Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz & Kens Ale

Formerly brewed at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Chico, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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750ml corked and caged bottle served into snifter. Pours jet black with a large tan head, excellent head retention on this beer. Aroma was of chocolate malts and some smokiness. The flavor much like the aroma was rich in choco malts and smokiness. Decent imperial stout.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company--SIERRA XXX 30th Anniversary Fritz & Ken’s Ale--Stout--A Collaboration of Pioneering Brewers #1--2010 25.4 oz. Bottle. 9.20% ABV--65 IBU’s.? (4.0 / 5.0) Stout--Imperial--Semi-thick pour. Thin lacy espresso head. Clear dark black opaque red edged color. Smoky roasted burnt hop mild coffee cocoa front. Chalky burnt dry sweet crusty roasted coffee fruit hint rich Stout body. Dry hop spice EtOH hint Sharp end. Needs Aging to Develop Smoothness. Sampled One 3/21/2010. 2 @ $10.79 Each.

UPDATED: MAR 11, 2012 3/21/10 rating: 1 pt., 9 fl. oz corked bottle poured into snifter. For rating #300, I chose this, Sierra Nevada’s 30th Anniversary Imp. stout. Note all the 3s and 0s there. There’s some meaning there regarding Mayans and such, I’m sure, but I’m not really sure what. NIce toasted malt character; smells doughy. Pours dark brown to almost black with a medium tan head and neat lacing. When the head dissipates a bit, a cool looking scuzz of foam is left on the surface; when I tilt the glass, it reminds me of a brown ocean receding. It’s interesting how you can discern quality in a beer just by looking at it before it even hits your lips. Taste is absolutely delicious. Flavors of coffee, smoke, homemade bread and alcohol permeate the senses. Taste is sweet, then a little bitter (nothing like the Yeti I drank before this, however). Finishes with a slight tang. Very balanced, unlike that aforementioned beer. Carbonation is a little low, but it isn’t to the detriment of the beer like it was with Great Divide’s Yeti. Silky smooth. Overall, I’m very impressed with this collaboration between two of America’s greatest, oldest craft brewery pioneers. What would we have ever done had Fritz Maytag stuck to selling washing machines and had never entered the beer world? It’s a scary thought, folks. 8,5,9,4,17

3/11/12 rating. So this has been aged two years now. Beer is now completely impenetrable black with a huge tan head that takes it’s sweet long time to recede. It was about five minutes before the head died down enough for me to be able to drink the damn thing. The aroma now imparts leather, tobacco and anise, making me hike the aroma score up a point--I love those aromas in a stout. Carbonation is soft but still there, body full, mouthfeel creamy. It’s about as perfect as you want your mouth to feel like after drinking beer, making me hike the palate score up a point to a perfect 5. Aging has definitely improved this beer quite a bit. I remember when it first came out I thought it was a quality, yet pretty standard impy stout. Now it’s risen above standard, becoming truly great. 9,5,9,5,18.

UPDATED: MAR 15, 2011 THIS IS SPARTA! - No this is actually Rate Beer, and this is my 300th rating, so I figured why not use Sierra Nevada 30th anniversary Fritz and Ken as the milestone. Pours black with good head retention and awesome lacing, aroma is a little underwhelming, some chocolate malt. The flavor is a very rich and complex Imperial Stout, deep chocolate malt, very robust and somewhat smoky, you can tell alot of hard labor went into this beer, and it shows, can’t wait to try it in the years to come. RE-RATE 03/14/11 aged for approximately 13 months- Appearance stays the same, beautiful beer. Aroma is licorice, leather, tobacco, chocolate, upped score from 7 to 8. The flavor is chocolate malts, tobacco, leather, not really getting licorice or really any kind of sweetness, but that doesn’t hurt it at all, so complex, and some Impy stouts have a tendency to be overly sweet, so this is refreshing, taste stays the same, a solid 8. The palate also stays the same, you can’t get any better than a 5. The overall is kind of a judgement call, I think I am going to up it to a 19 from an 18, just out of sheer enjoyment of this masterpiece.

Runny, blackish liquid. Huge, dense barley bubble, tan head. The head on this thing sticks around for 10 minutes. Awesome! Light ccoa and roasted malt with milk. Silky head and texture. Stout, rich malt flavor with cocoa, barley, sugar, alcohol, and caramel. It’ll clear your nose if nothin’ else.

Bottle(s) courtesy of BMan1113VR and me (not sure who’s this was). Pours a pitch black body topped with a sticky, tan-head and is very leggy. Aroma is roasty, minerals, earthy, light milk chocolate, espresso and some alcohol. Flavor is espresso, bittersweet chocolate, light resiny hops, roasty, chalky and ends with a very nice, smooth coffee bitter finish. Fine, soft carbonation with a medium to full mouthfeel. Final, lingering aftertaste of light hops and a fresh coffee bitter. Very good now. Should be even better in a year or more.

Bottle opens with a big pop. Black pour with a gigantic rocky tan head. Cocoa and strong coffee aroma but not much else. A little dull. There’s some chalkyness and a vegetal note that comes out after the head fades. Lots of chocolate and black coffee in the flavor with a sharp, astringent hop finish. Some notes of dark fruit after a few more sips. The body is creamy but a bit thin for the style. Lots of carbonation.

750 ml caged and corked bottle. Served in a snifter, the beer pours black with about an inch and a half tan head. Head retention is very good, with a decent amount of lacing. Aroma is very nice, it smells like milk and dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, and a good bit of hops are noticable too. The taste is similar to the aroma, but with the addition of a charred/burnt malt taste. Great balance between sweet and bitter flavors, with the sweetness coming first, then having the hops show up in the bittersweet finish. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it’s very creamy and a bit coating, while also having good carbonation. Drinkability is pretty good, this brew is very smooth and easy to drink. I think this is a very good beer, I’ll have to pick up a couple more bottles and save them for later.

bottle thanks to barzigkin or bman1113vr. deep brown pretty much black with a cream colored head. roasted malts, chocolate, dark fruits and ash. nice on the palate, thick chocolate, roasted malts, light hops and a smooth finish.

Bottle: The aroma consists of chocolate, dark fruits, citrus hops, light smoke, and a touch of burnt roastiness. It pours a dark brown with some very faint red highlights and a large tan head with excellent retention and lacing. The flavor starts with a cocoa and dark chocolate combo along with some fruitiness that builds into the finish until it’s overtaken by moderate citrus hops, light-moderate roasty flavors, and a hint of black coffee. There is a light bitter burnt flavor that lingers in the aftertaste. The alcohol doesn’t come through at all. Medium-full bodied with soft carbonation and a creamy mouthfeel. Overall, a nice start to their anniversary collaborations.