All of our beers are born and raised in Lake Tahoe, made with 100% Lake Tahoe water. Whether its dark, light, hoppy or sour, we strive for balance, clarity of flavor, and deliciousness in all of our beers. We don’t strive to make the hoppiest IPA, the roastiest stout, or the sourest berlinerweisse. We strive for balance and nuance. Our intention is to make beers that can be enjoyed over several pints with friends and family. Our beer line-up is always rotating and we draw inspiration for new beers from the changing of seasons, cooking, music and brewing history. We hope that our passion for brewing and commitment to quality shines through in the beers we produce.
Our beer is currently available on draft and in cans and bottles in the Lake Tahoe Basin, Truckee, Northern Nevada and Eastern Sierra areas.
Our distribution partners are DBI Beverage in Tahoe/Truckee, Breakthru Beverage in Northern NV, and Snowblind Distribution in Mammoth Lakes.
Our beer is currently available on draft and in cans and bottles in the Lake Tahoe Basin, Truckee, Northern Nevada and Eastern Sierra areas.
Our distribution partners are DBI Beverage in Tahoe/Truckee, Breakthru Beverage in Northern NV, and Snowblind Distribution in Mammoth Lakes.
CORE BEERS
PALE ALECitrusy, Tropical, Refreshing
Loads of citra, eldorado and cascade hops are carefully layered over a lightly toasty malt backbone to create a highly aromatic and crushable pale ale. ABV: 5.5% | IBU: 40 Malt: US Pale, English Pale, Oats, Caramunich Hops: Citra, Eldorado, Cascade, Chinook Yeast: Alibi Ale Yeast Water: Pure Lake Tahoe Water Availability: year-round draft and 4-pk 16oz cans |
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SAISON
Snappy, Lemony, Earthy
Complex, highly refreshing and very approachable. Our saison evokes flavors of lemon, pear and sourdough bread with a crisp, peppery finish. ABV: 5.0% | IBU: 30 Malt: Pilsner, Vienna, Wheat, Rye, Oats Hops: Magnum, Tettnang, Crystal, Sterling Yeast: Alibi Saison Yeast Water: Pure Lake Tahoe Water Availability: year-round draft; 4-pk 16oz cans April-September |
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PORTER
Toasty, Chocolaty, Nutty
Dark but not too roasty, rich but not too heavy, this is our pursuit of a perfectly balanced English-style porter. ABV: 6.0% | IBU: 20 Malt: English Pale, Dark Crystal, Chocolate, Brown Hops: Magnum, Santiam Yeast: Alibi Ale Yeast Water: Pure Lake Tahoe Water Availability: year-round draft; 4-pk 16oz cans October-March |
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LIMITED RELEASE Seasonals
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COCONUT WHITE IPA
At Alibi, we have a thing for coconut. We love it. Maybe too much. Coconut White IPA is a tropical-leaning IPA loaded with wheat and oats, fermented with a blend of our house ale yeast and a unique witbier strain that imparts banana-like esters and gives the beer a refreshingly dry finish. The beer is then conditioned with shredded coconut post-fermentation. “Tastes like vacation”. “Official beer of the Swedish Bikini Team”. “Pina colada beer”. These are some of the comments we have gotten from customers and staff. The interplay between the tropical hops and creamy coconut is divine. "vacation in a bottle" pretty much sums up this beer. ABV: 6.0% | IBU: 50 Malt: Pilsner, Wheat, Oats Hops: Eldorado, Citra, Azacca, Mosaic Yeast: Alibi House Yeast and Witbier Yeast Water: Pure Lake Tahoe Water Availability: draft and bottles released July 2017 |
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PLUM-COT BERLINERWEISSE
Plum-Cot Berlinerweisse is one of our all-time taproom favorites that has made its way into limited-release cans the past two summers. Its a kettle-soured tart wheat beer with loads of plum and apricot puree, and its friggin delicious.
GOLD MEDAL, 2016 CANFEST ABV: 4.5% | IBU: 5 Malt: Pilsner, Wheat Hops: Belma Yeast: Lactobacillus Blend, Alibi Ale Yeast Water: Pure Lake Tahoe Water Availability: draft and 16oz cans, mid-summer |
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DARK SAISON
Cocoa, Burnt Raisin, White Pepper Infinitely complex yet light on the palette, our Dark Saison is a local favorite in our taproom during the snowy months. Notes of dark chocolate and peppercorn are woven into this beer from the interplay between our expressive Saison yeast and our favorite malts, culminating in a dry and warming finish. Try pairing this beer with goat cheese, seared pork belly, or black forest cake. GOLD MEDAL, 2017 BEST OF CRAFT BEER AWARDS ABV: 8.0% | IBU: 25 Malt: Vienna, Pilsner, Rye, Special B, Carafa Special Hops: Magnum, Saaz Yeast: Alibi Saison Yeast Water: Pure Lake Tahoe Water Availability: draft and bottles, November-April |
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BOYSENBERRY BERLINERWEISSE
Tart, Jammy, Purple Our Boysenberry Berlinerweisse is a tart, refreshing German-style ale that goes through two different fermentations to bring forward bright acidity and a light body. Enjoy the dark berry flavors and deep complexity in this berry-driven sessionable sour. Try pairing this beer with bacon-wrapped dates or use it in place of a sorbet as an aperitif! SILVER MEDAL, 2017 BEST OF CRAFT BEER AWARDS ABV: 4.5% | IBU: 5 Malt: Pilsner, Wheat Hops: Belma Yeast: Lactobacillus Blend, Alibi Ale Yeast Water: Pure Lake Tahoe Water Fruit: Boysenberry Puree Availability: draft and bottles, October-April |
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NITRO CONTRADICTION - Golden Mocha "Stout"
Contradiction is a beer with an identity crisis. Looks like a pale ale, drinks like a stout. It's a golden ale brewed with oats and lactose that's conditioned with loads of coffee, cocoa nibs and vanilla beans. Add some liquid nitrogen magic during canning and the result is a super creamy, golden-colored summertime "stout" that's unlike any beer you've ever tasted! ABV: 6.0% | IBU: 15 Malt: Golden Promise, Oats, Carafoam, Lactose Hops: Magnum Yeast: Alibi Ale Yeast Water: Pure Lake Tahoe Water Availability: draft and 16oz cans, 1-2x per year |
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Limited Release Fancy Stuff
RUBUS NOCTURNEOur bourbon barrel-aged dark sour with raspberries is a single-batch winter offering with notes of chocolate-covered tart raspberries, a bit of vanilla from the bourbon barrel aging, and a pleasant acidity that accentuates the fruit and continues inviting you back, sip after sip. Our first bottle-conditioned release! 8.0% ABV. Bottles released December 2016. 136 cases produced.
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SINGLE BARREL DARK SAISON
This very special beer is our beloved dark saison aged in a single cabernet sauvignon wine barrel for 21 months with two strains of brettanomyces. This barrel tasted so good we couldn't bring ourselves to blend it with others, and we decided to showcase it's intense barrel character in a very small run of bottles. We get notes of tart black cherries, leather, tobacco, toasted oak, a hint of brett funk, and surprisingly minimal oxidative character for being in a barrel for nearly 2 years! 9.0% abv. 30 cases produced. Taproom-only release.
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ASCENSION 1677
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Ascension 1677 is our bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout. The year 1677 is the first known use of the word stout in reference to beer, and Imperial Stout is the culmination of this style's ascension to modern day decadence. Our version has a luscious chocolaty decadence that's unlike anything we've created to date. It's impenetrably black with deep flavors of roasty espresso, flourless chocolate cake, toffee, oaky vanilla, and a warming bourbon booziness. 10% abv. Bottles released February 2016. 150 cases produced.
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CRESCENDO #2
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Crescendo #2 is the second release of our wine barrel-aged tart saison that we blend with a different fruit each year. This year we moved the beer from wine barrels into a tank with 500 lbs of kiwis and 60 gallons of fresh-pressed Chardonnay grape must. After fermentation was complete, we bottle-conditioned the beer to maturation. The result is a beer with seemingly more in common with white wine and cider than beer. Its got loads of funky brett and wine barrel and character in the nose, with a soft yet bright acidity reminiscent of a dry/tart apple cider. This beer is dangerously easy to drink for a barrel-aged sour. Sip slowly and reflect on the crescendos in your own life. 6.3% abv. Bottles released May 2017. 150 cases produced.
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FARMHOUSE RESERVE
Farmhouse Reserve is a labor of love. It's our take on the rustic saisons of old. We ferment this beer in an open-top oak fermenter with our house mixed culture of yeast and bacteria (brett/lacto/saison), then allow it to finish conditioning in stainless steel. When the beer gives us the nod, we give it a light dry hop of Crystal and Sterling hops from our friends at Indie Hops in Oregon. We then bottle-condition it to achieve an effervescent and pillowy saison that is as complex as it is refreshing. 5.0% abv. 96 cases produced. Released August 2017. |
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Other Beers We Have Made, and Might Make Again...
Dia De Los Romos Mole Stout (7.0%): brewed every November for co-owner Rich Romo's birthday, this rich oatmeal stout is conditioned with a range of chiles, cocoa nibs and Latin spices to create a super flavorful Mole-inspired stout with just a kiss of heat.
Farmhouse Blanc (4.3%): brewed with loads of oats, fermented in oak with brett and lacto, then dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc, resulting in a medium bodied, lightly tart and highly crushable rustic ale with bright flavors of lemon meringue and white wine grapes.
Altbier (5.5%): traditional German amber. We try not to fuck with tradition here. It's fermented cool and has a firm yet balanced bitterness from German hops.
IRA (5.8%): our India Red Ale makes regular appearances in our taproom. The hops are solidly on the dank side of the flavor spectrum, coupled with a firm bitterness and a bittersweet chocolate finish.
Schwarzbier (5.0%): German-style black lager. Flavors of cocoa, coffee, creamy body, clean finish. We love this beer and brew it as often as we can during the cooler months. SILVER MEDAL, 2017 BEST OF CRAFT BEER AWARDS
Abstract Truth #1 (9.5%): after our dark saison emerged from a year-long nap with two types of brettanomyces in a variety of red wine barrels, we blended and conditioned the beer with tart cherry puree. The resulting beer had big flavors of chocolate-covered cherries, burnt raisins, oak tannin, a nice round acidity, bittersweet cocoa in the finish, and a bit of barnyard-y wild yeast aroma.
Crescendo #1 (6.5%): our tart saison aged in wine barrels (red and white) for 14 months with our house cocktail of brettanomyces and lactobacillus, then blended and conditioned with 42 lbs per barrel of peach and apricot puree. Our patience was rewarded with a crescendo of amazing flavors.
Oatmeal Stout (7.0%): full-on stout brewed with several types of oats for a pint of creamy, chocolately deliciousness.
Märzen (5.3%): traditional German-style amber lager. Layers of bready/toasty malt, lightly spicy noble hops, very clean finish.
Coconut Brown (5.5%): rich, toasty brown ale with loads of coconut. Often served on nitro.
Kölsch (4.8% abv): cool-fermented to be light and crisp and hopped with 100% German-grown Mandarina Bavaria hops. The original session beer.
Rustic Rye (6.0%): a complex and pintable amber-colored rye beer finished with toasted oak cubes. Flavors of vanilla, toasted bread and golden raisins. Typically served on nitro.
Doppelbock (8.0%): we've only made this strong German lager once. 2 months of cold conditioning yielded layers of toasty malt, rich toffee, leather and a smooth but warming alcohol note.
Saison Nouveau (6.5%): rotating hoppy saison using new-ish tropical hop varieties that we think will play well with our house saison yeast.
Pilsner (4.5-5%): we love drinking crisp hoppy pilsners, and we tend to make them during spring and fall when our production schedule lightens up and we can give them adequate time to cold-condition. Most recent batch was hopped with Hallertau Blanc.
Rauchbier (6.0%): a savory German amber lager made with beechwood-smoked malt. Sometimes we condition a keg or two with real bacon.
Scotch Ale (9.5%): rich, raisiny and boozy, our scotch ale is the ultimate winter warmer.
IPA (6-7%): we always keep rotating IPAs on draft in our taprooms and the recipes change nearly every batch. This allows us complete freedom to experiment with a range of hops, malt bills and fermentation techniques in our pursuit of the ultimate hoppy deliciousness.
Double IPA (8.5%): brewed every few months, each batch is different but always loaded with over-the-top hop aroma and a nice round bitterness.
Triple IPA (10.5%): brewed for our 1st anniversary, this beer did not disappoint. Everything a triple IPA should be. It will be back. Oh yes, it will be back.
White IPA (6.0%): our go-to hoppy beer in the summer, it's fermented with a blend of our house ale and saison yeasts, producing a dry and fruit-forward IPA. Sometimes we condition this beer on shaved coconut for a creamy, tropical twist.
Blonde (5.8%): we elevate this often-boring style using modest doses of juicy IPA hops in the whirlpool, creating tropical-lime aromas with minimal bitterness.
Pumpkin Pie Bier (5.4%): A malty, lactose-infused amber ale is first fermented cool with our German ale yeast, then totally transformed by conditioning it with loads of pumpkin puree, graham crackers, vanilla beans and just a touch of classic spices. The result is liquid pumpkin pie bliss.
Watermelon Gose (3.7%): lightly tart and lightly salty, balance and drinkability is our goal with this beer. We've made several batches of gose, and this last batch conditioned with an entire pallet of fresh watermelon, creating a transcendently refreshing treat.
Dry Irish Stout (5.0%): roasty meets creamy, we try to honor tradition while taking this beer in a uniquely Alibi direction every St. Patrick's Day.
Imperial Stout (9-10%): big and chewy with bold flavors of fudge, espresso, raisins and tobacco. The bourbon barrel-aged version has become known as Ascension 1677.
Strawberry Funkmobile (5%): oak-fermented, mixed-culture saison conditioned with loads of organic strawberries. Often described as "strawberry shortcake on sourdough bread". Produced every year around the 4th of July.
oakTUBERfest (7.5%): our oak-fermented sour brown conditioned on roasted sweet potatoes and winter squash. Look for it in early fall.
Berliner Reserve (4-5%): kettle soured then fermented in our open-top oak tank with brettanomyces, this Berlinerweisse has a bright acidity and complex flavors of lemon and sourdough bread.
Bourbon Barrel-Aged Tripel (9%): collaboration with our friends at IMBiB Custom Brews. Notes of poached pears, candied apples, and vanilla.
Various Oak-Fermented Sours...right after we opened we bought a 300 gallon open fermenter made of un-toasted, un-charred American white oak. We've sent a variety of wort into this open-air vessel with brettanomyces (wild yeast), lactobacillus (bacteria) and whatever other local airborne micro-flora have chosen to inhabit it. We continue to ferment a variety of beers in this vessel - from light rustic saisons to rich sour browns - and each new beer allows us to get to know its personality and develop a house character in our wild/sour beers that is uniquely our own. Sometimes we serve them straight, sometimes we blend them, sometimes we transfer them to wine barrels for long naps. Swing by either of our taprooms to taste our latest oak-fermented creation and let us know what you think.
Farmhouse Blanc (4.3%): brewed with loads of oats, fermented in oak with brett and lacto, then dry-hopped with Hallertau Blanc, resulting in a medium bodied, lightly tart and highly crushable rustic ale with bright flavors of lemon meringue and white wine grapes.
Altbier (5.5%): traditional German amber. We try not to fuck with tradition here. It's fermented cool and has a firm yet balanced bitterness from German hops.
IRA (5.8%): our India Red Ale makes regular appearances in our taproom. The hops are solidly on the dank side of the flavor spectrum, coupled with a firm bitterness and a bittersweet chocolate finish.
Schwarzbier (5.0%): German-style black lager. Flavors of cocoa, coffee, creamy body, clean finish. We love this beer and brew it as often as we can during the cooler months. SILVER MEDAL, 2017 BEST OF CRAFT BEER AWARDS
Abstract Truth #1 (9.5%): after our dark saison emerged from a year-long nap with two types of brettanomyces in a variety of red wine barrels, we blended and conditioned the beer with tart cherry puree. The resulting beer had big flavors of chocolate-covered cherries, burnt raisins, oak tannin, a nice round acidity, bittersweet cocoa in the finish, and a bit of barnyard-y wild yeast aroma.
Crescendo #1 (6.5%): our tart saison aged in wine barrels (red and white) for 14 months with our house cocktail of brettanomyces and lactobacillus, then blended and conditioned with 42 lbs per barrel of peach and apricot puree. Our patience was rewarded with a crescendo of amazing flavors.
Oatmeal Stout (7.0%): full-on stout brewed with several types of oats for a pint of creamy, chocolately deliciousness.
Märzen (5.3%): traditional German-style amber lager. Layers of bready/toasty malt, lightly spicy noble hops, very clean finish.
Coconut Brown (5.5%): rich, toasty brown ale with loads of coconut. Often served on nitro.
Kölsch (4.8% abv): cool-fermented to be light and crisp and hopped with 100% German-grown Mandarina Bavaria hops. The original session beer.
Rustic Rye (6.0%): a complex and pintable amber-colored rye beer finished with toasted oak cubes. Flavors of vanilla, toasted bread and golden raisins. Typically served on nitro.
Doppelbock (8.0%): we've only made this strong German lager once. 2 months of cold conditioning yielded layers of toasty malt, rich toffee, leather and a smooth but warming alcohol note.
Saison Nouveau (6.5%): rotating hoppy saison using new-ish tropical hop varieties that we think will play well with our house saison yeast.
Pilsner (4.5-5%): we love drinking crisp hoppy pilsners, and we tend to make them during spring and fall when our production schedule lightens up and we can give them adequate time to cold-condition. Most recent batch was hopped with Hallertau Blanc.
Rauchbier (6.0%): a savory German amber lager made with beechwood-smoked malt. Sometimes we condition a keg or two with real bacon.
Scotch Ale (9.5%): rich, raisiny and boozy, our scotch ale is the ultimate winter warmer.
IPA (6-7%): we always keep rotating IPAs on draft in our taprooms and the recipes change nearly every batch. This allows us complete freedom to experiment with a range of hops, malt bills and fermentation techniques in our pursuit of the ultimate hoppy deliciousness.
Double IPA (8.5%): brewed every few months, each batch is different but always loaded with over-the-top hop aroma and a nice round bitterness.
Triple IPA (10.5%): brewed for our 1st anniversary, this beer did not disappoint. Everything a triple IPA should be. It will be back. Oh yes, it will be back.
White IPA (6.0%): our go-to hoppy beer in the summer, it's fermented with a blend of our house ale and saison yeasts, producing a dry and fruit-forward IPA. Sometimes we condition this beer on shaved coconut for a creamy, tropical twist.
Blonde (5.8%): we elevate this often-boring style using modest doses of juicy IPA hops in the whirlpool, creating tropical-lime aromas with minimal bitterness.
Pumpkin Pie Bier (5.4%): A malty, lactose-infused amber ale is first fermented cool with our German ale yeast, then totally transformed by conditioning it with loads of pumpkin puree, graham crackers, vanilla beans and just a touch of classic spices. The result is liquid pumpkin pie bliss.
Watermelon Gose (3.7%): lightly tart and lightly salty, balance and drinkability is our goal with this beer. We've made several batches of gose, and this last batch conditioned with an entire pallet of fresh watermelon, creating a transcendently refreshing treat.
Dry Irish Stout (5.0%): roasty meets creamy, we try to honor tradition while taking this beer in a uniquely Alibi direction every St. Patrick's Day.
Imperial Stout (9-10%): big and chewy with bold flavors of fudge, espresso, raisins and tobacco. The bourbon barrel-aged version has become known as Ascension 1677.
Strawberry Funkmobile (5%): oak-fermented, mixed-culture saison conditioned with loads of organic strawberries. Often described as "strawberry shortcake on sourdough bread". Produced every year around the 4th of July.
oakTUBERfest (7.5%): our oak-fermented sour brown conditioned on roasted sweet potatoes and winter squash. Look for it in early fall.
Berliner Reserve (4-5%): kettle soured then fermented in our open-top oak tank with brettanomyces, this Berlinerweisse has a bright acidity and complex flavors of lemon and sourdough bread.
Bourbon Barrel-Aged Tripel (9%): collaboration with our friends at IMBiB Custom Brews. Notes of poached pears, candied apples, and vanilla.
Various Oak-Fermented Sours...right after we opened we bought a 300 gallon open fermenter made of un-toasted, un-charred American white oak. We've sent a variety of wort into this open-air vessel with brettanomyces (wild yeast), lactobacillus (bacteria) and whatever other local airborne micro-flora have chosen to inhabit it. We continue to ferment a variety of beers in this vessel - from light rustic saisons to rich sour browns - and each new beer allows us to get to know its personality and develop a house character in our wild/sour beers that is uniquely our own. Sometimes we serve them straight, sometimes we blend them, sometimes we transfer them to wine barrels for long naps. Swing by either of our taprooms to taste our latest oak-fermented creation and let us know what you think.
