Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Chico, California USA

2008 Vintage: Plenty of pungent resinous pine spiciness and citrus/floral hops in the nose along with a nice round underlying malt profile. Clear deep golden body is topped by a generous, fine bubbled, long lasting, off white head that lasts throughout and coats the glass with lacing. Flavour seems a bit more restrained than the nose would indicate. Hops are not quite as resinous and the fruity character is a bit subdued. Also find the malt flavour to be a bit drier than I was expecting. Still quite tasty but not as exciting as I thought it would be. The texture is fantastic. Creamy smooth with wonderful soft bubbled but firm and lasting effervescence. Shaker glass. Allowed to warm from fridge temperature. Bottle (Hi Time, Aug-08).

Bottle. Floral as most ipa’s - seems on the sweet side and unbalanced. Malts are distant. Didn’t find the palate I really could say much about - maybe S.N. drifted away from their usual precise german style of craftsmanship and used used belgian free enterprise? Well it just seemed bitter without a intriguing spiciness I can find in most ipa’s. This one sort of seemed like a hack-style ipa.

golden brown pour with a decent frothy head and some nice lacing. hoppy aroma with a nice malt in the back. taste was similar. a bit sweet with some citrus hops and malt. good balance and nice carbonation. enjoyable.

Bottle. Golden colour with an off-white head. Aroma is fruit, sweetness, hop, malt. Flavour is sweet, fruit, hop, malt. Nice beer.

Bottle, 2008. Pours a clear orange with a thick light tan head that leaves nice, thick lacing on the glass. Aroma of nice citrus hop oils, some pine. Flavor of hoppy zest, a nice sweet malt base, lemon, citrusy hops. This is a tasty beer and I especially like the nice sweet malt balance with the citrusy hops. Yum!

Bottle, 2008. Aroma of citrus, grassy, and floral hops. Flavor continues by highlighting the grassy and floral aspects of the hops, some hay-like notes arriving as well. Malt is nothing special, but gets the job done. Basic, but tasty, nothing wrong with that.

All the people who try to make an IPA, and wonder why it doesn’t get good ratings, needs to look at this beer, by the kings of all things *PA. A beautiful pour with a nice fluffy head. Floral and pine scents. Citrusy taste, just the right amount of alcohol to let you continue your session, yet carry a smile.

Poured from bottle a golden tone with orange highlights and a large creamy white head that fades slowly leavling a nice lace pattern. The aroma is floral cascade hops with light orange citrus and sweet malt. Flavor pours in with orange and gratefruit, floral hops, and a subdued caramel malt sweetness that blends nicely with the hop bitterness. I did not get the heavy pine resin that most IPA’s have. Palate is lightly sweet with a floral bitterness running through the entire time but not over the top. Overall very enjoyable. I like the fact that it seems less heavy than most IPA’s while maintaining a good hop balance and flavor.