Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

Cloudy amber brown pour with a finger or so of head. Maybe I’m congested but the nose was not very strong, albeit complex - citrus, grape, pine. Then comes the flavor EXPLOSION - spicy hops, caramel maltiness, and an amazingly thick, creamy, clingy palate that lasts and lasts and comes back for more. Wonderfully thick and warming ABV. What a freaking beer!!!!

My first Barley wine style ale experience was with the Flying Dog Horndog Barley wine which was a much more malty interpretation of the barley wine style. Both are excellent in their own right.
Bigfoot is literally hopping on her way to my mouth. As I mentioned above, big hops spice and piney citrus fill my nose as I quaff this brew. The oils literally slide over my tongue and down my throat. The hops center on the top of my tongue and linger long after the swallow. citrus rinds linger, along with a sense of being in the middle of a woodland forest on the west coast, surrounded by pine trees and wet dew. The malts re very mild in Bigfoot, almost nonexistent, though as the beer warms, I maybe detect a slight sweetness in the swallow along the sides of my mouth. Overall though, all the flavor and taste is one big oily spicy hop explosion right in the middle of my mouth. It’s addicting, to say the least.
This is the 25th year Sierra Nevada has released a Barley wine under the name of Bigfoot. Bigfoot will age well, and it should be interesting to see how the flavor profile changes after some bottle aging.

Bottle thanks to HogTownHarry. This beer has a bouquet like no other. Incredibly floral on the nose with grapefruit, orange peel, cloves and molasses. The flavour has a combination of honey, tart blueberry, with dare i say a bit of roast. The flavour and smell oddly reminds me of a cross between Oak Aged Yeti and Dogfish 90min. This is a tremendous beer! Goes great with Monterrey Jack with a touch of red pepper.

2008 release, so maybe still a little too green- 3cm head that is sticky, rich garnet amber color. Full hop dominance in the aroma, a bit of caramel malt saying "i’m here too". Very big flavor, creamy malt body with plenty of fruity flavors and dark caramel get washed away by a crashing tsunami of resinous hop waves. So tongue coatingly bitter, you can feel the sticky hop oils gluing your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Fully drinkable now if you enjoy that fresh hop wallop, let’s revisit in a couple of years.

Wrote a long rating of this only to click “add rating” and realize that ratebeer has crashed AGAIN! So here it is in short(er). Great reddish brown pour with big creamy light tan head. Aroma is great: malt characteristics are dough and caramel, hop characteristics are piney. While malt seems to dominate aroma, hops definitely dominate flavor – very refreshing, but malt should play a bigger role in flavor IMO. Long coating resiny hop finish. Medium to heavy body – could be a bit thicker, but still nice and rich. Overall: great brew for barley wine lovers and hop heads alike.

Draught @GLB Xmas in July 08’. Deep amber brown with nice head. Served in a tulip. The nose was hops and soft malts. Warming and bitter. Piney hops dominate with citrus and alcohol in the back. Almost too much burn and bitter for me. Well rounded and great at the price point.

2007 vintage, bottled. A clear deep amber beer with a huge, persistent and lacing white head. The aroma is nice and powerful, even if a bit monodimensional and focused only on the hops. Some underlying caramel malt, but there are mainly notes of geapefruit, pine, resin, alcohol, maybe some berries. The flavour begins with a medium sweetness and then come the hops, very aggressive and maybe too much abrasive. Medium to full body, average/lively carbonation, very long finish with enormous bitterness lingering on your tongue. The alcohol is felt. Still a bit young after a year and a half and not very balanced. Nice appearence and lacing, nice aroma, but I would like to taste an older bottle. However still more than decent.

12oz bottle from KIngdom Liquors (Tampa, FL). Pours a dark mocha color with a white-tan head. One finger head that settles slowly and provides ample lacing on the glass. Aroma is ripe, sweet citrus (especially grapefruit and orange), some hints of dark ripe fruits and coffee. Some notes of sweet malt, caramel and honey. Flavor is very hoppy with strong grapefruit notes, some sweet malt and candy sugar. The bitterness of the hops overwhelms the palate on this one. Medium body with a bitter, lingering finish. If you like hops, this is your kind of beer.