A beer and a celebration of the craft brewing community.
Visit any brewery breakroom and you’re likely to find a copy of Craft Beer & Brewing on the table. The magazine is a cornerstone of the industry.
And each year, the magazine hosts its Readers’ Choice Awards, nominated by its readers.
“The Readers’ Choice Awards are a way to gauge excitement and passion for both established and up-and-coming breweries,” says Jamie Bogner, cofounder and editorial director at Craft Beer & Brewing.
Among the awards is Best Brewery. Readers nominate their favorite breweries based on size: Large, Midsize Regional, Small Regional, and Small.
“We break out the brewery awards based on volume of beer produced to intentionally highlight excellence and interest at these different scales,” Jamie explains.
In 2025, Sierra Nevada was honored to be awarded Best Brewery in the Large category, along with Russian River, Pinthouse, and Green Cheek in the Midsize Regional, Small Regional, and Small categories, respectively.
So, naturally, we had to celebrate with a beer.
“When we saw the winners, we knew we had to get together,” says Terence Sullivan from our Innovation Team. “We admire those brewers so much—it was the perfect fit.”
The feeling was mutual. “To be recognized among breweries we respect so much means the world to us,” says Vinnie Cilurzo, owner of Russian River.
“SOMEBODY PINCH ME!!” added Green Cheek Co-Owner Evan Price. “Where would the industry be without these trail blazers? [Co-Owner] Brian and I are so honored to be rolling with this crew.”
This summer, Russian River, Pinthouse, Green Cheek, and Craft Beer & Brewing all came out to our Chico brewery for a collaboration brew. After weeks of discussion around recipe development, the team landed on a West Coast IPA with a blend of old-school and new-school hops, and a malt bill that included Pale malt, flaked rice, and rolled oats.
“We were looking for an IPA that would blend some notable characteristics from each brewery,” says Terence. This included traditional whole-cone dry-hopping with Cascade hops—a Sierra Nevada signature—combined with newer hop innovations using Simcoe, Mosaic, and experimental New Zealand hops provided by Russian River. “This hop blend provides rich layers of tropical fruit, citrus, and pine, while finishing with assertive bitterness,” says Terence.
And the malt? “Pinthouse and Green Cheek were strong advocates for the grist bill,” Terence explains. “It was designed to provide a full, chewy mid-palate that comes from the use of rice flakes and rolled oats, and a finish that’s dry and crisp.”
“Readers’ Choice does an amazing job showcasing each brewery’s unique style and approach to constructing an IPA through their connection to raw materials and recipe building,” says Pinthouse Co-Owner Joe Mohrfeld.
Once the beer was brewed, Sierra Nevada’s in-house Creative team worked to create a label that would represent the coming together of all teams. This shows up with the signature Craft Beer & Brewing gold, and the diamond of brewery logos on the can: an ode to our beloved craft beer community.
The beer sales also benefit the community, with the proceeds going to craft brewers’ guilds in California, Texas, and North Carolina.
“The collaboration beer is a delicious manifestation of that: combining generations of brewers, geographies, and production scales to create something bigger than the sum of its parts,” says Jamie. “The process of creating the beer was equally thrilling for all of us involved. Spending time developing the recipe with such a talented group of brewers is something I won’t forget.”
Thank you to Craft Beer & Brewing, and most importantly, to the craft beer lovers out there who make this whole industry possible.
Want to taste Readers’ Choice West Coast IPA? Head to our Gift Shops or order online here!
