Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen

4.2/5

AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle into weizen glass, bottled 8/25/2011. Pours a nice and hazy golden straw color with a nice 2-3 finger dense and fluffy white head with fantastic retention that reduces a nice cap that lasts. Some spotty lacing on the glass; and some nice fine carbonation is streaming up from the bottom. Aromas of big banana, clove, bubblegum, lemon peel, pepper, bread, wheat, and yeast spices. Fantastic and classic hefeweizen aromas here with great balance. Taste of banana, clove, pepper, wheat, yeast spices, lemon, and some breadiness. Lingering notes of yeast spices, bread, clove, and banana on the finish for a bit. A hair on the watery side, but still has a very nice flavor profile. Medium-high carbonation with a light-medium body. A very smooth and drinkable mouthfeel that is highly enjoyable. Alcohol is hardly even present as expected of 4.8%. Overall this is an excellent and well balanced hefeweizen. Very drinkable, enjoyable, and widely available at your local grocery store beer aisle. Definitely something I will keep in mind next time I want a tasty session beer at a good price.

Another great beer from Sierra Nevada as expected. They really do a great job on their year round lineup. Really tasty and drinkable beers, at a great price point for being craft.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled 10/11/2011. Pours slightly cloudy golden orange color with 2 fingers of a dense off white head with incredible retention that reduces to a thick cap that lasts forever. Some nice lacing clings around the glass as well. Aromas of big orange, grapefruit, light pine, spiciness, floral, lemon, light caramel and bread. Very nice aromas here, with nice balance. Taste of grapefruit, pine, spiciness, bread, floral, orange, and some caramel. Good amount of bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of pine, grapefruit, caramel, bread, and floral for a bit. Medium carbonation and body; with a slightly creamy mouthfeel that drinks very easily. Great bitterness and sweetness balance. Alcohol is well hidden with pretty much nothing noticeable. Overall this is definitely an excellent widely available IPA for the holiday season. Fantastic balance with big citrus, pine, and spicy flavors.

Another super balanced IPA from Sierra Nevada. Easy to find anywhere, and always a good pick up.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle, bottled 8/5/2011. Pours very hazy orange amber color with a nice and dense 2 finger off white head with fantastic retention that reduces to a nice lacing cap that lasts forever. Nice amount of lacing clinging to the glass as well. Aromas of pine, orange zest, lemon zest, herbal spiciness, and some caramel. Some nice aromas here with decent strength. Taste of pine, grapefruit, lemon zest, caramel, bread, and herbal spiciness. Nice amount of bitterness on the finish; with some lingering notes of pine, citrus, caramel, and spiciness on the finish for a bit. Medium carbonation and body; with a nice smooth mouthfeel with easy drinkability. Great balance of flavor to bitterness as well. Alcohol is well hidden with none noticed in the taste or finish. Overall this is a great IPA. It won’t blow you away, but it is a well rounded and balanced brew from SN.

An excellent and highly balanced IPA from Sierra Nevada. I would have no trouble picking up a 6 of this again in the future.

Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop Ale

4.5/5

AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20

24 ounce bottle, 2011 batch so it is pretty fresh. Pours hazy golden orange color with a nice 2 finger dense light khaki head with incredible retention that reduces to a thick cap that lasts forever. Some decent lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of huge pine, orange, grapefruit, spices, and caramel. Fantastic aromas here, the exact reason why I love cascade and centennial. Taste of big grapefruit, orange, pine, grass, spices, caramel, and breadiness. Big bitterness in the front and finish; with lingering notes of pine, citrus, spices, and caramel on the finish. Alcohol is nowhere to be found, drinks incredibly easily. Medium-high carbonation and medium bodied; with a slightly creamy mouthfeel and light prickly carbonation. Fantastic balance of bitterness and sweetness as well. Overall an absolutely incredible wet hop IPA. I will be getting this again.

An incredible IPA from Sierra Nevada. This is probably the best beer I have had from them.

Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Head Life & Limb

3.6/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20

750 ml bottle into snifter, 2nd version. Pours clear red-brown color with a fairly dense small light tan head with nice retention that reduces to a fairly thick lacing cap that lasts. Some fairly thick lacing sticks to the glass as well. Aromas of huge woody and earthiness; with some smoke, dark fruits, caramel, maple syrup, and a lot of spices. Very strong, interesting, and unique aromas here. A lot of complexity going on. Taste of big caramel, spices, dark fruits, chocolate, woodiness, molasses, and a bit of maple syrup. Nice amount of spicy and piny bitterness present on the finish, lingering with chocolate, wood, and spicy flavors. Significant amount of carbonation for a beer above 10%; with a fairly full, creamy, and slick body. A bit of cloying flavors on the palate after sipping on this for a while. Alcohol makes itself known on the finish with a significant amount of warming present. The alcohol presence smooths out as the beer warms up. Overall, an interesting and unique beer for sure. Good stuff.

Overall a good brew, but it didn't wow me in any way as I was hoping. A little too hot right now as well, so age might help this one.

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

24 ounce bottle, 2011 bottle. Pours crystal clear orange amber color with a dense 2 finger off white head with amazing retention that reduces to a thick lacing cap that lasts. Some thick lacing is left on the glass as you drink. Aromas of big grapefruit, pine, spice, caramel, and a bit of orange. Typical IPA aromas here, a bit on the weak side, but still good. Taste of huge grapefruit, pine, caramel, and spices. Fairly strong bitterness on the finish that lingers with pine, caramel, and grapefruit flavors for a decent amount of time. Great balance of bitterness and sweetness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body. Very smooth drinkability and smoothness. Overall an excellent IPA, I have been quite impressed with all of the SN fresh hop ales I have had thus far.

Yet another very enjoyable IPA from Sierra Nevada. Not as good as the Harvest ale, but still very nice stuff.

Sierra Nevada Estate Homegrown Ale

4.3/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

750 ml bottle. Pours very hazy orange-amber color with a very dense 2 finger off white head with fantastic retention that reduces to a very thick lacing cap that lasts for the rest of the glass. Sticky lacing coats the entire glass as you drink. Aromas of big orange, pine, grapefruit, caramel, and a bit of bread. Some great aromas. Taste of big grapefruit, pine, spiciness, and caramel on the front; with a nice strong bitterness on the finish that lingers with citrus and pine flavors. Very nice smooth body and drink ability. No alcohol in the taste or finish. Medium carbonation and body. Great balance of bitterness and sweetness. Overall a fantastic IPA. Definitely would get this if they released it again, big hop flavor and great balance.

Fantastic IPA for being released last fall(as far as I know). Hops were still shining brightly. Another delicious special Sierra Nevada release.

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle into snifter, 2011 vintage. Pours clear red-orange color with a nice 2 finger dense off white head with great retention that reduces to a lacing cap that lasts for the rest of the glass. A small amount of lacing is left on the glass. Aromas of tons of citrus, pineapple, grapefruit; with some caramel in the background. Nice aromas, very hoppy. Taste of big pine, citrus, spiciness, and caramel sweetness on the front that leads to a big bitterness on the finish that lingers for a while with caramel, citrus, and pine flavor. Great balance of the sweetness and bitterness as well. Fairly strong alcohol warming on the finish. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied. Overall this is an excellent barleywine. I would definitely like to try some older vintages of this one.

This is definitely the hoppiest barleywine I have ever had, plus it is the first time having this very well known brew. Would definitely like to age some of these sometime.

Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock

3.8/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours crystal clear golden amber color with a 2 finger white head with decent retention and decent lacing. A fair amount of rising carbonation noticed in the glass. Aromas of spiciness, grass, light malt, and bread. Aromas come in a bit weak. Taste of spices, grass, malt, light citrus, and bread. The malty character is a bit light, with bitterness showing forth the most in the flavor with spices. The finish is quite dry and crisp, but there is some light lingering bitterness with spiciness after the finish. No alcohol noticed at all. Medium body and carbonation. It was a tad bit odd at first, but as I kept drinking it improved. Overall it is easy going with good drink ability, and decent flavor. Enjoyable stuff.

Definitely a new style for me, but it was enjoyable. In my experience with Sierra Nevada, it has shown that they put out an all around solid lineup.

Sierra Nevada Stout

3.9/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown with a 2 finger tan head with very good retention that reduces to a lacing cap that leaves nice lacing. Aromas of roasted malts, dark chocolate, floral and citrus hops. Taste of chocolate with hop bitterness on the finish. The chocolate, coffee, and bitterness lasts for a bit after finishing. Medium carbonation and body. Pretty creamy and has decent bitterness. Overall, a tasty stout, and very good session beer.

Definitely liked the stout better than the porter. Very good stuff.

Sierra Nevada Porter

3.6/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20

12 ounce bottle. Pours dark brown-red color with a foamy 2 finger tan head with very good retention and decent lacing. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, caramel, roasted malts, and a bit of toffee. Taste of bitter coffee and chocolate with a bit of toffee sweetness underneath. Medium carbonation and body. At first the porter tasted a bit weird to me, but as I finished my glass it got better. Overall this is a solid porter and good session beer.

For some reason this came off a bit weird to me, with off tastes in it. It was still solid overall though.

Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale

3.9/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20

2010 12 ounce bottle. Pours clear red brown color with a 2 finger fairly thick head with good retention and lacing. Aromas of dark malts, dark fruits, chocolate, caramel, and roasted nuts. Taste is of cocoa, caramel, and roasted nuts with a very slight bitterness on the finish. Malt dominated beer, but it is balanced very well with the nice bit of bitterness. Very smooth with medium carbonation and medium body. Nice beer!

Sierra Nevada replaced anniversary ale this year with this. It is a good brown ale, but I haven't had anniversary ale yet, so it made me a little sad.

Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz & Kens Ale

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

25 ounce bottle. Pours opaque black with a nice sized dark tan head with very good retention and lacing on the glass. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, oatmeal, and licorice. Flavors of bitter chocolate and coffee. Very full bodied and creamy. Fairly nice finish that sits around for a bit. Alcohol is hidden somewhat, but quite noticeable on the finish. Fairly bitter as well, which I am a fan of, even for it being a stout. Very solid.

This was probably the first beer I got that I did not research before buying. Sierra Nevada tends to put out consistently good beer.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

3.8/5

AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20

Had a bomber of this last week. Liked it so much I got a 6 pack today. Pours slightly hazy orange. Decent sized white head that leaves fairly good lacing. Nice scent of hops and and malt. Taste is nice fairly hoppy with a nice finish. Some citrus as well. I am very glad this is so readily available around me. Very good beer to drink if I don’t have taste for anything else. Very good session brew, I usually get it at the bar when available. Pretty much available everywhere you know where to look. One of my favorite pale ales for sure.