A few months ago (I can’t recall exactly when) I first learned of Sierra Nevada’s plans for their 2014 Beer Camp Sampler. This isn’t the first year, of course, that they’ve done a Beer Camp 12-pack, and I look forward to the variety of beers they deliver, each a special formulation by a homebrewer. At least that’s usually the case, anyway. For 2014, Sierra Nevada wanted to do something a little differently.

Hence, Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across America. This time around, the sampler would in fact offer 12 unique brews, each a collaboration with a highly regarded brewery. The beers would be brewed at Sierra Nevada’s two facilities: Chico, California, and Mills River, North Carolina. More than an eclectic gathering of special beers, this sampler shines through as a symbol of the collective spirit craft brewers hold, a spirit of respect and admiration for finely crafted beer that transcends the competitive drive.

The 12 beers in the sampler include (from the Sierra Nevada Website):

•Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine -- Myron’s Walk Belgian-Style Pale Ale

•Asheville Brewers Alliance, Asheville, N.C. -- Tater Ridge Scottish Ale

•Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, Calif. -- Electric Ray India Pale Lager

•Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich. -- Maillard’s Odyssey Imperial Dark Ale

•Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, Fla. -- Yonder Bock Tropical Maibock (CAN)

•Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, Calif. -- Torpedo Pilsner Hoppy Pilsner

•New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, Wis. -- There and Back English-Style Bitter

•Ninkasi Brewing Company, Eugene, Ore. -- Double Latte Coffee Milk Stout

•Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, Colo./Brevard, N.C. -- CANfusion Rye Bock (CAN)

•Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, Calif. -- Yvan the Great Belgian-Style Blonde

•3 Floyds Brewing Company, Munster, Ind. -- Chico King Pale Ale

•Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, Pa. -- Alt Route Altbier

It’s the Tater Ridge Scottish Ale Brewed with Sweet Potatoes that I’m drinking tonight, and more on that in a minute. First, though, I had to find the sampler, and I knew that wasn’t going to be an easy task. I e-mailed Sherlocks in Kennesaw about it, but didn’t get a response. Total Wine couldn’t tell me when it was coming in. I only found out when pictures started appearing in Honest Craft Beer Reviews, and then I made it a mission to get a 12-pack. Luckily, Sherlocks had just gotten them in, and I raced there in time to score (along with a bonus 13^th bomber of a Beer Camp West Coast Double IPA).

The price was not as welcome a surprise, however: $25 is steep indeed, and $5 more than I paid for last year’s Beer Camp 12-pack. That was overpriced as well in my book. Prices seem to vary across the country according to accounts in Honest Craft Beer Reviews, with prices as low as $17 and as high as $30 being reported. $25 seems to be the median price, and as much as I complain about price it’s important to note you are paying for 12 unique singles here, and that is a mitigating factor. Then too, these aren’t beers to pop in succession over a weekend, but to be savored over a series of nights one by one.

My advice: don’t let the high price keep you from this one.

OK, now to the Tater Ridge Scottish Ale Brewed with Sweet Potatoes that I’m drinking tonight. This is the very first bottle (or can for that matter) that I’ve popped from the sampler. The plan had been to drink them in order of strength, smallest to largest. But our own Tom Beer Whisperer Mulvihill teased me awhile back with the notions of sweet potato in beer in a brew that included them. Since Tater Ridge also used that tuber as an ingredient, it was the first to be popped. If this is in indication of the rest of the beers in the 12-pack, it's not to be missed folks.

Tater Ridge is a collaborative effort with the Asheville Brewer’s Alliance and the recipe was formulated with John Stuart from Green Man Brewery and Luke Dickinson from Wicked Weed Brewing. I’ve tasted the beers of both of these brewers and visited Wicked Weed, and this collaboration of three breweries held much allure for me as a result.

From the label:

We’re fortunate to call the passionate and talented folks in the Asheville Brewer’s Alliance our North Carolina neighbors. Tater Ridge is our nod to the area’s Scottish Highland history, and we hope this ale accented by sweet potatoes will be the first of many collaborations to come.

Ingredients from the website:

Yeast -Ale

Bittering Hops -Horizon

Finishing Hops -Motueka, Mosaic

Malts -Six-row Riverbend, Golden Promise, Caramel, Chocolate

Other -NC Sweet Potatoes

Tater Ridge Scottish Ale Brewed with Sweet Potatoes has an alcohol content of 7% by volume and 35 IBUs. Mine was bottled on 6/04/14, I assume at the Mills River facility.

Sierra Nevada/Asheville Brewers Alliance Beer Camp Tater Ridge Scottish Ale Brewed with Sweet Potatoes pours to a dark reddish brown color with a medium sized creamy tan head and a spicy passion fruit topical hoppy nose (that’s the Mosaics for you). Taking a sip, the beer has the rich, nutty treacle sweet maltiness of a good Scottish ale with subtle undertones of vegetal, sweetish sweet potatoes. You definitely get the malty character you want from a Scottish ale: dark sweet malts, raisins, toffee. The passion fruit hop flavors mingle with all that and the beer finishes sweet to me with a gentle herbal bitterness to keep it from being overly so. A bit of alcohol warmth is apparent, too.

Very tasty indeed, Tater Ridge was a delicious entry point for the Beer Camp Across America sampler. Sierra Nevada will be doing festivals to celebrate its efforts as well, and you can read more about them here.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft



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