Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Chico, California USA

12 fl oz bottle, 2008. Pours almost clear golden amber with a huge light tan to orange head. Delicate fresh fruity hops aroma, light pineneedle note. Flavour is very hoppy and fruity. Light initial sweetness. Goes into a more dry and intense pinewood and bitter flavour before the finish. Goes rather dry and bitter, yet maintaining a rather fresh fruity hops note as well. Disregarding the style, this is nice IIPA.

Very young, 2008 vintage. Glowing crimson, nearly magenta. A violent pour rallied less than an eighth-inch of large-bubbled foam. Hop forward, IPA-ish aroma... resiny with bitter orange, bubblegum wrapper, and fresh-felled pine. A whiff of pecan pie malt and chocolate ice cream. Smoky malt and cookiedough flavor starts out smooth as glass and finishes raspy with charcoal and lemon. Raw bitter aftertaste evokes burnt rubber and turkish coffee, numbed by high octane cherry jello shooters. Pretty f-ing rough. Chewy palate despite being merely medium bodied. tooth-peeling tannins. Almost uncarbonated. Emphasis is on bitterness, with malt taking the back seat, or maybe locked in the trunk. Needs a few years to mellow. Seems stronger than 9.6abv. Lacks the richness and balance of an English barleywine it claims to be.

This beer pours a oak like maple syrup color with a delightful hoppy aroma with sweet, floral notes and a malty background. The flavor is malty, and the cascade hops are noticeable. There is a piney attribute to its flavor. All of the hop character is offset by a cloying maltiness, though the hops are still the dominant component of the flavor. The palate is syrupy, almost sap like at first, followed by a dryness courtesy of the hops and alcohol. This is a good beer, and a great balance (at least in my opinion) of the hoppiness of American barleywines and the maltiness of English barleywines.

Pours dark brown with a tall frothy head. Hoppy in the aroma with some fruits. Flavor caught me by suprise. Can definitely taste the alcohol and feel the burn in your chest. After a couple of drinks I became partial the warmth. I will definitely keep one of these in the closet for a while and report back on it in about 8 months.

12 oz bottle from Southbay drugs. Pours an amber-brown color with a big khaki head that lasts a long time. The aroma has ripe dark fruits and sweet roasted malts. The flavor showcases a big biter hops taste, filling the sides are raisins, walnuts and malts. The mouthfeel is full and smooth. The Finish is long and biter. Overall: A very fine hops monster barleywine. Recommended.

Aroma: Woodsy, earthy hop aroma with appropriate sherryish aged character(2007 vintage). Some alcohol with berryish fruity notes. Appearance: Decent head retention despite high alcohol, good clarity with amber/reddish color. Flavor: Caramel malty notes, sherry aged character. Not terribly complex. Ehh. Lots of bitterness, even at well over a year old. Palate: Big mouthfeel, with some alcohol warmth. Overall Impression: I think this is better fresh, although the hop bitterness would probably rip your face off if fresh. I liked this more years ago. Kind of a run of the mill barleywine.

12oz bottle. Cherry sweet citrus and orange in the nose.. fresh and uplifting smelling barley wine. Good sweet unique taste with citrus, lemon, and some berries.

a great fresh barley wine...great hop aroma and taste when fresh...and it has aged into a good even great barleywine when it is older...but I think it is best fresh!