The Holidays may be over but you still have time to get your hands on some great seasonal suds from Sierra Nevada – currently being poured at the newly opened Pizza Press housed in the Historic Rankin Building (built in 1917) on the corner of Fourth and Sycamore in Downtown Santa Ana. The first Pizza Press opened in Anaheim in 2012 and has since become an Orange County favorite for delicious hand-crafted pizza, fresh salads and local craft beer. Diners are encouraged to publish (create) their own pizza or pick from one of the restaurants’s signature pizzas named after big city rags like The Times, The Herald, The Sun and more. Then pair your pizza with one of more than two dozen craft beers on tap, that rotate regularly by season and region.
Sierra Nevada, established in 1979 by homebrewers Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi (Paul retired in 1998) in Chico, California – would become one of the pioneers of modern day craft beer. They brewed their first batch of Celebration (6.8% ABV) IPA in 1981, one of the first hop-forward holiday beers on the West Coast, using Chinook, Cascade and Centennial hops. To this day, fans swear they add cinnamon and nutmeg but there are no spices added, it’s the malt that gives you those spiced flavors of warmth. Celebration is bold with intense aromas of citrus and pine, making it a holiday classic. Cheers to great pizza and brews!
The Pizza Press, 117 W. 4th Street, Santa Ana, (714) 760-4425; www.thepizzapress.com
