HOP TO IT: If you've ever strolled through Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico on a tour, and you're something of a home brewer, you've likely gazed about with envious eyes. The employees are so knowledgeable about the 36-year-old brewery's history, character, and many iconic releases, the facility is so spacious and state-of-the-art, and the room where tour attendees get to stop and rub the hops in their hands, the better to enjoy the aroma... it's a slice of nose-pungent heaven, if you're into strong hoppy scents. Even if you can't get a dream job at the famous brewhouse, you can try for three dreamy days of learning all about libations of the beery sort. It's called Beer Camp, and Sierra Nevada hosts those selected entrants who make a winning video about why they should attend. Can you, dear craft brew lover, create an impassioned and clever plea as to why you need to spend June 17 through 19 in Chico, getting all of the know-how you need to rise, foam-like, in the world of beer-based artistry.
VIDEOS TO PERUSE: There are already some videos up on the site, so you can check out the vibe of what your co-entrants are doing, while you plot your own individual video. "We are looking for creativity!" says the Sierra Nevada site, so go the distance, imaginative people. The deadline for your video is the last day of March 2015, and there are some things to do and things to avoid. Check it all out, sudsy cineastes.
IF YOU WIN... there's a tour of the brewery (be sure to eye all of those rooftop solar panels helping the beer inside rise to its best) and there are visits with the "mad beer scientists" behind the Quality Assurance and Packaging Labs. Fun fun, but the fun continues when you "learn the science behind beer storage and chemistry." Will you win? Can you go the zingy distance, and get picked, meaning you'll get the opportunity to discover how to make your ales and IPAs the very best they can be? Time to make that video, over-21-ers, and maybe, foamy fingers crossed, spend a few days deep within the not-so-secret, totally-wicked-awesome backrooms of Sierra Nevada Brewery.
