Sierra Nevada Juniper Black Ale

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Chico, California USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

11th June 2011
Opaque black beer, good frothy tan head. Semi dry and semi soft palate. Bitter dark malt. Dash of smoke and a little cream. Bitter minerals and a whisper of fruit. Semi dry and bitter finish. Okay if a little odd.

The beer is black with a thick, whipped, beige foam cap. Ample lacing clings to the walls of the pint glass. The aroma offers roasted malt, chocolates, pine. Nicely done. Quite tasty. Honestly, this is much better than I expected. While I am generally not a big fan of this style (though I do my best to rate fairly), this is a good beer. A bit more of the juniper emerges as the beer warms, but remains subtle enough to keep the beer in balanced. Roast and piney hops play co-starring roles. Medium bodied with solid carbonation. Alcohol masked well by aggressive roast and pine flavors. Overall, a solid beer. I would have this again. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 12-25-2011

This beercamp mix-pack was well worth the money and quite interesting. This one was pretty nice but it seems much more like a black IPA or hopped up porter than a winter warmer as listed here. Dark black color, good lacing and the head was huge at first. The smell is super roasty, nice. Creamy mouthfeel and then a very strong flavor which must be the juniper, almost like pine needles or bushes or something. Seems like there might be a lot of hops in this one but I can;t be sure because of the odd juniper flavor. This is good but I would not want more than one in a row just because it is so robust. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 05-23-2011 01:39:08

From the notebook. 12oz bott;e from the beer camp 12er. Pours dark blackish, tan head. Aroma of hop malt and juniper pine. Taste and finish are malt.

Sampled at SBWF-11 Almost black. Creamy, tan head. Dark and roasted with juniper-berries. Also some licorice in the flavour.

Poured dark black, thick brown head. Aroma of roasted malt, maybe slight smell of pine. Taste is hoppy at first but quickly becomes toasted, almost burnt. Leaves a chocolate, coffee aftertaste. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

12 ounce bottle from 2011 Beer Camp twelve-pack purchased over a year ago at BevMo in Mira Mesa ($17.99 for 12-pack). Pours mostly black with some garnet highlights and two fingers of light brown foam. Aroma from deep in the forest with pine and juniper berries along with further notes of roasted malts (leather, chocolate), citrus, and fresh herbs. Up front the flavor has lots of pine/spruce, juniper, and spicy mint but is soon followed by a really big dark roasted maltiness with notes of dark bittersweet chocolate . Still quite hoppy, but not very bitter...the roastiness actually takes over in the finish. The flavor profile and the ABV are somewhat reminiscent of a Black IPA, but the juniper adds a nice layer of complexity here. (346, 720)

Bottle at home, from my Maudite glass. Bottle courtesy of Duffman. Oh Yeah! My new favourite glass, my Minneapolis Town Hall glass, rests on the bottom shelf of my china cupboard, sadly out of my reach in my current condition... Thus, I return to my roots, and bring out of retirement my trusty Maudite glass, the glass of 1000+ ratings. Pours opaque black, with a thick tan head, and lovely lacing. Sierra Nevada beers seldom look bad in the glass, and this is no exception to the rule. Nose is spicy juniper, licorice, and almost something peaty, along with the typical Black-IPA citrus. Some graphite here too, along with crumbly brownie notes. Flavours of biting juniper/pine, fresh graphite notes, very minerally here... lots of roast/mocha notes, some vague citrus here too... Overall a very tasty brew!

12 oz bottle pours black with a tan head. Aroma of roasted malt and chocolate. Taste is of malt, chocolate and a hint if bitterness. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle. Pours near black with a thick full tan head. Aromas of resin, charcoal, coffee, and herbal juniper. Taste is bitter piney resin, dark roast coffeee, juniper and ash. Medium bodied with a creamy texture. Bitter finish. Not really my thing, but interesting none the less.