Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

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

Draft at the Clark Street Ale House (Chicago, IL). Paid a visit after the bachelor party dinner at Fogo. Pours a very nice reddish brown pour fairly hazed with a nice tan head. Aromas are strong, large hoppiness and sweet malt profile are clearly there with this brew. Initial is lovely, a very well hopped barleywine. The hops take center stage in the upfront bittering but lead the way to a mellowing out through the sweet malts. Very well balanced. Heavy bodied with the bitter hops moving to caramel malts, sweet fruits, and touches of more bitterness. Very nice and well worth the wait I’ve given it. Cheers!

Bottle (Vintage 2005). I´m not sure if this vintage Bigfoot was better or not than a fresh one. It was definitely more balanced, but on the other side less hoppy.

Have sampled on draft, bottled, and aged 1- 12 years. There’s not much left to say about a beer that has been brewed for around 20 years with over 1700 ratings! So I’ll say this: this was the first barleywine my palate ever touched, and I owe it to Cory and the Bigfoot for my appreciation of a huge ridiculous beer with too much malt and hops going down in it...thank god for American Barleywines!

2008 bottle served in a Duvel tulip. Garnet body topped with a half inch of off-white foam. Smells mainly of piney hops, some fruitiness. Deep lingering bitterness with some lemon, pine, and chocolate notes. Alcohol is front and center. Thick oily mouthfeel. Needs some age.

Vintage 2005, Olbutikken Copenhagen. Less complex and aggressive than a new bottle, more pleasantly balanced.

Not quite sure why I decided to rate this one tonight, but we’ll go with it...2007 vintage. Pours a very ruddy brown color with a thin beige head that settles into a bumpy film. Aroma is heavy on raisins, brown sugar, alcohol, burnt malts and some piney hops...very nicely melded together. Flavor is sweet and full of caramelized malts up front, with plenty of raisins/dark fruits before turning somewhat boozy and ending with an intense bitterness. Palate is heavy and oily...very thick and seems to linger long after you’re done with the drink. Although this is a nice barleywine, its just a bit too bitter and hoppy in its infantile and even its grade school years...I definitely like this better after it has at least 2 years of age on it (and probably like it even more with more age on it...)

[Bottled Jan 08 - 25th Expedition] Pours an unclear reddish light brown with a fantastic yellow/beige creamy thick head. The aroma shows the little bit of age =). Strongly hopped aroma, rich oxidized malts, some fridge/ambrosia smell, a bit of fruit and alcohol. Very bitter first taste... holy $&% super bitter. Tastes like licking a stamp. A bit salty, some light caramel, some woodiness and tons of unsweetened grapefruit. The alcohol burns just a tad. I don’t know where this "overpowering maltiness" is... ??? Medium body with larger bubbled fizzy carbonation, too corse for a barelywine. I heard this year was different... so... These seem like they need some age... a lot of age... a very lot of age... gueze is god has a perfect description of this beer =) 9.4.7.2.14 [must enter my 12 year vertical of this beer... and yes... it scored much much much higher than the 3.6 I’ve rated here...]

Hazy mahogany-copper with thick off-white head, very nice looking. Robust rusty aroma with lots of malt, a hint of burnt honey, musk, and woody hops. Soft mouthfeel, solid body. A bit chewy and furry but not so bad. Slightly burnt. Long bitter finish, but very balanced, nicely hopped, and earthy. Solidly good.

Draught @ Abbey. Lasting scattered lace and a head cap that never disappears. Lovely. Great bready aromas. Not at all chewy. Very enjoyable! Upgraded from 3.7.