Chris Miller, Head Brewer at Snipes Mountain Brewing in Sunnyside, Washington has accepted a position with a new brewery in California. Over the years Chris has earned a reputation in the industry for his brewing skills. He is a well-known and much-loved member of the Washington brewing community and he will be sorely missed, but he’s moving on and taking advantage of a great opportunity.
For the past five months Chris has been training Chad Roberts, who will now take over at Snipes Mountain. In a phone call earlier today Chris told me that he has full confidence in Chad’s ability to carry on in his place.
Chris Miller has accepted an offer to open a new brewery—Berryessa Brewing Company in Winters, California. He will soon be moving south and building a brand new brewery.
It was not an easy decision for a deeply rooted Washingtonian to make. Chris told me that it was not only hard to leave Washington, but hard to leave Snipes Mountain Brewing. He told me that he is very thankful for his time at Snipes Mountain, and leaves with nothing but great memories, but he feels like he really must take advantage of this opportunity.
Where, exactly, is Chris Miller going?
The town of Winters, California is located between Sacramento and Napa. It is also very near Davis, which means that Chris should have no trouble finding people willing to intern at his new brewery: the University of California at Davis is home to one of the finest brewing sciences schools in the country, if not the world. The new brewery will be related in name, and more, to the Barryessa Gap Vineyards.
We wish Chris Miller all the best. We will miss him, but we are also very happy for him.