Maui craft brewery takes part in Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp

Billed as the “largest craft beer celebration” in the United States, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s Beer Camp Across America returns in 2016 with help from more than 30 top breweries, including one from Hawaii.

The premise of the camp is twofold: First, the collaboration process to create each of this year’s six featured beers serves as an educational networking opportunity for those involved. Sierra Nevada paid for 31 guest brewers to visit the company’s new production facility in Asheville, N.C., where they were given time to explore all the ingredients available to them and brainstorm new brews.

Building on the themes of friendship and cooperation, six teams were formed based on geography. Brewers from the Pacific Northwest and Rockies regions, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, Northern California and the Southeast, Midwest and Southwest partnered up to create six different beers, with two bottles of each making it into mixed 12-packs currently available in stores for about $30. The beers are also on draft in select bars and restaurants around the country.

A series of six beer festivals makes up the second component of Beer Camp, starting this weekend in Tampa, Fla. and followed by festivals in Seattle and Milwaukee on June 11. Stops in San Francisco and Boston are scheduled for June 18, with the final festival set to take place in Los Angeles on June 25. Beer Camp Across America donates all net proceeds from each festival to partners including the American Malted Barley Association, Hop Growers of America, Hop Research Council, Oregon State University Fermentation Science Program and Pints for Prostates.

Hawaii debuted at Beer Camp this year when Maui Brewing Co. CEO Garrett Marrero joined Team Southwest and brought “a touch of Hawaiian ‘aloha’ from the addition of hibiscus” to the group’s West Latitude Session Rye.

“Bringing that attention to Hawaii is no joke,” said Marrero. “To have real craft beer coming from Hawaii like we’ve been doing and to get the notoriety for that, it’s an epic win for the state.

“Our goal was to create the best possible beers. We all kept reveling in the fact that there were some great minds in brewing all in the same room. It was like being in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory for a brewer.”

After tasting all six of this year’s beers — which also include the Sweet Sunny South Table Beer, Moxee-Moron Imperial Session IPA, Family Values Imperial Brown Ale, Pat-Rye-Ot Revolutionary Pale Ale and Stout of the Union Robust Stout — it was the touch of hibiscus in the West Latitude Session Rye that set it apart for me from the rest of this year’s offerings. Maui Brewing worked with California-based Bear Republic Brewing Co., Faction Brewing Co., Magnolia Brewing Co. and Mad River Brewing Co. to make the beer, which was produced in Sierra Nevada’s Chico, Calif., brewery in early April.

The West Latitude never strays from its “session” designation, offering up a much lighter body than IPAs brewed with higher levels of malt and rye. Despite its dark caramel appearance when poured into a glass, the West Latitude is easy to drink, with an intriguing flavor profile. A fruitiness on the nose from the Comet, Citra and Mosaic hops used connects nicely with a faint sweetness on the finish thanks to hibiscus flowers added during brewing.

I also enjoyed the Sweet Sunny South Table Beer created by Funky Buddha Brewery (Florida), Wicked Weed Brewing (North Carolina), Austin Beerworks (Texas), Creature Comforts Brewing Co. (Georgia) and Bayou Teche Brewing (Louisiana). I don’t remember ever trying a beer made with corn grits, tea leaves and peaches before, and this stuff takes it even further with the addition of honeysuckle, papaya, guava and prickly pear. It’s brewed like a saison, but the additional ingredients really elevate the Sweet Sunny South into something worth seeking out.

That’s not to say the rest of the featured Beer Camp beers aren’t delicious, but I did find they were much more traditional in terms of flavor. If you’re a fan of brown ale or stout, you’ll be impressed by how well made the Family Values and Stout of the Union are. Fans of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale will have no problem guzzling a few bottles of Pat-Rye-Ot, either. Instead of trying to push the creative envelope, these beers are more celebrations of the brewing talent found in the regions they represent.

Sierra Nevada also does a fantastic job sharing the stories of participating brewers and providing more information about each of the featured beers online. Visit beercamp.sierranevada.com to read more and watch videos created to help promote the project.

Jason Genegabus has written about Honolulu bars since 2001. Contact him at jason@staradvertiser.com with suggestions of places to visit and drinks to try; read his blog at inthemix.staradvertiserblogs.com.