Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

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

Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 02-14-2007 17:22:31 2007 bottle pured into a snifter. Yes! I have been waiting for this one for awhile now. The color is nice amber-red with a short white head that needed a little coaxing. The smell was slightly piney and really awesome. I actually had to sniff the beer for a couple minutes before I took my first drink. the taste was very hoppy pine with a slight hint of bubblegum. I don’t know where that comes from but I have detected it in Ruination at times. I didn’t get any of the chocolate flavors that are showing up in the 06 right now. This beer was amazing fresh and it will probably only get better. I think I better buy another case before this stuff is gone!

Hops for the sake of hops. My lab wouldn’t even drink it and she’ll eat last falls apples after the spring thaw.

Damn FINE Barley Wine! Pours amber-brown with a frothy biscuit head. Aroma is all malts - which is the polar opposite to the flavor of this BW - pure bitter hops! The backbite to this has notes of asprin, pine and grapefruit. The front flavor of this is sweet and floral. Overall one of the best BW’s I’ve had.

(n) 2008 vintage. A well-crafted american barleywine. Deep mahogany color. Big, snappy hop nose with an aggressive bitter bite. Sharp hop bite on the palate, bitterness all over the place and a tangy grapefruit bite on the front end. Big, heavy toasted malt makes up a strong backbone. Rough around the edges. Very easy drinking and balanced on the palate for a beer this big.

New rating, 2008 vintage consumed in February 09, purchased at Systembolaget in June 08.
Pours an amber color with a nice white head, leaving some lacing. Aroma of resin, pine needles, citrus, caramel, toffee. Very hoppy yet there’s a lot of malt there too. Flavour is pretty hoppy with a nice, solid malty backbone: citrus, resin, pine needles, caramel and toffee. Great, balanced bitterness, which maybe has mellowed out a bit but it’s still very big. A bit chewy mouthfeel, fullbodied and filling, carbonation is nice. This one year old bottle is still somewhat of a hopbomb, yet more mellow and "balanced" then a younger American BW or DIPA for example. Very pleasant and tasty, definitely going to buy some more of this when it comes back to Systembolaget.

Old rating: 350 bottle from Systembolaget. 2008 version, 25th expedition.
This is, to be honest, the best barley wine I’ve tasted until this date, therefore I will give it this high score. Pours a wonderful amber brown color with a great head (never seen a head like this in a barley wine, hm...). Smells absolutely wonderful of american hops (cascade, etc) with typical citrusy notes. Taste is magnificent with a huge hoppy taste of grape fruit, citrus and elder (fläder). Bitterness is brutal, or at least nearly brutal. It also has a sligthly sweet malty taste behind all this, with hints of caramel. I will age a bottle or so, but I love this already at this stage. (9/5/9/4/18=4.5)

Split a 2002 bottle with Justin. Pours a mahogany brown with no head to speak of. The normal hoppy aromas had smoothed out and the aroma was similar to that of a port wine. Very smooth mouth feel and incredibly drinkable. Malty and sweet with port notes. This stuff ages pretty damn well.

First of all, everything about this beer is strong, which I love. The aroma was a pleasant suprise. I smell lots of hops! A good barley wine appearance. THe flavor was real strong with barley and hops. Despite its strength, the beer goes down smooth, a little creamy. Overall, it is my favorite barley wine so far.

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barley wine is a mahogany amber color with a perfect caramel head. The aroma is full bodied and full of hops. The flavor is very hoppy with a bit of moss and malt noticeable. The finish is a bit dry from the bitter hops but also smooth and enjoyable. I am surprised this is 9.6% abv, as it is very tasty and easy to drink without any noticable alcohol characteristics.