The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company was established in 1980 by homebrewers Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi. Camusi retired in 1998 and sold his share in the company to Grossman. Located in Chico, California, Sierra Nevada Brewing is one of the most popular craft breweries currently operating in the United States. Its Pale Ale is world renowned, and the brewery produces almost 700,000 barrels of beer per year. Sierra Nevada's specialty brews include the winter Seasonal Celebration, like the pale ale only hoppier with hints of oak and cinnamon, and Summerfest, which is citrusy and sunny. Sierra Nevada's beer is consistently rated high in BeerAdvocate.com's Top 25 list, and has appeared on many television shows, including Friends and Sex and the City. In 1989, after moving the brewery to its current location, Grossman added The Sierra Nevada Taproom and Restaurant, which serves lunch and dinner. More recently the brewery opened "The Big Room", a live music venue located inside the brewery's facilities, and featuring world-class acts from country, bluegrass, folk, rock, blues and other musical genres.

Sierra Nevada's pale ale is the second best-selling craft beer in the United States, behind the Boston Beer Company's Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

The brewmaster is Steve Dresler who has been with the brewery since 1983 when its output was 25 to 30 barrels a week. While commonly referred to as a microbrewery, its production has outgrown that label and it is more properly called a craft brewery.