Sierra Nevada is one of the first craft breweries I had ever heard of, along with Summit Brewing. I even recall running with my dad to the liquor store to pick up some of the aforementioned beer when I was only 8 years old. Now here I am drinking the same stuff my old man and his co-workers drank 18 years later.
I wanted to make my first Sierra Nevada review special, so I've decided to review their seasonal Barleywine: Bigfoot Ale. They classify it as a Winter Seasonal, but I usually don't start seeing these until the Spring time.
Speaking of Bigfoot when my cousin was around 12-13 years old, he claims that he saw Bigfoot while out snowmobiling near his farm in Northern Minnesota. According to him, he saw a Bigfoot about 8-9 feet tall with jet black hair and a human-like strut running across a snowfield into the woods near an abandoned farmhouse; and this all happened around 5 PM. Since digital cameras and cell phones were quite rare in the early 1990's, he had no proof to back up his claim and therefore no evidence to convince us otherwise. Today he's married with 3 kids, lives in the same area, and still swears that he saw Sasquatch that cold December evening.
Whether or not he's telling the truth remains to be seen, but it does add a dimension of intrigue and mystery to our world. There is one Bigfoot that we all know does exist, and that's this Barleywine.
To start, it pours a deep ruby red color with a mildly hazy appearance. The head is not large by any means but it does have some great lacing retention.
The aroma gives off a very rich scent of Citrus Hops. Caramel Malts, Spices, and Toffee. In terms of smell, this one has a nice balance between being hoppy and sweet.
When it comes to the flavor, you have the Citrus Hops, Malts, Toffee, and Figs. All of which are all good albeit a bit subdued compared to the aroma. However it also has a slight booziness to the overall flavor. It's minor but noticeable nonetheless.
It's light bodied and the carbonation is fairly mild so it feels quite creamy and smooth when it hits the palate. As usual with most barleywine styles, you'll want to take your time with this.
In terms of Barleywine styles, It's got a great aroma, a good flavor with some minor booziness, and a creamy body that makes it very easy to drink but I still enjoyed this quite a bit. If you see it on the shelf, pick it up and see what you think because you really can't go wrong with it. As for the existance of Bigfoot itself, the jury is still out on that one.
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale - 8.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment