Robust, billowy tan-headed, tawny brown-bodied dry stout brings maple-smoked chocolate roast to caramel-burnt cookie dough center, saturating mildly hopped earthen grains. Underneath bitter mocha finish lies vanilla-spiced nectar fruiting and unlikely sarsaparilla snip.
All posts by John Fortunato
SIERRA NEVADA SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE HARVEST FRESH HOP ALE
Despite lengthy appellation, refreshingly clean American pale ale maintains concise gusto. Grain-toasted honey-suckled orange blossom tang remedies grapefruit rind-soured piney hop bittering. Subtle apple, peach, pear, and tangerine tang rises above caramel malting. Subdued floral spicing adorns grassy earthen backdrop.
SIERRA NEVADA PORTER- CASK CONDITIONED
Cask conditioned version tried at Manhattan watering hole d.b.a.’s had soft-tongued stove-burnt coffee endurance and dry-hopped black chocolate sequence. Black cherry subsidy fades into sour fig, ashy wood, and charred walnut. At modest finish, root extract sidles mocha vigor.
SIERRA NEVADA PORTER
Lactic tan-headed brown-bodied chocolate porter with rich caramel endurance, sinewy yeast thread, and permeating nutty undertones nearly lets heavy carbonation drown mocha malt seepage to assertive bitter hop finish. Rigid alcohol burn depletes musty dried fruiting .
SIERRA NEVADA PALE BOCK
Promising mocha malt essence and creamy maple-sapped sugaring enrich nutty pine needled bottom. Invasive dry-hopped bittering overwhelms distant berry tang to tutti-frutti finish.
SIERRA NEVADA PALE ALE
Highly influential pale ale changed the course of American beer industry with its robust fruited hop nature. Aromatic citric ebullition, serene caramel malt timbre and piney floral hop perk distinguish iconic medium-bodied pale ale. Label claims ‘kraeusening process which produces carbonation naturally in the bottle’ offers unique character. Touche’. Ripe apricot, apple and tangerine tang sits pretty above creamy caramel malt sweetness countering lingered orange peel bittering. On tap, thick maple assertion makes it perfect.
SIERRA NEVADA INDIA PALE ALE (2007)
Pleasant bark-dried piney-hop bitterness fades as spruce-spiced apple-pear-peach tsunami soaks orange-soured tangerine-grapefruit tang. Rye wheat backdrop provides tangible depth.
SIERRA NEVADA HARVEST FRESH HOP ALE (2007)
Pleasing 11th anniversary pale-hazed autumnal finds spice-hopped blackstrap molasses battling back dry herbal-floral potpourri contrasting parched orange-tangerine tang. Oncoming mossy peat graining and shrill metallic astringency recede for sporadic apple-pear-pumpkin fruiting.
SIERRA NEVADA CELEBRATION ALE 2001
Bitter-spiced hop opening and musty dark fruit punctuation lead to moderate lacquered malt pungency. Berries entangle clove, overwhelming creamy sweetness inducing otherwise bitter finish. ’05 version placed savory apple-grapefruit ripeness above peppery hop bed and eternal alcohol bittering.
SIERRA NEVADA CELEBRATION ALE
Fruity amber-reddish tan-headed Christmas seasonal sacrifices expectant cinnamon-nutmeg adjuncts in favor of thick berry-nut-grain mesh. Lingered dry-fruited tartness picks up spiced hop bitterness and alcohol-soaked acridity for delicately flowing, yet solid-bodied, ’00 winter celebrator.
SIERRA NEVADA BROWN ALE
Strangely earthen lightweight can’t push astringent hops, toasted malts, and barren nuttiness above pungently metallic alcohol acridity.
SIERRA NEVADA BIGFOOT BARLEYWINE STYLE ALE (25TH EXPEDITION)
Magnificent 2008 version of extremely popular ruddy-hued barleywine brings up-front brandy warmth to syrupy whiskey malting and chewy pine-sapped goo. Huge hop bittering imbibes overripe peach-cherry-grape jam prevalence and alcohol-strengthened sherry-bourbon whir.