Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

Thx for another great tasting, Kim (beljohansen): Darm amber, nice haed, notes of hops, toffee, roasted matl, grapefruit, , dry hops, bitter taste and long bitter finnish.

2008 Vintage sampled young. Translucent dark copper color with a small off-white head. Nose is very sugary, malts. Smooth on the mouth, syrupy. Taste is sweet and syrupy with an alcoholic finish that leaves a lasting taste of caramel on the tongue. Not my favorite barley wine. Re-rate from a bottle thanks to nearbeer. Dark ruby brown color with a thick soft light tan head. Nose is hugely hoppy, some citrus and pine. Taste is a nice sweet body, some fruitiness, floral, then lots of lingering hop bitterness. Sticky but not too cloying. Much better than my first bottle it is too hoppy for my tastes in Barley Wines but nice nonetheless. First rating 6:3:6:3:13

2008 edition, 12 ounce bottle. It is a dark amber liquid that looks almost like maple syrup, with a hefty head and lots of lacing. The aroma is fresh and enticing, with nice floral hops plus a little yeast and honey. It smells even better as it warms. The full, complex flavor with piney hops and solid malt backing. Bitter, astringent hops dominate, followed by some sweetness, then the hops bite back, and the alcohol swoops in for the kill. Rich and powerful. Tried it on tap too, and it was mellower that way, and I liked it more. Tasted more smoke and malty sweetness. 2009 edition was excellent too - fresh and full. This is my favorite from Sierra Nevada.

Pours a dark, cloudy amber-brown color with medium head, which dissipates quicky. Thin to no lacing left behind - bubbly. First impression of aroma is of hops (hey - go figure, it’s Sierra Nevada!), slight malt and alcohol. Flavor goes straight to the back of the throat, then crawls its way up the toungue, with a sweet hoppiness falling along the edges leaving behind alcoholic fumes. Cascade hops are prominent with every sip. Somewhat alcoholic mouthfeel/aftertaste, but sweet. I wish more beers were this entertaining.

With a name like this I’m not quite sure if the beer will be a thunderously beastly drink, or a laughably hard-to-find one, flavors mere rumors of their purported legendary status. The pour from this squatty bottle lures up a thick white head, and beneath that a very cloudy dark brown ale with rusty brown hues around the edge of the glass. Charmingly rustic, if not the official colors of mountain wildlife. Hops, well kilned malts, soy sauce and an extreme dryness greet the nose with a forward punch, with the taste even drier. I mean, really, really dry, save for a wallop of booziness and an extremely drying ethanol aftertaste. We’re talking all out bleached bones in Death Valley desiccation, focused entirely on the back of my throat. I finish the beer, but find even breathing, with its rasping, rattling constancy to be a bother after finishing a dose of this beefy brew. I’ve lost 90% of my mucous membranes and my esophagus is ready to peel like tree bark, but for all that it was still a solid drink, if heavy on the alcohol.

355ml Bottle (Olutkellari,Helsinki)- Dark brown with tinges of red. Hoppy aroma with grapefruit, raisins and peaches. Very hoppy taste with a pleasant bitterness. Fruit also features in the taste with some raisins and grapefruit being detected again. Not bad but too easy to drink for this strength and not enough malty elements which is what I am used to with this style.

[’01 Bottle, thanks Guerde!] Pours hazy red-amber with a small, lingering tan head. Aroma is strawberry jam, a little alcohol, and caramel. Taste is quite sweet (fruity sweetness) up front, then alcohol, light bitterness, and a good deal of malt. Medium-thin mouthfeel with an average, slightly dry finish where a lot of malt and the bitterness is detectable. A very pleasant barley wine.

Bottle. Minimal blond beige head with some lacing. Hazy amber liquid. Very malty and hoppy aroma. Sweet date-like fruits. Plenty of resinous dry hops. Alcohol is present but not very strongly. Rich malty flavor is medium sweet. Finish is dryer with bitteration. Syrup-like texture leaves lips sticky. Full bodied and low carbonation. Very long and bitter finish with some alcohol burning. Delicious beer that replaces whole meal. Storng but quite straightforward aromas.