Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

12oz bottle. Dark amber/red pour with an off-white head, very beautiful looking beer. Hops dominate the nose, cannot discern any other aromas. Good hop flavor, with a nice malty backbone. Very tasty brew.

Mahogany in color with a huge, creamy head that laces the glass. Explosive hop bouquet; citrusy, floral, and spicey. Sierra Nevada embodies the American spirit of brewing with their use of hops. Some of the sweet syrup and sugary raisin character of a barleywine is present but this has a more palatable medium-full body. Most other barleywines I’ve tried have been overwhelming and require a leisurely course of sipping, and even some of Sierra Nevada’s other offerings are so intensely candy-like as to demand care when drinking. The huge hop addition in this beer manages to balance the massive amounts of malt and makes this beer dangerously drinkable. An instant classic.

botle 2008 25th anniversary edition. from ølbutikken. best before 25.01.2009, tasted 15.01.2009 pours a nice clear amber, with a noce thick yellow/brown head. very strong nice hoppy aroma. below that sweetness, notes of good aged beer, slight dark fruity vinous sweetness that goes well with the hops. hop note in flavor so strong i can’t sense it unless i wait a little between sniffs. flavor is very full. supernice balance between sweetness with some dark fruits and various kinds of hops flavors. aftertaste is quite hoppy but not bitter or too much. hands down the best barley wine i’ve ever tasted (don’t like them very much). bottle say barley wine style ale, and that’s what i think it tastes like. a BVIPA lol. very sweet flavor, but every time i think it might be too much, the hops come to the resuce. great brew.

Draft. Beautiful, beautiful dark copper pour with a good tan head. I had a hard time retrieving any aroma initially, but once it came closer to room temperature I found quite a bit of caramel, leather and spice. This was pretty smooth on flavor profile, a relatively lighter hoppy barleywine. Just a twitch of harshness on the finish.

Poured into a pint glass. Once poured the head is HUGE, but that could be due to the glass. Upon settling the head evens out to a crisp, frothy inch. Aroma is that of very light caramel, subtle banana. Great color like warm dark honey. Lighter color belies the robustness of the taste. Lovely bitterness at the beginning, then a very slight sweetness towards the finish and at last the kickback of the alcohol. A silky and very smooth barleywine.

A nice ruby color. The aroma have lots of hops and a hint of caramel. The flavor is very bitter with lots of hops and a hint of caramel in the aftertaste.

I wanted this to be sweeter. I don’t mind hops or the resulting bitterness in a barley wine. But something of the balance that I find in, say, an Avery Hog Heaven, which is also a well-hopped barleywine, is missing here. This beer finishes noticeably more bitter than that one. The color is a beautiful ruby red. The pour has plenty of lace. The aroma is more of a traditional IPA than the malty sweetness of a traditional barley wine. It has a floral aroma, rather than the dried fruit and alcohol.

Bottle from Premier Gourmet. Pour dark reddy copper in colour. Very aromatic, both hoppy and malty. Strong alcohol taste. This kicks you in the ass when have one. 2008, 25th anniversary edition.