Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 2016 Review

Well, it's time to look at this year's Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp series, which is when Sierra Nevada Brewing collaborates with different breweries across the country to work on some truly unique beers. For reasons I don't know of, there was no release last year with the exception of the re-release of the hoppy lager from 2014.

When I first reviewed Beer Camp a couple years back, they collaborated with 12 different breweries on twelve different beers. This year, they've collaborated with 30 different breweries. However, there are only 6 different beers this time around, with 5 different breweries plus Sierra Nevada for each one.. Unlike the previous Beer Camp Series, I'll be doing this all in one swoop to give everyone the final verdict as to whether or not to buy this.

Just a fair warning too, this article may be a bit long. If you want to know whether or not to buy this, just scroll down to the very bottom; It'll be in big bold letters.

Name: Family Values
Style: Imperial Brown Ale
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: 35
Collaboration with: August Schell Brewing, Sun King Brewing, Dark Horse Brewing, Half Acre Brewing, & Perennial Artisanal Ales

First up is the Midwest Collaboration, which is an Imperial Brown Ale made with Minnesota Wild Rice, Michigan Hops, Missouri Oats. Indiana Honey & Illinois Cocoa; The states of each brewery doing the collaboration.

Taste - Getting some honey and chocolate malts upfront with some wild rice notes and bitter notes towards the middle. On the back end of the palate is where that honey starts to reemerge along with more of those chocolate malt notes and and aftertaste of light wild rice.

I have to say this is pretty good and the flavor is also quite complex as well, with every ingredient making in appearance in some way in the flavor profile! Strong start so far, let's see how the rest of the beers hold up

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Family Values - 9.5/10

Name: Sweet Sunny South
Style: Saison
ABV: 4.9%
IBUs: 23
Collaboration with: Austin Beerworks, Bayou Teche Brewing, Creature Comforts Brewing Company, Funky Buddha Brewery & Wicked Weed Brewing

Described as a Southern Table Beer, this is a Saison that is made with a laundry list of interesting ingredients which include:

• Corn Grits
• Black Tea
• Honeysuckle
• Peach
• Papaya
• Guava
• Prickly Pear

Taste - Upfront I'm getting some of those guava and prickly pear notes with some mild hop bitterness. Towards the middle, I'm getting tea leaf and bitter sweet mango peach notes while the back end of the palate is pale malts, tropical fruits, cereal grains and some mild Belgian yeasts. The aftertaste is fairly dry, save for some light pear notes.

For a session beer, there's a lot going on here and to me that's impressive. Out of all the session beers I've had in recent memory, this one is definitely one of the better tasting ones and dare I say it's one of the best Saisons I've had in a while.

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Sweet Sunny South - 9/10

Name: Moxee-Moron
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.5%
IBUs: 70
Collaboration with: Bale Breaker, Barley Brown's Beer, Black Raven , Melvin Brewing, & Odell Brewing Company

Next up is the Pacific NW & Rockies collaboration and is actually described as an Imperial Session IPA (hence the name), but for the sake of the article, I'll be calling it an IPA. Nothing really much here, with the exception of 4 different types of hops; One of which is an experimental one, so that should make things interesting.

Taste - Getting some passion fruit and citrus hoppiness upfront, with some pale malt towards the middle. In the back, I'm getting some melon sweetness with some bitter hoppiness to wrap things up.

It's an IPA that isn't unlike anything I haven't seen before but it's still pretty good. I don't know much about the breweries involved with this beer with the exception of Odell but it will definitely please any seasoned craft beer fan.

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Moxee-Moron - 8/10

Name: West Latitude
Style: Rye Beer
ABV: 5.5%
IBUs: 55
Collaboration with: Bear Republic, Faction Brewing, Mad River, Magnolia Brewing, & Maui Brewing

Next up is the Northern California collaboration, though Maui Brewing (based out of Hawaii) somehow infiltrated their ranks but whatever. This next one is a Rye Beer made with Hibiscus. There's really not much else to say so let's try it out shall we?

Taste - Strong rye notes upfront with some roasted barley & light hibiscus. Towards the back, I'm getting some light floral hops with more of that rye spiciness and just a touch of that hibiscus sweetness.

After having this, I can't really say I'm sold on the hibiscus/rye combination though it isn't offensive by any means but I was also expecting more out of the flavor. For me, it's take it or leave it since there isn't anything I like or dislike about this beer.

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp West Latitude - 6/10

Name: Pat-Rye-Ot
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 5.6%
IBUs: 39
Collaboration with: Devil's Backbone, Dogfish Head, Lawson's Finest Liquids, Stoudts Brewing, Trillium Brewing

Second to last beer is the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Collaboration and for this, we have an American Pale Ale made with rye and apple cider.......D'Okay! Plus this uses experimental hops in the brewing process. As to how many different kinds, I cannot say but let's take a look.

Taste - Rye grains and yeast upfront, with some bitter & floral hops towards the middle. Back end of the palate is where the rye makes a reappearance along with some more of that bitter hoppiness. The aftertaste is fairly mellow save for a light rye flavor and some light apple skin notes

It's solid but when you look at the breweries behind this beer, I can't help but feel that there wasn't any better ideas thrown around in regards to what to make. I mean, there's supposed to be cider in here and yet I'm not really getting it. As I said before, it's solid but nothing memorable.

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Pat-Rye-Ot - 7.5/10

Name: Stout of the Union

Style: Stout

ABV: 7.3%

IBUs: 64

Collaboration with: Bagby Beer Company, Beechwood Brewing, The Lost Abbey, Smog City, Societe Brewing

Finally onto the last beer in the Beer Camp 2016 series and it's time for the Southwest collaboration, or if you want to be more specific, the Southern California collaboration, since that is pretty much what it is. In any case, we have ourselves, ironically enough, a stout. I'll admit, I'm kind of shocked that they didn't get together and decided to make a big West Coast-style IPA.

Taste - Chocolate malts, lactose and light smokiness upfront with some floral hoppiness towards the middle. In the back, I'm getting some dark chocolate and surprisingly strong bitter hops, with the latter lingering in the aftertaste.

It's a solid stout....but I was expecting something more exciting. I mean, look at the breweries involved in making these and you can't help but feel underwhelmed, at least from my point-of-view. Overall, it's good but nothing exciting

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Stout of the Union - 7.5/10

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So how does this compare to the previous entry? 

Let's start with the pros first. The good news is that every beer has its own personality and characteristics that set itself apart from each other and you can tell that a couple of the entries had a lot of heart & effort put into it. When you read the story behind some of beers as well as the people who made them, it makes you appreciate them even more and that's something that makes Beer Camp so unique. On top of that, most of the beers I had are those that I would definitely have again.

However, I do have some complaints. Remember when I said that all the beers this year had their own unique personality. Well, all twelve of the Beer Camp Beers from 2014 had their own personality too. Plus while most of the beers are good, I feel that some of them, especially Pat-Rye-Ot & Stout of the Union, didn't have enough effort put into to it. I had high hopes in particular for Stout of the Union because you have highly renowned breweries like The Lost Abbey & Smog City working on them and yet the beer we get is just a stout that isn't unlike anything we've seen before & I can't help but feel that they got lazy. Plus when we only have 6 different beers to choose from as opposed to twelve, it makes me wonder what could've been so that definitely hurt it.

Also consider this, out of the 31 Breweries (Sierra Nevada included), 10 of these breweries are based out of California. I know California is known for their craft beer and such but come on, you can't call it "Across America" when a third of the breweries are from just one state, that makes no sense. There is so much more ground that could've been covered here and yes, even with 31 different breweries, there is plenty of missed opportunity. Look, I know I'm nitpicking here, but this is a $28 twelve-pack and I know the price was $3 less a couple years back. Thankfully I had a gift card and only ended up having to pay $5 for it, but even at $28, I expect a good array of beers to choose from and high quality across the board and I'm honestly not getting that here. 

So is it worth buying? Unless you and a couple of friends decide to split the cost, I wouldn't recommend getting this. There's no denying the beers are good, but compared to the last Beer Camp entry, this is very disappointing and the fact that we're paying more for less of a variety is reason enough to avoid buying this.

Should You Buy This? - No

Lakefront Riverwest Stein Review

Name: Lakefront Riverwest Stein
Style: Amber Lager
ABV: 5.6%
IBUs: 15

Last in my Lakefront Sample Pack is a beer called Riverwest Stein, which is an amber lager and is named after the neighborhood in which the brewery is located in. There's not really much else to say, other than its been a while since I've looked at an Amber Lager

Appearance - Dark & mildly hazy amber color with no visible carbonation. The head is pretty thin for the most part and there's a good amount of lacing left behind.

Aroma - Munich malts and lager yeasts with a hint of roastiness. I'm also getting some light floral hops in here as well.

Taste - Munich malts and lager yeasts with a slightly larger roasty profile towards the back with some light floral hoppiness towards the end. The aftetaste, oddly enough, is quite dry.

It's a pretty good beer. Much like every other beer in this sampler pack, there's nothing that really stands out about it but it's a solid beer on it's own. If you happen to see this on store shelves, it's for sure worth a look.

Lakefront Riverwest Stein - 8/10

Lakefront IPA Review

Name: Lakefront IPA 
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 6.6%
IBUs: 35

Second to last in the sampler pack is Lakefront's IPA.....I'm sorry, I mean EYEPA. Get it, because there's a giant eye in the "I" on the label? No? Well so much for my horrible puns. In any case, it's another one of Lakefront's IPAs that I've seen before in 6-packs but have never bothered to try it, so let's give it a go shall we?

Appearance - Hazy dark orange color with no visible carbonation. The head is very thin and fades away after a few moment but there's some decent lacing left behind along the sides of the glass.

Aroma - Strong caramel malts and moderate piney & bitter hops with some mild apple juice notes.

Taste - Strong caramelized maltiness upfront with some bitter and light piney hops to back it up. The back end of the palate is more or less of the same, with the aftertaste being a mix of light toffee sweetness and bitter hops

For an IPA, it's definitely on the maltier side of things, perhaps a little too much so. Still, the hop profile is there and makes the most of the situation, even if it is a bit too sweet by standards for the style. If you like your IPAs to be a malt bomb, then this is the beer for you.

Lakefront IPA - 7/10

Lakefront White Review

Name: Lakefront White
Style: Witbier
ABV: 4.6%
IBUs: 13

On to the next beer in my Lakefront Brewery Sampler pack. This time, we have a beer simply called White, complete with a 40's style jester/cherub-looking character holding a glass of beer. As you can imagine, this is a witbier and it's a fairly light one at that, only coming in at 4.6% ABV.

Appearance - Moderately hazy bright yellow color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is pretty thin after it settles but with good retention and the lacing left behind is also quite plentiful.

Aroma - Malted wheat & coriander with some light citrus notes and floral hops along with some light yeastiness.

Taste - Much like the nose, there's some malted wheat and coriander upfront, followed by some citrus notes and light floral hoppiness towards the middle and back, with some very mild bitterness making an appearance in the back. Aftertaste is a touch of coriander with a light yeasty finish.

Nothing special as far as Witbiers go and this certainly won't turn any heads, but it's sessionable and easy to drink and that's all I can really say about it.

Lakefront White - 7.5/10

New Belgium Heavy Melon Review

Name: New Belgium Heavy Melon
Style: Fruit Beer
ABV: 5%
IBUs: 14

Alright so as I was editing my other reviews from Lakefront Brewery, I was having this beer when I suddenly decided that I needed to expedite this review. Right now, we're shifting our focus to New Belgium Brewing, who just released a new beer called Heavy Melon, complete with a Gallagher reference in the label as well.

It's a fruit beer made with...........watermelon and lime. Ok, I can understand that they want to do a fruit beer, but using watermelon is a dicey choice since watermelon beers don't exactly have a glowing reputation for being good. However I'm willing to hold off on judgement until having it.

Appearance - Clear bright orange color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is on the foamier side but there's not much in terms of overall lacing.

Aroma - Skunky, rotten fruit. No, I'm not making that up, I'm getting nothing but a skunky-like aroma here that reminds me of rotten fruit. I'm hoping that it tastes much better than it smells.

Taste - Well, the good news is that it does taste slightly better than it smells. The bad news? The taste is still pretty bad and there's really isn't a whole lot here in terms of taste. Sure you've got the watermelon flavor, but I'm looking for that lime to help balance things out. The only lime I'm getting is a very faint lingering at the end of the palate. There isn't even any hops or anything in here to give it an additional dimension of flavor.

To all the brewers out there, please, please stop with the watermelon beers. Use cherries, apples, cranberries, blueberries, or even bananas. Anything but watermelon! Watermelon by itself may be awesome but it doesn't work when it comes to using it to make beer. I've had quite a few watermelon beers since I first started drinking craft beer and all of them have either been horrible or sub-par at best.

Had the lime aspect of the flavor been more pronounced, it wouldn't be as bad but it still wouldn't be pretty good. Honestly, this is the worst beer New Belgium has done and I think it's one of the worst craft beers that I've had to date. I can understand wanting to branch out and try new things but I would rather see a much better effort from the brewery.

This one is a drain pour. If you feel tempted to buy this at the store, for the sake of your taste buds, just keep walking!

New Belgium Heavy Melon - 1/10

Lakefront Fuel Cafe Review

Name: Lakefront Fuel Cafe
Style: Stout
ABV: 6.4%
IBUs: 17-19

Next up in the Lakefront Brewery Sampler Pack is a beer called Fuel Cafe, which is a stout brewed with Fuel Cafe coffee, who are also based out of Milwaukee. However, like many of Lakefront's beers, it is USDA certified organic and uses all organic ingredients, everything from the barley right down to the coffee beans used. According to Lakefront, they are the first brewery in the United States to have a certified organic beer.

Appearance - Pitch black with a thin darker tan colored head with some moderate lacing left along the sides of the glass.

Aroma - Chocolate malts & roasted barley. I'm getting some very faint coffee ground notes but it's overshadowed by the malts and roasted barley.

Taste - Chocolate malts & coffee grounds with the latter of the two flavors carrying through the rest of the palate while the back end opens up to some light bitter hoppiness. As for the aftertaste, it's just more of that coffee ground bitterness.

Overall, it's a good stout and the coffee adds a nice touch to the flavor. If you're a fan of dark beers and/or coffee, then this is the beer for you.

Lakefront Fuel Cafe - 8.5/10

Lakefront Klisch Pilsner Review

Name: Lakefront Klisch Pilsner
Style: Pilsner
ABV: 5.6%
IBUs: 16-20

Next up in the Lakefront Brewery Sampler Pack is what appears to be a Spring Seasonal and that is Klisch, which is their Czech-style Pilsner. It also appears to be a Spring Seasonal since it doesn't appear on the sampler box though please correct me if I'm wrong on that. As for the name, it comes from the owners of the brewery, whose last name happens to be Klisch.

Appearance - Fairly hazy yellow color with a high amount of visible carbonation. The head is about one inch in width and the lacing left behind is on the sparser side.

Aroma - Pilsner malts and floral hops, with a light touch of grassiness and malted barley.

Taste - Pilsner malts and light grassiness upfront with some pale malts and light floral hops in the back of the palate. The aftertaste is rather dry, save for some light pilsner grassiness

Overall, Klisch is a pretty good pilsner and fairly ideal for a nice spring afternoon/evening. It's got a nice & balanced flavor and it's very crisp to boot, so if you're looking for a solid Pilsner, this will do just fine.

Lakefront Klisch Pilsner - 8.5/10