Bill joined the tour in Chico, rode the bus down to San Diego and up through Arizona for the Grand Canyon rafting adventure. From there he hopped a flight to Chicago where he’ll re-connect with the bus tour for another festival on Navy Pier.

Favorite memories so far
We all just sang happy birthday to Vinny Cilurzo [Russian River co-owner] through his wife, Natalie’s phone, and that was pretty special. It shows you the camaraderie and cohesion of this industry where we’re all excited to take a moment for a birthday greeting.

And the crowd in San Diego — it was totally dialed-in to what craft beer should be, and it looks like a bright future from the people I’ve met along the way.

Why this tour is important
For the grandfather of craft brewing, Sierra Nevada, to celebrate their second brewery in this fashion is really substantial because it reflects positively on a lot craft brewing. Essentially, Sierra sort of takes ownership of this movement, rightfully so — and to see all the participating breweries throw in so much effort and enthusiasm, whether its social media, or beer collaborations, just shows me that this thing is growing at a great clip and has no breaks on it whatsoever.