The Best Craft Beer Breweries in Butte County

You can’t talk about local beer with­out start­ing at the source. Sier­ra Neva­da Brew­ing Co. is the crown jew­el of Chico’s beer scene, attract­ing beer purists and casu­al drinkers alike.

If you want to see the mas­sive cop­per ket­tles and smell the hops up close, their guid­ed tours are leg­endary (and come with a prop­er tast­ing at the end).

Even if you skip the tour, the sprawl­ing cam­pus is worth a vis­it just to grab din­ner in the tap­room or catch a show in the Big Room.

Before launch­ing British Bull­dog Brew­ery in Chico, the own­er spent his teenage years home­brew­ing back in Eng­land. That her­itage shapes the entire draft list, bridg­ing old-school British styles with mod­ern West Coast tastes.

To try their rich Eng­lish stouts, smooth porters, or crisp Amer­i­can IPAs, head to their restau­rant, The Allies Pub, in the heart of Down­town Chico. It feels exact­ly like a clas­sic neigh­bor­hood pub, mak­ing it the per­fect spot to pair a pint with an authen­tic British meal before explor­ing the rest of downtown.

Jim Eck­ert did­n’t orig­i­nal­ly plan to launch a com­mer­cial malt­ing oper­a­tion; he just want­ed to brew a gen­uine­ly good gluten-free beer for his wife. That per­son­al mis­sion turned into Eck­ert Malt­ing and Brew­ing, a Chico sta­ple that spe­cial­izes entire­ly in rice-based brewing.

By devel­op­ing their own gluten-free malts, they brew dis­tinct, full-fla­vored beers that mean gluten-intol­er­ant drinkers don’t have to miss out on the local craft scene.

Feath­er Falls Brew­ing Com­pa­ny, Oroville’s lone brew­ery, goes big, com­bin­ing award-win­ning beers with a full-ser­vice restau­rant right next to the Feath­er Falls Casi­no & Lodge.

It’s a great spot to grab din­ner and a drink after an after­noon on the lake or before hit­ting the gam­ing floor. The tap list fea­tures reli­able crowd-pleasers like the Soar­ing Eagle Pil­sner and Danc­ing Trees Hefeweizen, along­side a rotat­ing menu of sea­son­al releases.

Built on the his­toric grounds of the old Chico Elec­tric Rail­way, Mul­ber­ry Sta­tion Brew­ing Com­pa­ny relies on a fool­proof com­bi­na­tion: craft beer and wood-fired pizza.

The tap­room has a great, laid-back ener­gy where you can watch your piz­za get tossed while sip­ping any­thing from a crisp light lager to a heavy dark stout. It’s the kind of neigh­bor­hood spot where it’s easy to lose track of an afternoon.

Deeply root­ed in the Ridge com­mu­ni­ty and cur­rent­ly brew­ing out of Chico, Par­adise Brew Werks has a rep­u­ta­tion for push­ing bound­aries with their recipes. So if you love exper­i­men­tal beers, this is your spot — their taps rotate con­stant­ly through every­thing from pas­try stouts and food-inspired sours to heavy dou­ble hazy IPAs.

The tap­room dou­bles as a com­mu­ni­ty liv­ing room, host­ing a busy cal­en­dar of live local music, triv­ia nights, and week­end games.

Ram­ble West Brew­ing is a hyper-local Chico tap­room that feels like a neigh­bor­hood back­yard. While the vibe is laid-back, the cal­en­dar is always packed.

Depend­ing on the night you drop in, you might catch a packed triv­ia night, a live­ly game of bin­go, or even a week­end yoga ses­sion right in the tap­room. It’s an easy place to meet up with a group of friends, grab a bite from what­ev­er local food truck is parked out­side, and unwind.