Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (Bottle)

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

Finally, some really good drinking after too many cheap tasting pale lagers and low alcohol beers. 350ml bottle from Systembolaget in Kiruna, shared with Finn. Bubbly, frothy white hue. Clear amber body. Cloudy with sediments in the last pour. Inviting aroma of floral hops and sappy fruits. Fresh taste profile with lots of succulent citrus fruits and piny hops. Smooth bitter ending. Refreshing and rounded mouthfeel (Skibotn, 31.10.2009).

Flaske 0,350l kjøpt på Systembolaget i Kiruna og delt med Rune på Elsas Skibotn 31 Okt 09. Gylden på farge. Pent kremaktig skum som fester seg til glasset. Nydelig fruktig aroma: Fersken. Vel avrundet smak av citrus & fersken. Fruktig bitter ettersmak som varer lenge. Uklar mot slutten.

This was one of the first micro/craft beers I had ever had. I can’t believe I hadn’t rated it until now. Well, here goes. Pours a golden amber with a large white head. Nice lacing. Familiar scent of cascade hops, with some caramel malt. Some cereal notes and a hint of pils. The flavor is light but plesant, and has a dry, bitter finish. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. A classic.

33cl bottle, as shown. Exp 10/05/10. Pours a beautiful deep golden with an extremely frothy head of decent retention and with plenty of lacing. Appealing aroma of hops, fresh melon, and honey. Rather low carbonation and smooth, creamy mouth feel. Characteristically, hops feature strongly flavour-wise, nicely balanced with malt and some apricot. Finish is dry, medium bitter and lasting. Some herbs there, too. A characterful IPA from Sierra Nevada, which doesn’t surprise me at all, having recently tasted their superb stout and excellent porter. Less hoppy than some English IPA’s, but a flavourful, sessionable brew of much substance. Americans do make good beer after all.

Dark-amber/golden colour. Smells of american hops with some honey and lemon-citrus characteristics. toasty malt flavour balances out the large hop flavour. Very balanced and very smooth in the mouth.

This was ’the one’ for me - I’ve been drinking craft or pseudo-craft beer for a long time, Fat Tire and assorted CO micros opened my eyes after moving to Denver 14 years ago. Then, my first GABF in 1996 really popped things, but not to the point of extremity (until a fateful email exchange with theisti a couple years ago). During a lot of that time, SNPA was my standard. I’d go through more than a case a month, only occasionally grabbing something different (German Hefes in the summer, the random IPA to mix things up, etc). Finally went back and got another 6. Pours beautiful golden ambber with a fluffy head that dissipates slowly into oily swirls. Nose isn’t overwhelmingly good, but solid floral and citric hops with a slight maltiness. Flavor is what I measure other APAs against - Citric hops are the star, but there’s a really nice caramelly background that gives it a nice pleasant mouthfilling feel. Hops kick back @ the end and finish it crisp and dry, with no lingering sweetness. Wonderful APA.

Poured from bomber into Nonic Imperial Pint. Light golden-amber with moderate head and impressive layers of lacing for an APA. Aroma of floral, citrus hops countered by light grainy malts. Floral citrus hops take center stage, with a nice grainy malt undercurrent. Just a touch of sweetness, less so than most APSs. Ends with a nice level of bitterness. While not as bitter as most IPAs, it is certainly more bitter than many APAs. Fairly smooth, medium body with moderately high carbonation. Finishes more dry than most APAs. This may be the prototypical APA, but it is also one of the best, maybe because it straddles the APA/IPA line closer than most.

Although I’m not a big fan of pale ales, this one was very good. Perfect bitterness to complement the citrusy sweetness. I liked the first one enough to order a second.