Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

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

My dear friend jimk gave me a racked sample over five years aged. An amazing experience! Deep malty tones meshing well with softened pine and nut flavors. This is a classic barley wine for me.

!!!!! my first barley wine too. this was a good evening- first barley wine and first imp stout. ok so- pours out dark red in color with a tan colored head. smells of citrus. hops out the ass. has a nice finish, and a very well detected presence of more alcohol. this is great- i really like it. too bad i had to drive an hour to buy a 6 pack of it.

<<<RE-RATE 4/22/08>>>
2002 Vintage 12 oz bottle purchased in January of 2008 at Bottleworks in Seattle, Washington. Pour is mostly clear, mahogany with a 3/4 inch off white head. The head retreated to reveal some nice lacing. Aroma is really big and beautiful - big caramel, scotch maltiness. Some nice orange and fig fruit notes as well. Only in the very end is there any indication of oxidation. Taste is the caramel, scotch maltiness. The fruit sweetness is also present but pretty faint. Oxidation (cardboard) is introduced in the finish. Does not detract too much from the flavor. Solid full body is very mouth coating and satisfying. This held up really nice. 8,4,7,5,16 (4.0).

<<<RE-RATE 1/28/08>>>
2008 Vintage. 12 oz bottle shared by KAggie97, 9th bottle sampled at the 1/28 Houston Tasting. Pour is orange-ruby with no head, only thin of-white bubbles ringing the rim of the glass. Aroma of fresh hops, piney and resinous. Also features a nice caramel biscuit malt in the nose. A wonderful smelling beer. Taste is great, like a really well developed version of the Sierra Nevada Fresh Hop Harvest Ale. Great big pine resin hops and a beautiful malt backbone. This is a really great beer - certainly tastes much more like a DIPA than a Barley Wine, but who cares, this beer is delicious. 9,4,9,4,18 (4.4) - I’ll use this rating.

<<<ORIGINAL RATING 4/24/07>>>
2007 Vintage. Pour is deep reddish amber with some gold as well. Big off white head from an aggressive pour stuck around until the very end. Taste is big malt, with good hop balance as well. The alcohol had a presence, but nothing overwhelming. Well done barley wine, though age would improve this. 7,4,8,4,15 (3.8)

12oz Bottle Pours out a nice amber topped with a very small head. A good easy to find BW. Pretty good.

Pours with a cream, five-finger head, fades very slowly and leaves a good lace. Light-medium carbonation and heavy bodied. Clear amber color. Nose is mostly hoppy. Flavor is sweet almost syrupy but hops take over and aftertaste is a tart grapefruit. High ABV is hidden. $1.50 for a 12oz bottle from Colonial Spirits, Acton, MA

Bottle. Chestnut color with a beige head. Full fruity and malty aroma. Full sweet malty body with notes of nuts and caramel. Dry bitter and hoppy palate. Very nice.

Came in today in a six pack to the North Coast Coop here in Eureka, CA. Poured a rich ruby color with a nice fat off-white head that left excellent rings of lacing. High on appearance. Nose was malts, fruits, and vanilla. Very rich mouthfeel was almost cloying. Flavor was malts, fruits, and a touch of hops. While this was nice, it did not hold a candle to the excellent Mad River John Barleycorn I drank a couple of days ago Alcohol is hidden well, and while it is OK there are number of Barley Wine offerings from Northern Callifornia I like much better.

On draft at the Abbey brewing company. Clear amber pour with fair head retention and legs. Massively hopped. Moderately hot alcohol flavors. I’d love to try this aged. Tried again aged, and this is fantastic. Still has the cascade hops. Very good and balanced. Great brew.