February 20th, 2009 beckel
Today I have the newest year round ale from Sierra Nevada Brewing, Torpedo an India Pale Ale that due to distribution issues just hit Minneapolis shelves the other day. I am very curious to sample this ale as Sierra Nevada produces a number of hoppy beers but only now has a proper year round IPA and apparently it’s “Extra” so we will have to see how that plays in. I have high hopes and am also excited to sample this years BigFoot Barleywine that is in my fridge, but that will be a post for another day. Pouring this beer it is easy to get a three finger plus off white head so it may be wise to not initially pour directly down the glass. Head remains for many minutes and seems to hide the aroma a bit. This brew appears very amber in color with some copper hues as well and is very translucent. Smells of the two-row Pale Malt that Sierra Nevada tends to use as well as some nice but not particularly dominate citrus and floral hints. Flavor is decent, tastes similar to their Pale Ale with the Pale Malt but then adds an extra dimension with some nice bitterness presumably from the Magnum hops. Initial sips provide sweet maltyness that transitions into some grapefruit citrus and other floral hoppy flavors wrapping in some more malt contrast and then finishing nice and bitter. Medium body though light for an IPA and rather drinkable with a smooth mouthfeel. The label suggests this brew is a celebration of the character of whole-cone American hops and the wonderful complexities and balancing opportunities they provide and I must say I agree with their sentiment and they have done a rather good job. Though this ale contains many nice hop flavors it has more pale malt flavors than I prefer in an IPA and probably won’t be something I pick up regularly. A good choice for someone who is a fan of Sierra Nevada but would like something with more hop complexity and bitterness. Though not an Imperial India Pale Ale, the 7.2% will do well enough to keep you on your toes. I will certainly enjoy the rest of my six pack and could see an ale like this being particularly refreshing on a hot summer day because of its lighter malt profile. If you like hops but don’t want something too intense this might just hit the spot, though it isn’t necessarily the beer for the hop wary. Give it a shot and ride your bike.
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January 9th, 2009 beckel
Though I appreciate many of Sierra Nevada’s Ale’s their Celebration Ale is one that I had not sampled and is often commented upon as being delightfully hoppy. So when I started seeing it in 12 packs I knew my days of not sampling it were dwindling and ended up picking on up a few weeks ago. Today we will be consuming my last bottle of this holiday inspired India Pale Ale from Chico, CA. I poured this brew a little heavy and it filled the glass largely with white frothy head, though a mistake it showed me how much head retention this ale actually has and it’s a ton. After topping off the glass head still remains for many more minutes and leaves a good amount of lacing on the glass, quite solid. Aroma is full of grapefruit and other citrus hop scents and just a little malt, very nice. Color is bright red with a some copper tones and very translucent. Flavor is certainly hoppy as one would expect. Initially I get some rather bitter hop flavors that lead into a grapefruit citrus flavor. Mouthfeel is rather smooth and the body is rather light. With the bitter flavors in this ale I doubt you will really notice its 6.8% ABV. As you continue to drink this beer and start getting used to its hop profile you will increasingly notice the somewhat sweet finish that the malt creates. This is absolutely a decent beer and fans of hops such as myself will likely find this a refreshing ale if it ends up in their hands but I must say honestly I was a bit disappointed. Currently I think this is a solid very drinkable ale that would be very nice on a summer day when looking for something hoppy I just feel Sierra Nevada has the skills to make this ale a bit more balanced and complex. With that said if you are not a fan of hops this ale is not for you, but would be wonderful for cleansing your palate when eating some nice spicy Asian food. Give it a shot and ride your bike.
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July 26th, 2008 beckel
I have passed up this beer numerous times in the liquor store, so when I saw it while filling up a mixed six pack I decided it deserved a try. Summerfest from Sierra Nevada is a pilsner style lager clocking in at 5% ABV, not my favorite style of beer but lets see how it goes. Pours a very transparent yellow color typical of a pilsner, head is incredibly plentiful and creates a lovely eruption of bubbles as it cascades. Smells of light pilsner malts somewhat sweet, slight hop aroma present. Mouthfeel is light. Tastes of corn and slightly sour malt complimented by hop bitterness but a slightly sweet aftertaste. More complex flavor than most pilsners that I’ve had and likely a refreshing drink on a hot summer day. A decent beer but not quite my thing, if your looking for a lager with some flavor this might not be a bad choice. Give it a shot and ride your bike.
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July 14th, 2008 beckel
Sierra Nevada is lucky to have an array of quality beers and good distribution throughout the United States. One that deserves a good amount of praise is from their limited selections: Big Foot a barleywine style Ale. This 2008 edition pours with a very impressive tan head. Color is a nice dark red almost slightly brown. Aroma is grand, bitterness is present as well as sweet roasted malt, light fermented fruits are lightly detectable. Mouthfeel is medium, not too heavy. Flavor is very intense. Coming in at 9.6% ABV the level of hop bitterness in this barleywine is no surprise, what is however is how nicely the sweet malt compliments the flavor. Definitely a strong beer but it has many sweet notes on the palate as well as including less sweet, almost burnt roasted malt flavors. This is a very good example of a properly balanced barleywine, if you like strong beers and intense complex flavors this one is definitely worth your time trying. Give it a shot and ride your bike.
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June 15th, 2008 beckel
The Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale is part of Sierra Nevada’s Hemisphere series. It consists of 3 beers that doing creative things with fresh hops. This beer was brewed with fresh hops from New Zealand that were used about one week after being harvested. Pours a beautiful deep amber, it is filtered but still displays a very rich color. Good few inch head is quite light in color. Smells very strongly of hops, a bit bitter with a little hint of sweetness in the end. Not surprising considering its 66 IBU. Flavor is incredibly hop filled, especially for a pale ale and the taste will linger in your mouth for quite some time. It is rather bitter but the mouthfeel is smooth and the malt balances out the flavor decently. At 6.7% this beer is surprisingly nonalcoholic for the strong flavor it portrays, it is obvious the freshness of the hops really has an effect on this beer. I would encourage anyone who enjoys hops to try this beer if for nothing more than to experience the hop profile. It is probably one of the most complex pale ale’s I have ever been able try, though with its price tag I don’t think I would drink it regularly.
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