How Sierra Nevada Brewing Has Kept Pale Ale Relevant For 45 Years

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has, for 45 years, been the benchmark against which all other pale ales are measured.

Courtesy of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is celebrating 45 years. November 15, 2025 is the official 45-year anniversary of the Chico, California based brewer. In those 45 years, the brewery has expanded well beyond the dreams of its co-founder, Ken Grossman. And it is still growing.

That growth has largely been driven by the success of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, one of Sierra Nevada’s original three beers. And while their porter and the stout did not capture the taste buds of the beer-drinking public to the same extent, Pale Ale helped build the third-largest craft brewing company in the United States.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is arguably the only beer that has remained relevant for the last 45 years. Beer drinkers’ thirst for domestic and import lager has waxed and waned among Budweiser, Bud Light, Modelo Especial and Michelob Ultra. Boston Beer Company was only founded in 1984, but even it had to reformulate its flagship Boston Lager in 2023. And New Belgium Brewing was founded in 1991 and reformulated its flagship Fat Tire Ale, also in 2023, after which the brand fell almost completely out of the public’s consciousness.

When Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was first brewed, there were approximately 40 breweries in the country. Today there are over 9,000. Grossman says that consumers like to try new and different beers, but Pale Ale is the one drinkers always come back to, secure in the knowledge that it will taste just the way it always has, regardless of where in the country—and indeed world—they are drinking it.

Sierra Nevada’s brewery in Chico, California has undergone significant changes in its 45 years.

Courtesy of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Remaining True

“At the time, it was certainly a unique beer to come into the world that was dominated by light lager,” said Grossman on a video call. “It was well crafted from the very beginning. And it is still brewed to the highest standards and with the best ingredients.”

“In speaking to brewmasters at large breweries, I know that they watch each other and change their recipes in response to each other,” said Grossman. “Those beers have gradually become less bitter in an effort to be less offensive.”

In contrast, the recipe for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has not changed in its 45 years. “We’ve kept the same yeast, the same whole-leaf hops and the same level of bitterness,” said Grossman. “And we bottle condition, which takes a lot of effort, but is really important for quality for a distributing brewery like ours.”

Throughout the last 45 years of beer, trends have come and gone. There were the light beer wars. There was the low-carb trend. There was the race to make the bitterest IPA. And when craft beer lovers wanted hazy beers, there were rumors of brewers adding flour to their beer to make it more turbid.

Through it all, Sierra Nevada just kept making the pale ale against which all other pale ales are measured. And “as long as I am chief brewer, we will not change this recipe,” said Brian Grossman, chief brewer and son of Ken Grossman, in an interview.

Sierra Nevada Brewing opened a second brewery in 2015, in Mills River, North Carolina, to improve logistics and shipping times.

Courtesy of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Always Creating Archetypes

There is no doubt that Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is the pale ale archetype. And while sales of the iconic beer remain strong, they have actually been surpassed by the Hazy Little Thing, Sierra Nevada’s hazy IPA. Hazy Little Thing was the first nationally-distributed hazy IPA, is now Sierra Nevada’s best-selling beer and is one of the most popular hazy IPAs in the United States—Sierra Nevada even helped start National Hazy IPA Day.

This is just the latest of beer made by Sierra Nevada that could be considered archetypes of their styles. Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA is considered by some to be the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) winter seasonal beer release and was one of the first beers brewed with fresh hops. And Sierra Nevada Bigfoot is the paragon of barleywine.

“We just brew damn good beer,” said Ken.

What The Future Holds

“As a company, we are trying to do the right thing for our communities and our employees,” said Ken. “The market today is really competitive. We want to make sure we have a profitable company that can continue. And we want to share with and contribute to our community.”

Despite the brewery already having grown to a size far exceeding what Ken Grossman had originally dreamed of 45 years ago, the company continues to innovate and grow. It launched Trail Pass, a non-alcoholic beer brand, in 2023, which is already one of the best-selling non-alcoholic craft beer brands in the United States. Despite stagnation in the craft beer and overall beer markets, Sierra Nevada continues to enjoy success. “Grow or die,” said Ken, referring for the need to grow in order to maintain the interest of distribution partners and employees.

“Hopefully, we have the company set up for the next 45 years,” said Ken.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dontse/2025/11/15/how-sierra-nevada-brewing-has-kept-pale-ale-relevant-for-45-years/