Paul S’s Beer Club UYE at High Sierra Brewing Company

This wasn’t an Elite event? It sure seemed like one.
We got there early and had a head start on the great beer offerings. I am now totally a fan of the Buzzed Bee Honey Ale.
The rest of the Unilocal crowd joined us and were all soon happily imbibing the local brew. We were then escorted into the brewery room for our private drinking and dining experience where our wonderful server (Chelly?) made sure we got what we wanted when we wanted it. We were treated by Chris, the food and beverage manager for Baldini’s, to an overview of the beer making process and what makes their beer special. We were also able to order from the new menu for our dining options. A visit from Julian, the executive chef, was another extra event perk.
The entire event was well done and we were attended to like royalty.
Thanks so much Paul for putting this all together. We will most certainly come back.

How cool to have an event in the actual brewing room! What an awesome idea.
We had a large table set up for us inside the brewery itself and Chris, the Food & Services Director explained to us their process. After some beer education we were introduced to our server for the evening and orders were taken. I had the Sierra Salad. It was YUMMY! It was a huge salad with strawberries, dried cranberries, candied pecans and a vinaigrette. I had the homemade cream soda for my drink. WOW! It was seriously the best cream soda I have ever had. And of course, when you are at a brewery you need to have a little beer. I tried the Feather Lite Lager. It was super light and crisp and very enjoyable. At the end of the evening the chef came out to our table to see how we enjoyed our dinner and talked to everyone.
Thanks Paul! It was a very cool evening.

Oh how I have missed Unilocal events! We haven’t been able to attend any events for awhile so this was the perfect one to jump back into. Every month we miss Paul’s event because of scheduling but I am so happy we were able to make this one!
We got there a few minutes late so imagine our surprise when the hostess took us to the actual brewery instead of the restaurant! SO COOL, we felt like total VIPS! We had not had the chance to visit High Sierra Brewing yet and now that we have I know we will be back!
Our server was so patient and friendly making sure that we all knew about the different aspects of them menu and educated us non-​beer drinkers about their different brews. Her service and attitude throughout the whole evening was exceptional. She bent over backwards to make everyone happy and seemed to be genuinely happy we were there. When we come back we will definitely request her section.
Chris the Food and Services director told us all about the restaurant, the changes they were making and about the brewing process. It was so interesting to hear about their goals and vision and about making sure they were giving the community of Sparks a restaurant/​brewery to be proud of!
Loving small plates, I ordered the sausage sampler and a cup of the beef barley stew. Hubby had the fish and chips. Our food was served very quickly (especially when you consider our group was about 14 – 16 people) and it was superbly presented. I loved the soup, it was full of flavor, probably one of the best soups I have had in a long time. The sausage sampler featured 3 different sausages (careful one brings the heat) and was delicious! The only thing I would add would be a mustard or sauce sampler to go with. One of the other Unilocalers asked for a mustard and graciously shared (thanks Dale and Erika) and it made the dish perfect.
Hubby’s fish and chips looked delicious and perfectly prepared. Because he is not a big beer drinker he asked for 2 sampler flights to try. Yvette did a great job recommending them and he tried the honey and the apricot… OMG! I only usually like beer in the summer on a hot day BUT these were delicious. The apricot was my favorite but only beat out the honey by a smidge. I will definitely be trying more of their beers! The samplers were perfect for the hubby at 1.75 it gave him the chance to try 2 beers and to feel comfortable driving afterwards!
Paul really did a great job putting together such a great event. I was a perfect venue and so nice to see friends and meet new ones! We are definitely putting this event onto our monthly calendar… thanks Paul! As far as the venue we will be going back and taking the bottomless beast teenage boy with us! After seeing the HUGE «AWFUL AWFUL burger» another Unilocaler ordered… we think it might actually fill him up. Thanks for taking such great care of us High Sierra!

UYEs are always great in my book.
Always five stars for the company because Unilocalers won’t leave you all by you lonesome in a corner. Trust me, I’ve tried. Reno has such a friendly bunch!
How many of you can you say that you’ve dined inside a brewery? No, I’m not talking about the restaurant part. The actual part of the business itself where they have their equipment set-​up and make the beer. Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that so it was a welcome surprise when we were ushered from the bar area to our private table.
I have to compliment Yvette in the bar. She eagerly explained to us what they have on tap and made recommendations based on beers that we were familiar with. I really liked the apricot!
They were in the middle of a menu change so I debated whether to get the Big Sur, something you can’t order as of today 01/​16/​2015 or the Awful, Awful that my NorCal friends have been talking about since their Reno visit in April last year. I decided on the Awful, Awful and it was awfully salty :(I really didn’t want to send it back but after a couple of bites trying to figure out what was the source of all the salt, I’ve determined it was the patty and asked for a replacement. The great news is the replacement was much better and Chris even explained about the Awful, Awful and how it’s made to a standard and the salty one that I got was not the norm.
I wish I had room for dessert because that Lil Boy Blue sounded really tempting, specially the way our server described it. So Unilocalers, how about a dessert UYE next time?
Thanks Paul S for organizing this event and I am so glad I finally got the chance to attend my first Beer Club UYE yay!

Paul has absolutely raised the bar for the UYE!!! If I wouldn’t have know better I would have thought the was an ELITE event!
We all met at the bar and were attended to straight away by two of the bartenders and Chris the Food & Service Director. The beers and the happy hour deals were explained and each of us ordered something to drink. The service was excellent at the bar, but there was a surprise in store. Paul had connected with Chris to set up a private banquet for us in the brewery. I mean WOW! (Well done Paul!)
We all take our drinks into the brewery, escorted by Chris, sit down, and Chris begins to tell us about the brewing process, the new menu, and what makes High Sierra great. The personal attention was impressive and his knowledge and pride in the brewing craft and the dining experience was excellent!
Then we all ordered dinner. Erica and I tried the sausage sampler, fish and chips, and a margherita pizza. The sausage sampler was good and when they brought us out some stone ground mustard it was even better. Fish and chips were well seasoned and I liked the tarter sauce that came with them. The pizza was a hit also. Thin crust, plenty of basil and little cherry tomatoes made it something I would have again in a heartbeat! Needless to say we could not eat it all and had to take the bulk of the pizza and fries from the fish and chips home.
We tried their OMG IPA and thought it was well balanced and not over hopped. It did not have a huge citrus note, but did have a good finish that left you wanting more.
Paul you truly arranged an excellent UYE and it was a joy to have a night out where everything was well planned, executed, and thoroughly enjoyed. You may have missed your calling (future event planner in the making???). Thanks and we are looking for your next UYE. Cheers!

January 15, 2014 Thursday — 5:30 PM Drinks & Dinner
2 adults & and a bunch of Unilocalers & non-​Yelpers
Atmosphere — 5 stars
Food –5 stars
Service — 5 stars
Background — My first time here as the place just opened less than a month ago. This brewery was decided on during the last UYE Beer Club before it was even open.
Atmosphere — We all meet up at the bar and got our beer on and some apps. It was happy hour or what they call Beer 30. Either way it was a good deal. After a bit we moved into the brewery. Not a formal sitting area inside the restaurant but inside the room where the magic happens. They set up a table near the mesh kettle. The brewing area is very clean; there was no smell of old beer being spilt on the floor being transferred from one vessel to another.
Food
Drinks — A wide selection of beers to choose from. Yvette was awesome with helping the new beer drinkers explore a variety of beers in little sample glasses. They also had three taps for guest breweries and I noticed several other beers in bottles from other brewers.
My Meal
Main Course — I had a flatbread steak wrap. Anytime you get steak in a wrap or sandwich your concern is that it will be tough and unable to bite threw it. Not an issue, nice and tender and seasoned well. Sauce was nice and tangy and the bread was solid means to bring it all together. Warning you may have leakage so careful where you aim the bottom of the wrap.
Service — I made the call to set up the event. Minutes later I had another call to confirm in greater details on what is needed for the group. Next day another call making sure I was taken care. Looking good so far! Then we get there and it exceeds my expectations. Love to thank Yvette for her wonderful help behind the bar. And Chris for setting up the brewing area for us, giving us the «stewardess» tour of the brewery from where we sat. Yeah it was that easy of a tour as we were in the heart of it all. Later Chris brought out Julian the executive chef. We got the history of the awful awful and their step 10 process that they need to follow and their connection with the other places that service them in town.
Future — Love to come back and try their desserts.

Great event. It was well organized, and the personal welcome to the brewery and oral tour and explanation of the brewing process was fascinating. I appreciated the personal attention from the staff and management and look forward to repeat visits. Great event Paul.