Beer: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale
Brewery Location: Chico, CA
Beer Style: Barleywine
Serving Style: Bottle
ABV: 9.6%
Sierra Nevada's seasonal Bigfoot just came out in Indiana a few weeks ago. I've been meaning to stop at Party Pak and pick some up, but just haven't made it. I was afraid that there wouldn't be any left when I got there, but there was plenty left on the shelves, and for a pretty good price. I really enjoy Sierra Nevada's beers and the company itself. Their beers are an extremely reasonable price, always consistent quality, and are one of the most visible craft brewers in America. You can find their pale ale in about any liquor store or grocery store you walk into, and I've found it to be a great gateway beer for people looking to convert.
A barleywine was traditionally the heaviest alcoholic beer that a brewery offered. It gets the name from being highly alcoholic close to that of wine, but since it is made from grain it must carry the moniker of "barley-wine style ale." I am not sure what person was bored enough to draft some type of legislation for that, but I need their job. Double IPA's and barleywines are somewhat similar, but a barleywine will usually be more balanced with a bigger malt presence and a more complex flavor profile. That is not always the case, but those are some of the usual differences.
This beer pours a dark reddish/garnet hue with one finger of white head. The head dissipated very quickly on this, but at 9.6% that can be expected. The nose is classic for Sierra Nevada. Bold hop characteristics showing signs of all of the C-hops with citrus and pine making themselves known on the nose. The taste brings a blast of powerful malt with the bitter hop flavoring right behind it. I taste big flavors of resinous pine, grapefruit, and sweet caramel. The sweet malt and bitter hops are very well done on this brew. At 9.6% the alcohol is present as well, but is in no way cloying at all in the flavor profile. The mouthfeel is big, chewy, and sticky with the alcohol warmth only slightly making itself known. The drinkability is very good on this brew, and I would gladly purchase again.
This is a damn fine example of a barleywine style ale. I bought several from Party Pak, and I am going to cellar a few and see that does to the beer. I have a feeling that more time on this will greatly enhance the flavor profile when the hops mellow out a bit more. This is a good starter beer for people wanting to try the barleywine style ales. It is rather bitter, but this hop-head doesn't mind that at all. Good effort from Sierra Nevada on this one.
Cheers!
Matt
5 comments:
Out of curiosity, what was the bottle price on this at Parti Pak?
After trying a vintage 2000 bottle of this at BadaBoomz I've been meaning to look for this year's but haven't gotten to it. I'll have to head down to Parti Pak sometime this week.
I don't have my receipt, but I am pretty sure I paid 2.19 a bottle for it. At the most it was 2.99, but I don't think so.
This is a phenomenal beer that is very reasonably priced. I love the fact that it strikes the balance between being a double IPA and an enormous barley wine. It killed me when I read on ufck that somebody was complaining that cost $11.50 a sixer. It's such a great beer at such a great price point. What's not to like? Matt, I hope you're doing well.
Joe,
I am doing well. Good to hear from you. Give me a call man, I've got some Russian River to split. It's not Pliny though, it's Damnation.
I ended up grabbing some from the Hop Shop. Wow, wow, WOW!, is it different than the vintage bottle I tried. This year's Bigfoot tastes almost like a DIPA to me, which I really, really like. The 2000 had a dramatically mellower hops (I'm sure because of the aging) and lots more nuance showed through.
I loved 'em both but for completely different reasons.
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