Today would have been longtime Sierra Nevada employee Steve Harrison’s 71st birthday. Unfortunately, Steve passed away in August of 2007. He was Sierra Nevada employee number one, and was responsible for a lot of their early success. I first got to know Steve in the mid-1990s when I was the chain beer buyer at BevMo. He was a terrific person and universally respected and beloved in the industry. Sierra Nevada had to hire two or three people to take over his responsibilities. Join me in raising a glass of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to Steve’s memory today. Here’s to you, Steve.
The last time I saw Steve was at a CSBA meeting in San Diego in 2007, though we talked on the phone a few more times after that because he’d asked me to do some freelance work for him shortly after that CSBA meeting. You can almost make him out in the photo below. He’s in the middle, toward the back, in a blue shirt. He’s in between Tom McCormick (in a green shirt) and a man in a black shirt raising his glass below the giant boulder in the background.
A very young Steve, at right, with Michael Jackson and Lou. (Photo by Tom Dalldorf, from the Celebrator Beer News.)
The Steve Harrison Memorial Arch, which is at the northern entrance to the Steve Harrison Bike Path, which is located not very far from the brewery in Chico. (The photo was taken in 2010 by Jack Peters, and sent to me by Miles Jordan. Thank you, gentlemen.)
Will raise a glass of SN pale ale (a favorite!) to Steve. We lost a dear friend, Steve Kershner, in 2009. He was my wine and beer guru at Supermarket Liquors in Ft. Collins for 30 years, and a golf buddy. Both Steves are sorely missed.
I miss Steve. He was the first person I knew from Sierra Nevada and we had a nice chat whenever we met up. Last time I saw Steve was in an elevator during the 2006 GABF and he was his usual friendly self. Cheers to you Steve. Alec
Cheers Steve !!! RIP
Steve Harrison is still very much missed by all his Chico friends and associates. Here’s a photo of the Steve Harrison Memorial Arch that serves as the northern entrance to the Steve Harrison Bike Path, which is located not very far from the brewery. It was taken in 2010 by Jack Peters who bought his first bottle of Pale Ale in 1980 from Harrison who was also working as a clerk in a local liquor store. Like many of us here, Jack has been a devoted fan of Sierra Nevada beer ever since.
Steve was my friend
My life is richer
“Here Jack try some of this,(Sierra Nevada Pale Ale) my friend Ken is making this beer right here in Chico.”
Boy Houdy !!! “That’s a Great Beer Steve !!!”
That was in 1981, and “The Band Plays On”
Cheers Steve !!!
Watching what a wonderful thing Sierra Nevada is doing this Holiday Season is really moving. Steve was my cousin – our Dads were brothers and the only two siblings. I am sure he would have been overjoyed by the good the brewery is doing.
Steve was my first cousin. His dad and mine were brothers. But I only remember being around Steve once when we visited from Seattle and stayed at their house. I remember that Steve was an exceptionally sweet 7-year-old—immediately lovable. I can see why the posts above describe Steve as they do. Wish we had been able to be closer family. But then, we might have been a bad influence and Steve might not have had the friendship-filled life that he did with the Sierra Nevada crew. We will make a point of going to Chico to see the Steve Harrison Memorial Arch and ride along his path.