PINTS & POURS

A community-focused, locally sourced brewery making both the classic styles and original innovations.

British Bulldog Brewery

14540 Camaren Park Dr, Chico

British Bulldog was conceived from a passion to make British style brews in the traditional way using techniques from the 1700's.

The Commons Social Empourium

341 Main St, Chico

At The Commons you are in control of your own pour. Whether it’s a taster, a half glass or a full pint, it’s easy to find your favorite beer. Each tap has a screen describing what you’ll be tasting. Top off your glass and gather around for a friendly conversation at our community tables or venture outside for games on our dog-friendly patio.

Whether you’re a beer enthusiast or wine connoisseur, you’ll find plenty of choices while in Butte County.

Hops fans will want to check out Chico, where all beer talk in the area starts with Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (read more on pg. 56-58), the most well-known brewer, and often synonymous with Chico as the home of the craft brewing industry. While its flagship Pale Ale received a lukewarm response upon its initial offering in 1980, Sierra Nevada eventually rose to the top of the craft brewing world, sparking a renaissance across the country. In Butte County, though, it’s really been in the last decade that a community of educated beer drinkers with a taste for smaller breweries developed. Most noticeable has been the evolution of a craft brew explosion in Chico, where today you’ll find ample taprooms, tasting rooms, and breweries.

Many of the small breweries dotting Chico, such as Secret Trail Brewing Co. and Mulberry Station, are in more industrial areas, offering a more casual experience with a markedly different vibe from a college bar. Tasting rooms, such as the Chico Taproom, The Commons Social Empourium, or The Lost Dutchman Taproom, offer a range of local brews. And even while Downtown, you can enjoy a pint at laid-back, more adult locations, such as Nor Cal Brewing Co or the English-inspired Allies Pub, featuring its own British Bulldog Brewery label. The growth in smaller brewers and breweries has also seen the rise of beer alternatives, such as ciders from Lassen Traditional Cider and Cellar Door Cider, as well as glutenfree rice ales and lagers from Eckert Malting and Brewing

Not to be outdone, Butte County’s wine scene is quietly but quickly making a name for itself as well. Thanks to fertile, deep topsoil and high valley heat that brings out the sugars and intensifies the flavor of classic European varietals, growers have found success in the region. Oenophiles can enjoy tastings from about 20 wineries and vineyards across the county, particularly in the agricultural hotbeds in Durham, Oroville, and Bangor, which each boasts an enviable list of wine purveyors and growers. The four-winery Durham Wine District and three-winery Bangor Wine Region make for great tasting day trips, while Oroville offers several independent wineries, such as

Purple Line Urban Winery downtown and Long Creek Winery and Ranch just minutes from Lake Oroville.

Organic wines also feature prominently in the local wine scene, thanks to breezy valley winds that mean growers can use sulfur as a natural fungicide or even none at all. Some of the more renowned organic wineries in the county include Nascere Vineyards and Dog Creek Cellars, located in Durham, and LaRocca Vineyards, all of which have been featured on the Sierra Oro Farm Trail in recent years.

Whatever your preference, make sure to explore Butte County’s breweries and wineries during your visit and discover for yourself the local tastes, chat with the makers themselves, and take a bottle or two home to savor after your trip is over... and to get inspired for your return.