Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

12 oz. bottle, 2009 vintage. Pours an amazing red copper with a slight haze and a creamy beige head with good retention that laces nicely. Really a very attractive looking pour. The Chinook hops are obvious in the aroma, and this early in the beers life they are particularly fresh and dominant. Some hints of caramel are apparent, but the aroma is really mostly hops. Flavor is very hoppy also, lots of bitterness and resin, a good deal of earthiness and pine. This really seems more like an imperial IPA at this point. But behind all the hops is an abundance of caramel and dried fruit flavors. Mouthfeel is big, but not for the style. Starts out fairly sticky, but perfect levels of carbonation result in a certain velvety feel as it rolls over the tongue. A very, very good barley wine. In it’s fresh state, it’s saved by the fantastic hop profile. As it ages, I can only imagine that the malt will really begin to shine.

12oz brown glass. 2009 vintage. First vintage available in Vermont! Appearance: Thin off-white head. Deep deep mahogany (reddish-brown). Nose: Boozy nose. Dried leaves, banana leaves, dark brown sugar, palm sugar, golden raisins, new leather. Earthy and sweet smelling. Palate: Prickly, sweet and bitter all up front. Medium bodied with lots of texture. Lots of bitterness all the way through sweeps up the initial sweetness of the malt. It goes back and forth between this deep malty raisin-y character and bright, dusty hop flowers. It’s almost resin-y and dusty at the same time. Notes: Lots of ageing potential. The hops will fall away (with some luck!) and that will balance the beer out between bitter and sweet over the next year or two. After that, I suspect the malt will play more of a role. This beer might live for 10 years or so given proper cellaring. Drinkability score suffered due to unbalance in hops...but it’s those very hops that will allow this beer to age for a long time, so a tough call on the scoring.

On tap at Belmont Station. Amber with a foamy cream head. Crisp, fresh hop aromas. Long flavor profile starting with malt, mixed nuts, and smoke, turning into bitter hops. I thought of Bigfoot gnawing on some pine needles. The finish was also bitter and a little metallic. Overall it was a bit spicy and I wondered how it would age.

On tap at the Flying Saucer in KC. Pretty decent and full nose, lots of melon and sweet fruits, yet quite hoppy with a good amount of floral notes. Beautifully appearance overall, with a thick and creamy white head, amazing lace everywhere, rich ruby red in the color, and a medium looking body. Similarly to the aroma, melon and sweet fruits come through strong in the flavor along with a heavy bouquet of bitter hops, and mild malted cherries. Full and heavy through the finish, with the feel being slightly on the harsher/a little too rich side. Though decently balanced, things don’t really come together exactly as i’d like. Good, but definitely not one of my favorites of this style.

Pours a clear amber copper with very light white head. Aroma is largely alcohol and hazelnut with light notes of a lemon vanilla. Flavor is definite hops with light undertones of vanilla. body is creamy with high carbonation.

Fairly transparent amber pour, white bubbles that disappeared fairly quickly. A lot of hop, pine, citrus and a little booze in the aroma. Surprisingly large amount of piney citrus hop flavor, malt is secondary. Quite lively mouthfeel. A little too bitey for me and a tad bit hot. Finish very clean. OK, I just prefer a malt inclined barleywine.

2009 Bottle. Amber brown color with large beige head. Fruity malt and hoppy pine aroma. Fruity, earthy malt flavors followed by a wave of bitter pine hops crashing down on your taste buds. Amazing Brew.

2009 bottle was not as good as 2008. Don’t know if this is the result of aging or recipe change. It takes me over an hour to sip through one bottle.