Sierra Nevada - Bigfoot (2012)

Here's a brew that many of you will recognize!  Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot has not only been a perennial offering, but also has excellent availability during the end of the summer months.  Now, it's been a while since I purchased this, but I don't remember it costing an arm or a leg either.  In fact, I bought a second six pack of it this season.  That might not mean much to you, but to a guy that's trying to taste as many different beers as possible that's another 6 times that I am guaranteeing myself that I will drink this beer in addition to the 6 I already purchased.  Guess I better start emptying this sixer.  Let's pour!

Aroma 10/12

Dry, hoppy aromas rush from the bottle as soon as the cap is lifted, however the beer as a whole is much more balanced.  Rich caramel malts combine with resinous, peppery hops and a faded citrus that still contains more than a hint of grapefruit and lemon.  Some raw sugar arrives late to compliment the caramel and as the beer opens in the glass a darker, bittersweet aroma, like that of molasses, steps forward as well leaving the beer with a deliciously sweet malt emphasis.  There is a slight alcohol warmth that tries to remain invisible, but 9.6% ABV in a bottle can only stay hidden for so long.

Appearance 3/3

This beer pours an amalgamation of dark autumnal colors.  It initially appears as a shade just this side of red from the dying leaves that still crowd some branches.  It even looks as opaque as some of those dead leaves, but when held to light a gorgeous sunset red fills the bottom of the glass and the remainder lightens to a handsome shade of bright sienna.  The head rests gently on top of this brew and is a light beige color.  Top marks for size, retention, texture, and lacing.

Flavor 19/20

The first impressions from this beer are two very hearty handshakes from hoppy bitterness and that raw sugary, caramel malt.  At first, you can't tell which one wants to meet you more, but eventually the bitter flavors of the hops take over and maintain the style's accuracy.  The backbone involves a fading sweetness and a proportionally increasing resin.  An interesting ray of sugary lemon pokes through that bitter, but its appearance is as brief as it is unmistakable.  Both the sweet and bitter remain strong when holding the beer in the mouth, though a quick slurp allows the alcohol to easily shout over the top of both of them.  The finish is triumphantly resinous and the warmth finally reveals itself to the drinker.  The bitter quickly turns to that of something charred (and maybe a bit peppery) and lingers on the back of the tongue.  It should come as no surprise that the ABV and the bitter leave the mouth quite dry.

Mouthfeel 5/5

Anything that hides alcohol this well deserves some credit.  You almost won't find the warmth in this brew except in the finish and easily with a wine tasters' slurp.  However, this is not the only characteristic worth mentioning.  The body and carbonation go wonderfully together and are perfect for the style.  All the malts used make for a silky smooth body, but not at the expense of carbonation.  The carbonation is present, but diminished so as not to distract from the "big beer" body style.  It also gives the lightest foaming action that adds even more to the creamy mouthfeel, while also keeping it from feeling syrupy.

Overall Impression 9/10

From my limited experience with the barleywine style, this seems to me to be an excellent example.  The colors are beautiful, the aroma very nice albeit diminished by age, the flavor profile is spot on with plentiful malts and a stronger bitter, and the mouthfeel is above and beyond.  Had this been fresh, I can only imagine that the hops would have presented yet another layer of complexity to this brew and possibly have added to its sweetness.

Total 46/50

I have no idea why I don't hear more in the craft beer universe about this brew being vertically tasted.  To me it seems like an excellent candidate: relatively inexpensive, high ABV, annual release, readily available, and extremely tasty!  Then again, I suppose I don't hear much about vertical tastings at all let alone for this brew.  This is a great beer for all the reasons that would make it a great vertical taster and because of its thick body, sweet and bitter balance, and that oh-so-delicate foaming action.  There's no reason not to pick up this beer.  For those not yet accustomed to bitter or hoppy beers, this may be a bit of a stretch for you as the flavors in this are big.  However, I will say that it's also well balanced.  So for those looking for big, tasty beers who want something more than a hop bomb, or are looking to venture into hop bombs in the near future, this is definitely a beer you'll want to check out.

Sierra Nevada - Hoptimum (2012)

I started writing this review a while ago. So far, I've had two bottles of my Sierra Nevada Hoptimum and each bottle has been completely different. They were each good in their own right; the first seemed like a resinous wallop and the second was a fruit smorgasbord. Needless to say, the hops are mellowing and their different characteristics are really coming through as of late, making this beer much more than a hop bomb. That was around 2 weeks ago, so I'm really anxious to see what condition these hops are in now. But first, I have a question... It says on the label that it is a "Whole cone Imperial IPA" and I don't know what that means. I assume, it's when they add the "whole cone" or hop blossom to the boil (or thereafter if dry hopping). However, what I don't know is if this is not standard practice already. Or is this just to differentiate between brewers that might instead use hop pellets, just the petals, or extracts? If any of your homebrewing experts wish to speak up in the comments, I'm all ears. Time to get this party started. Let's pour!

Aroma 11/12
When I first poured this beer, it was too cold and I was worried that I had waited too long to review it and that as a consequence the hops had lost the potency of their delicious fruity, nectar-saturated aromas. It began with a hint of wet hey, but rapidly showed the standard pine/grapefruit. The fruits seemed diminished and mixed with a grassy note. At this point, I was mostly getting apple and white grape-type fruits. Sweet, but not particularly strong. Then the beer began to warm and things really started going. The pine aromas took off like a shot and tried to hide an apricot scent behind them. Wait another few minutes and that apricot aroma seems to have found its own voice and morphed into a more tropical version of itself. This pine/tropical apricot (nectarine?) combination carries the majority of the aroma the rest of the way through the beer. There is a subtle spice that loiters in the background and a much less subtle alcohol burn that has been detectable the entire time. Halfway through the bottle the beer's sugary malts become less bashful and give the drinker the impression that this beer is going to be a sticky one.


Appearance 3/3
The beer produces a fairly low amount of head even after an aggressive pour.  What head does result is an attractive rusty pastel color, creamy in appearance, and light in texture.  The brew's color is any of those shades found in a cooked squash with some darker coppers and ambers thrown in for good measure.  There's some good lacing left on my glass and this pleases me because I don't remember the last time that happened in a review.  Good Karma points are also awarded for having some great bottle art.

Flavor 17/20
This beer blitzkriegs the tongue! Before you've barely had a chance to recognize the thick caramel and almost brown sugar sweetness, the beer shifts into high gear and puts a medicinal bitter on the back of your palate. Seriously. As in, "I think a tiny, vengeful gnome is gleefully dissolving an aspirin on my tongue" type of bitter. It is sharp and unrelenting. The earlier sweetness could be considered balancing if it remained in the mouth after the hops spread their tremendous, terrible wings. It does become a little easier to imagine a bit of balance toward the middle of the bottle once the bitter has lost a bit of its sting, but make no mistake about it - this beer is called Hoptimum, not Maltimum, for a reason. Wow! What a big, bitter bastard. The finish is, of course, more bitter but on quicker swallows does allow the sugary malts to timidly make direct eye contact with you from time to time. If it asks nicely. This is also where most of the warmth can be found. It's far from a burn, but it's not a secret either. The aftertaste is remarkably clean considering how potent the earlier flavors were. The only lingering flavor is that of the aspirin. I blame the gnome.

Mouthfeel 5/5
From the very first sip, this beer is thick and threatens to coat your tongue with each flavor it possesses.  The carbonation is all but absent.  However, a light swish in the mouth reveals that not only is it present, but it helps add a silky smooth texture.  A large body to match a large flavor and in a good way.  As mentioned earlier the alcohol is allowed to present itself at a few points in the brew and each time it is a compliment to the existing powerhouse on display.  This is how big beers should be made.

Overall Impression 8/10
Big body.  Big flavor.  Almost constantly changing aroma.  This beer is definitely a sipper and perhaps not one you'd want to have every day.  Hop heads will love it, balance-seekers... not so much.  If one of your friends is talking about really getting into hoppy beers, you could test their mettle with this brew.  Even experienced IBU imbibers know that this beer is not to be trifled with.

Total 44/50
With Sierra Nevada's Hoptimum, you get what you see.  A beer for Hopheads that never promises to be anything else.  I mean, literally!  Look at the label art!  I myself would normally like to see more balance in a brew, but much like Green Flash's Palate Wrecker, every once in a while you need something unapologetically bitter and strong.  This definitely fits the bill.  Because it knows what it wants to be, I can't and won't deduct points for lack of balance.  However, I have gotten two different experiences out of the three bottles that I've had.  Two were very much like the beer found in this review: big, hoppy, and bitter.  The odd bottle in the middle seemed much more content to let the thick tropical fruit smells waft forward, provide a more complex sweetness (from said fruits), and be much more of a beer than the "resinous challenge" that I labeled the first beer in my tasting notes!  I'll look forward to the last bottle, though I anticipate it will be more of the "hop bomb" experience and less of the nuanced powerhouse that I'm hoping for.  In fairness, it's probably easier for brewers to make (and mass-produce) the former instead of the latter, but the former earns total scores like this and the latter earns, or at least deserves, national acclaim.

Sierra Nevada - Ruthless Rye

I may be a little late boarding this train, but I had to write a review of a rye this potent.  Well, I had a pair of the bottles out of my sixer a few weeks back and they almost turned into sippers.  It seemed like it truly was "ruthless!"  Instead of most brewers stance of letting the rye stand in for some other malts, Sierra Nevada truly seemed to accentuate and showcase the rye in a beer all its own, not covered up by smoke or syrup or another featured flavor.  I'm ready to get this show on the road.  Let's pour!

Aroma 10/12
Not an especially strong aroma present, but does live up to its bottle descriptor.  There's plenty of sweet, earthy rye, which at times is almost reminiscent of cocoa nibs.  However, one can quickly replace the cocoa sweetness with the rye's spiciness and imagine a rough likeness.  As the head settles, and not a moment before, the hops become more apparent in a grassy, citrusy blend; a welcome addition to the rye's spice.  The first bottle I had difficulty smelling much of anything, but the second bottle I had, showed much more aroma.  I don't expect that lack on consistency from a larger brewer like Sierra Nevada.  However, the second bottle is more in line with what I recall my previous experience with this brew, so I've adjusted the score accordingly.

Appearance 3/3
The appearance is nothing less than what we have come to expect from Sierra Nevada.  An ample, well-formed, sudsy head with excellent retention adorns a glassful of sienna shades, amber hues, and the unmistakeable color of maple syrup.  I wouldn't normally expect a beer of such high clarity to have such a variety of shades, but clearly I underestimate the body of this beer and the malt/rye content that created it.  Careful, not to pour this one too aggressively or you'll have a monster head on your hands.  Tons of lacing.

Flavor 17/20
This beer's start is sweet, mellow, with a nice bready malt.  The backbone arrives gently, but adds the great flavors of rye.  The beer quickly becomes more earthy, obtains a bit of citrus sour from the hops, and a bitter that prefers to hang in the background.  Slurping the beer really brings the earthiness of the rye forward!  Holding the beer in the mouth allows it to foam up enough to cover the tongue and the pepper becomes very apparent.  The finish is a stronger bitter, a reprise of the earthy notes, and both of these flavors really allow the peppery flavors to stand out.  The aftertaste is milder bitter, but definitely a very dry one.  There's a great hop presence there as well.

Mouthfeel 5/5
Even the bottom half of the bottle has more than enough carbonation for this beer not to lose any of its mojo.  The pepper causes quite a bit of prickliness on the tongue and that can be easy to confuse for the carbonation.  However, the carbonation is done superbly, and in this beer it can be found as buoyant and bubbly. The body is medium-light and makes no show of the 6.6% ABV.

I love the graphics on this bottle. In the upper corners, it gives old school sayings like,
"Purest Ingredients" and "Finest Quality," and then contrasts it with a rather
comic book looking illustration of a chick with a scythe in a field.  Choice.

Overall Impression 8/10
Obviously, this beer ranks highly with any aspect regarding the technical aspects of the brewing (clarity, color, mouthfeel).  If there is one thing big breweries can do above an beyond their smaller competitors, it is definitely within those categories.  However, the less subjective areas of the beer are more up for grabs.  The aroma wasn't particularly strong (even after a warming) and the flavors were simple, albeit very complimentary.  This beer would be very accessable to those that already enjoy Sierra Nevada and enjoy the occasional twist.  However, I was expecting something a little more "ruthless" and a little less accommodating.

Total 42/50
This is very drinkable, well-made, and makes excellent use of the complimentary flavors (earthy, sweet rye + bitter hops + pepper).  Those flavors all sound pretty dark, but the high clarity, hop citrus, and lively carbonation all keep this beer from becoming boring and monotonous.  I enjoyed this beer, but I suppose I was looking for something more to break up the earthy, bitter drudgery.  In my head I would've liked something akin to a blackstrap molasses, but I know that would take the focus off of the rye.  While I really appreciate Sierra Nevada making a beer that focuses more on the rye, perhaps I enjoy it more as an additional flavor, and not so much a featured attraction.  This is not fault of the beer however.  If you like rye, by all means, pick this bad boy up while you still can!  In the meantime, it was something that I'm glad I tried.  It focused on a ingredient, I tried it, and I learned something.  In tasting, it doesn't get any better than that.

Sierra Nevada - Celebration 2011

Now that all of my pesky, yet delicious, autumn seasonals are behind me, I can finally get crackin' on some winter craft beer!  I have more than a few socked away so if you like winter seasonals, warmers, spiced beers, or just any beer with a Santa reference on it, you are in luck.  To start things off, I'll be prying open a bottle of Sierra Nevada's Celebration 2011.  I may have had a few of these already this season and am eager to get my thoughts down on paper.  Let's pour!

Look at the gorgeous head on it!

Aroma 10/12

The hop profile is dominant, not huge, and definitely varied.  Christmas firs, grapefruit bitter, a little mustiness, and a fresh grass come together and harmonize in an almost floral hop bouquet.  The malt is roasted to perfection and the molasses just barely peeks past the hops for the sake of balance.  A lemon hop characteristic becomes more distinct as the beer warms.

Appearance 3/3

The head alone is worthy of a 3/3 in this category.  It is light beige, generous, and lazily undulates its way to the top of my tulip to sit there.  And sit there.  And sit there.  Eventually it begins to fade, like a cloud dissolving into my beer, but not without leaving an exceptional sticky lace over everything it passes.  The color is quite handsome too.  Full of bright rusts, coppers, and the color of oak leaves before the turn completely brown for the winter.

Doesn't do it justice.

Flavor 18/20

After starting fairly clean and crisp, the backbone wastes little time before fading in and exhibiting its talents.  A backdrop of light molasses is given and then the hops begin to shine.  The bright citrus shows first and blends extremely well with the sweet malts.  However, when held still in the mouth, a very creamy Crystal malt sweetness takes over.  Now give the beer a quick swish over the sides and back of your tongue.  Violá, hop bitter, resin, and a just a sprig of pine appear from nowhere.  It's funny how the biology of the tongue can dramatically affect a tasting.  The finish is more of the crystal malt, in both flavor and body, and a very drying hop bitter straight from the west coast.  The bitter lingers well into the aftertaste and the beer leaves the back of the throat a bit sticky.

Mouthfeel 5/5

The crystal malts that I have all-but-confirmed are present give this beer a substantial body and really support the strong hop presence.  It remains wonderfully drinkable and the carbonation rings true to the very last sip.  The 6.8% ABV is undetectable and the stickiness left in the back of the throat is far from distracting.  What a great dry finish this beer has!

Overall Impression 8/10

This is a great, solidly-made, seasonal ale.  The best part is that it didn't use more spices than a Turkish bazaar to do it.  It doesn't lean on the typical cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, blah, blah, blah to make it seem like grandma is baking gingerbread in your mouth.  The body is sturdy, the carbonation is perfect, the aroma is wonderful, and the flavor is quaffable, yet doesn't err by being too light.  A great choice during the holidays!

Total 45/50

To me the score seems low for a beer I enjoyed this much.  It's hard to believe that a beer with this much body and flavor comes in a reasonably priced sixer and not its own bomber (Good work Sierra Nevada!).  I love that a holiday beer doesn't need to show its ABV to be a "warmer" or be an overly-spiced malt bomb to make you feel like old man winter is here.  This is a bargain of a beer with gads of flavor and a high level of technical excellence.  What better gift do you want for the holidays?

What's that?  You'd like a little something extra from your beer bloggers?  Fair enough.  Now, to give a little background my mother-in-law has an extensive Santa Claus statuette collection.  I mean Ex. Sten. Sive.  As in, an entire room of the house if surrendered to forces from the North Pole every winter.  I have risked life and limb ("Not the beer!  My actual limbs!" *bonus points for Sierra Nevada reference in a Sierra Nevada post*) to bring you these photos.  

Merry Christmas to all!  And to all a good night!

I'm gonna get it for this one.

Someone was a VERY good boy this year!