Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

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

12oz bottle, 2009 release. Pours dark amber with a large, lingering, off-white head. The aroma is floral hops and citrus with some alcohol. Big flavors of hops and pine with hints of citrus and sweet caramel malts. Medium/full bodied with average carbonation. Nicely balanced and well worth the price.

2009 batch, couldn’t wait. Pours a dark brown amber colour with a off white head that dissipates very quickly. The aroma is tap water at first (strange) then citrus, resiny hops, pine. Very different from all other barley wines i’ve tried, much more hop forward. The flavour is a good reflection of the aroma with big resiny hop flavours of citrus and pine, with light sweet malty notes of manuka honey, and licorice root/anise, the finish is long and sour/bitter. All and all a very interesting and enjoyable beer.

Pours a nice red with a frothy, light tan head. Nice lacing. The beer has a nice hoppy aroma. Very grassy taste with a slight citrus aftertaste. The hops were almost overpowering rendering this beer toward the middle of the pack for me.

Pours clear, medium brown-amber, with a thin beige head, good lacing. Powerful aroma of dough, apple, caramel, pine and citrus. Thick, velvety, dry body. The flavor is much like the aroma, with lots of sweet malt flavor up-front, changing quickly into a big bitter aftertaste. Definitely a big beer.

12 oz bottle from the 2009 batch. Decided to be impatient with this one, and go ahead and try it. Pours a beautiful reddish brown with a finger high off-white head. Smells of hops, citrus (lemon I believe), and caramel malt. Very interesting smell to it. Tastes of intense hops, some malt, and a hint of citrus, though it is disguised by the strength of the hop/malt presence. Not too difficult to go down, but not for the faint of heart. Overall an interesting barley wine, though I would strongly recommend aging it.

2009 Bottle. Pours dark amber with copper tints, a huge orangeish tan head towers over the pour and has really good retention leaving very nice, thick lacing as I drink. Aroma is very sweet caramel, lime and blood orange-like citrus hops, toffee, coffee cake, alcohol, some dark fruit and candied pineapple. Flavor is caramel, grapefruit, mandarin orange, buttered sourdough toast, light toffee with nuts, apricot and pine start to come in toward the finish hops. Finishes off with a big helping of pine and bitter hops, some herbal qualities and a general mellow citrus note like dried orange peel. Palate is medium thin, somewhat slick and slightly sticky, texture is a bit oily, could use a bit more body. I really think this beer could use some age to it, maybe calm down those hops that come in toward the end rather abruptly and hopefully coax some fruity notes out. Still this is a good young barleywine that even in its current form has a ridiculously drinkable.

Had on draft. This beer presented an amber color and with a thin tan head. Citrus hop aroma along with sweet malt. Taste is of caramel malts with citrus hops coming in at the finish to balance things off. The alcohol is pretty evident throughout the taste.