here is massive. Even my fat ass couldn’t finish everything. It’s pretty good, though.

Lots of taps (at least 40?) with a pretty good amount of variety including some ciders and a house beer that is brewed for them out of one of the Sacramento breweries. Beer prices are pretty reasonable, too.

Definitely worth checking out if you’re in Las Vegas.“

brokensail 3227 days ago

“I loved this place. In my opinion is the best brewery in US.“

Paulabertola 3252 days ago

“It was a great decision to drive a little bit more, and stop in Chico to sleep. We discovered Sierra Nevada. The beers are excellent, world class, everybody knows that, but the restaurant and the food are incredible as well. I’m so glad i visit that place in 2010.“

Zizaya 3280 days ago

“Beer heaven. Good food and even better beers. Shop full of merchandise and beers to go. They happen to have Cask Thursday and I had a pint of cask conditioned Southern Hemisphere Harvest. I like this place.“

rosenbergh 3312 days ago

“This place is fantastic! Having broke down right around the corner ending up at the motel across the street for the night, I asked the manager where the nearest beer spot was, and he pointed across the street. What a blessing in disguise. Sweet old interior to give the place a prohibition style feel with barrels staring right at you in the face. Great selection for Chico, felt a bit like an SF selection honestly. IPA’s, some sessions, and some rarities. The food is also rather excellent. I had the chicken sandwich and even stopped in to get one to go the next day. Knowledgable staff as well. Definitely worth a stop in if you’re in the area!“

skoisirius 3425 days ago

“Very cool spot with a large number of their beers never bottled, a really good burger and good service.“

AgentSteve 3506 days ago

“bit of a hole in the wall type of place that had a pretty nice selection of bombers in the cooler. nothing worth going too far out of your way for, but worth a stop if in the area.“

slowrunner77 3515 days ago

“came across this place on a night Sierra Nevada was having an alumni function. Had two awesome hard to get up here Ballast Point beers on tap, among others. Service was fast and burgers were excellent!“

slowrunner77 3515 days ago

“Probably nothing new to add other than I enjoyed our stop here. The place itself is beautiful and they are taking care where they can to do things to lessen the impact on the environment or show that they value the employees. Excellent tour with plenty of samples. Tap room had solid food, great prices and service. Make sure to book a tour a head of time if you can. If not, you can try to squeeze in on one but it isn’t guaranteed. Even without the tour it is well worth the stop.“

bvc 3585 days ago

“An absolute institution. Great tap list. I remember my first, massive sierra nevada taster at the brewhouse ... amazing. The food here is excellent. Other than the long wait there is not much else I can complain about. Beautiful, classy interior. Absolutely awesome gift shop. I can’t stop in Chico without going here.“

Lothore 3661 days ago

“Large in door and out door eating facilities. Felt like I was at a nice restaurant instead of a brewery. Good selection of their beers on tap. Very enjoyable.“

Beerenberger 3662 days ago

“It was a beautiful day so we sat outside. The inside bar and dining area looked nice too. Nineteen of their beers on tap with a fairly wide variety between them, though only one "Belgian" style beer. Whatever, all their beers are solid or great. The service was the perfect blend of normal American style of "bugging-me-every-other-minute-to-ask-if-everything-is-okay" and German "never-approach-your-table-unless-you-are-doing-jumping-jacks-to-get-attention". The food was great. I would go there just for the food. We had some fries, pretzel and beer cheese and a salad. The prices were normal for the area. The gift shop has great prices on glassware, $3 for an imperial pint.“

Fatehunter 3709 days ago

“Chico’s beer bar for beer nerds. Been to the Brewery and looking for more beer? Headed downtown and are now done with college kids FOREVER? Come back to the south side and enjoy the Handle Bar! It’s the beer bar Chico needed for a long time. A good mix of neighborhood regulars, travelers looking to get out of their hotel rooms and beer nerds appreciating the selection. Service is usually excellent, price to pour ratio is good, and a food menu that is happily different (german inspired) from the boring pub fare that has taken over.“

Teddlet 3725 days ago

“A good stop for beer in Chico, that gets lots of corny kegs of beer that don’t usually make it this far from home. But be prepared for smallish pours and a premium price for the rarity of finding them in the North State. Service can seem slow (especially if you aren’t a regular or don’t have the right look) but most of that comes from bartenders who actually know about beer and want you to have the best beer they can give you from multiple tasters, to mixing beer to get your favorite flavor profile just right. Afternoon is best if you want to hear your self think about the beer your drinking as it can get overcrowded and loud at night. Add in decent gastro pub grub and it’s at least worth dropping in to give a shot.“

Teddlet 3725 days ago

“I visited this place a couple weeks ago. It’s located on the corner in what appears to be a pretty historic building. There’s a beautiful varnished wooden bartop that welcomes you as you walk in. They have about 16 beers on tap, along with some select bottles. Good beer selection. They also have a nice menu with numerous good choices. The food is a little on the pricey, side, though. Pretty tasty, nonetheless. They also have a bit of a dark room in the back, with only 1 bathroom. No TVs. One of the bartenders I spoke with was a massive beer geek, and very knowledgeable and cool. A really chill place, but I could see how this place could get super crowded at night, and the single bathroom thing could suck.“

DYCSoccer17 3773 days ago

“Been here before but am having a great experience right now. I love the selection of unknown SN beers. They do flights of 4 pours for $3. Before I even ordered the waitress brought me a freebie flight pour of their Thursday cask. My two flight paddles arrived promptly and thy still dropped off bread, vinegar, and oil even though I declined to order food. 9 beer samples, bread with a yummy oil and balsamic dip, and out the door for $6. Practically unheard of anymore.“

HighWine 3783 days ago

“This turned out to be a great place to meet with friends and family. You know what to expect from the beer, because it’s frikken Sierra Nevada. The food is incredilbe. I recommend the beer cheese burger. Service is good. Everything is good.“

Aquilo 3794 days ago

“I have lived in Chico for 30 years. This is my favorite place to have a drink with friends or my wife.“

dripke 3886 days ago

“B&B now has 44 taps and is far into Belgian style brews. Their service is excellent and their burgers are tasty.“

John_D 3922 days ago

“Great brewery tour and beers to taste. They have been one of the most consistent breweries since the beginning.“

Vballnbeer 3992 days ago

“Nice little place, although it is in a strip mall. Very friendly and well-trained staff. Limited food menu, but who cares? You come here for the beer. This is the first beer bar of its kind in Chico, and it is not full of drunk college students like all of the bars downtown. Nice selection of beers on tap, including Pliny the Elder. I will be visiting this place more often, now that I have tried it.“

LeftCoastRider 4111 days ago

“These guys started it all...and they’ve come so far and grown so much (in good ways) over the past few year (can’t wait for their east coast Ashville, NC location). I love their growing variety of bars...especially the wet hop styles and the beer camp series. A visit here is a must for any beer geek. Great bar area and fantastic people. I was once told when sitting at the bar here that Sierra changed the draft Pale Ale recipe some from the bottle recipe a numner of years ago...supposedly making the draft slightly less hoppy and more approachable to gain tap space around the country. The point of the story was that...again supposedly...you could only get the original bottle recipe "on draft’ at the Chico brewery location. This may have since changed...but it’s a great story in any case.“

PRBeer 4112 days ago

“We visited Sierra Nevada in 2006 and were very impressed. The brewery tour was quite good although the guide was not very knowledgeable. We were very positively surprised by the beer selection in the brew pub. First time we had the harvest and anniversary ales. We will never forget this day. Just would not eat the Burger at Carl’s Jr beforehand.“

Schlenkerla 4138 days ago

“The best selection of craft beers in Chico, plus a good selection of spirits. The manager, Kevin, is very helpful and responsive to customer requests.“

LeftCoastRider 4140 days ago