Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (Bottle/Can)

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Chico, California USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tulip

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

prob. one of the best beers on the market. So many different flavors!

remains the standard although it is getting common; easy to take for granted.

BarePaw is tripping. This beer is my favorite American beer. Very tasty, always satisfying. Enjoyed best just short of frozen.

bottle; a friend asked me if i were stranded on a desert island with only one beer to choose; this would be it. Hands down, in my opinion, the best american pale ale ever brewed. Cascade hops are great.

I have intentionally not rated this beer before. This will be my 100th rating and I figured I would use the opportunity to comment on what I feel is a grave injustice. So often these days you hear people disparage SNPA as being boring or not as big as it used to be. I think the problem lies not in this great beer, but in the "Imperialization" of craft brewing. Everything has to be bigger, hoppier, smoked or oaked or many turn their nose up at it. The mentality seems to be if it doesn’t go to eleven it isn’t worth drinking. While this bigger is better philosophy has produced some truly great beers it has also caused some great beers, like this one, to get marginalized. As I am typing this I look below at the top ratings for American Pale Ales and see a list of beers that are really examples of IPAs. How can SNPA not be among the top APAs? It invented the style for crying out loud! OK, rant over, SNPA really is a great beer from the mouthwatering citrus aroma, to the decidedly hoppy, but beautifully balanced flavor, it is a true classic. Could it have more of everything? Of course it could, but then it wouldn’t be an APA

I remember the first time I tried a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It was (at that time) the most different beer I’d ever had. It was the early 1990’s and I had just moved from Michigan, where I’d been exposed to mass-produced tasteless beers all my life. I’d fallen in love with Samuel Adams lager, which was quite hard to find due to the relative lack of distribution. The aroma from the spicy hops hits your nose as you pour it from the bottle. The beer comes out with an amber-orange color with a perfect amount of foam and fantastic lacing in the glass. The bitterness is not overpowering, but adds just enough to counterbalance the smooth caramel maltiness. The mouthfeel is wonderful, and although not thin, it doesn’t come across as a heavy beer. The perfect carbonation combined with the wonderful taste gives this a drinkability like few other beers, and this is my everyday go-to beer (and has been for almost two decades now). This is Sierra Nevada’s flagship beer for a reason. It can be a session beer or an accompaniment to a gourmet meal (or pizza or burgers).

Great colour on the pour, big head that retains well. Citrus aroma. Awesome malt flavour works well with the strong hops. Smooth, bitter finish. Great every day beer, winter or summer.

This is my all time favorite beer. Very well balanced. Perfect balance between citrus/ fruitiness, and Hoppiness. An awesome beer.

My #1 choice in the US. Great color, amazing aroma and flavor, with hops eveywhere.

The gold standard for American pale ales.