Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Jason

Massachusetts

4.45/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Presentation: 12 oz brown stubby with a vintage date of 2004 on the cap. A small amount of sediment stay still during the pouring. Served at cellar temperature.

Appearance: Thick pancake like head with a webby trail of lace all over the glass. Clear brownish garnet color is brilliant against the light.

Smell: Enthralling aroma of fresh hops hits the nose with a stiff punch of grapefruit and mild pine. Light fruity esters and a caramel like malt are in the back.

Taste: Pungent right from the beginning, not astringent just really bitter from the hops. Then lays in the malt base which is a stable foundation of caramel and toasted sweetness. Some fruity esters jump into the mix as well as a clean yeast in the back ground. Towards the end things dry out with a faint fusel alcohol tagging along for the ride.

Notes: Perhaps a bit green though still damn tasty, drink it now for a good whack to the taste buds or let it sit a year or so to mellow it out. Either way Bigfoot a sure thing.

Bottled 2003 batch.

Appearance: The head is perfection, the lace is thick and sticky with a web like trail down the glass. Deep and dark amber color with a tawny reddish hues.

Smell: Perfumy hop resin aroma with a sweetish oily floral back ground, pungent in light grapefruit and vague piney scents. Esters throw a whiff of alcohol in. Some caramel in the nose within the blanket of malt sweetness that can’t seem to cover the hops.

Taste: The body is big, strong and unwavering. Well textured moderate carbonation. Flat out the hops show who is boss, bitterness is hard but with little astringency. Oily hops make for a slick and smooth mouth feel. As the hops roll over the taste buds the flavor becomes more rustic with a bit of earthy leafy hop flavor. Lots more to go around with the hops with citric and piney flavors. Maltiness may not be the dominant one though it still gives a good sweet push on the palate. Caramel and a toasted malt sweetness swirl around the hops and seem semi melded with each other. Alcohol is certainly not to be ignored either with a slow yet steady warmth, mild esters and a fruity character of ripe figs and prunes.

Notes: A bit more balanced than previous years with that same trademark hardcore hop character. This is the Big Mamma of hoppy barleywines and you have to love the stuff. This is a well aged beer if you have the willpower.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2004 21:18:09 | More by Jason

Todd

Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2001: Hell yeah! A bit raw, but expected for such a young big beer. Lay this baby down for some years and you'll have a totally different beer ... but back to this one.

Dark copper, with a nice patchy foam head. Killer aroma of aggressive hops with a citric sting. A very creamy and smooth beer. Flavour is initially overrun by hops (grapefruity, piney, salty, leafy and raw as all hell), then the big malt sweetness (a tad treacle-like) and alcohol flavours kick in to smooth things out. Fruity? yes. Oh, and by the way, the alcohol is very present, warming and dangerous.

Treat this beer with the utmost respect ... sip and savour.

Anyone look at the inside of the cap? Gotta love that image of 2 campers sitting down with BigFoot and having some brews over a campfire. Hell yeah!

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2002 19:33:09 | More by Todd

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 12oz short brown twist cap bottle, with a mountain landscape and some looney hick pulling a donkey. 1998 Vintage.

Appearance: Dark-red amber, with an off-white sticky head.

Smell: Loads of hop aroma (loads), and a strong alcohol vapor that is almost perfume like.

Taste: Rich, ripe and fruity. The extreme hop bitterness and high malt sweetness blend together nicely, providing a well balanced barleywine. A pronounced hop flavour strikes with every sip, and lingers to the point where you can taste the raw hop leaf.

Notes: A deceivingly powerful brew, that is sure to sneak up on you during a session. At 9.6%(abv) and roughly $11 a six-pack this is by far, one of SN's best brews. Find it, buy it and savour it with respectful sips.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-1998 00:00:01 | More by BeerAdvocate

Jadjunk

Georgia

4.16/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

"Bigfoot is a beast of a beer, brimming with flavor from massive amounts of roasted malt and spicy hops; brewed in the barleywine style, with a rich, bittersweet body and whole-cone Pacific Northwest hops." Brewed in the style of an American Barleywine. Released annually in January. 2013 marks the realignment of this beer into the 4-pack imperial series amongst Narwhal Imperial Stout and Hoptimum Double IPA. Despite the dropping of 2 bottles, it's still a bargain at under $10 per 4-pack.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to a snifter. Served north of 57º Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a frothy caramel cream head with a mild airiness to it. Body color is a medium hazy red amber with light sediment and moderate carbonation. Retention is slightly above average and lacing is light and thin. Head quality is oddly shallow for the fresh batch. 3.5

(Smell) Aromas of roasted, clean caramel malt, piney, herbal and mellow citrusy hop blends, followed with a pinch of sharp alcohol. Aroma is well rounded with a decent touch of grain husk and hop character to round out the malt sweetness. Altogether it's a very accessible aroma. Potency is medium. 4

(Taste) Up front waves of husky grain malt, rough around the edges and a moderate slick sweetness with a touch of bready smoothness. It finishes out with a peppery, citrusy and herbal hop bouquet with a strikingly bitter and perky dry finish. The alcohol makes its way into the finish but is nicely concealed by an abrasive hop perk. It's a slow sipper, but a worthy one. 4.25

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick with just a touch of carbonation. Body is medium amongst Barleywines, medium/heavy overall. Balance is slightly hot over bitter over malty. Malt depth is a touch reserved for a fresh batch, but will likely grow bolder given time and thicken up the body some accordingly. Carbonation is just right for the style, not too perky and not too shallow. 4.25

(Overall) Bigfoot Barleywine is a beast of a beer with lots of bitter hop action and a slick, candied malt sweetness to round it out. I spoiled myself by drinking this alongside the verticals and found it a fantastic beer on it's own, yet wait until you try it with some age on it. The possibilities this beer has to age are seemingly endless. This is certainly a great staple representative of the American Barleywine style and I have been picking up some annually for the value and quality it maintains. If you choose to start your Barleywine expedition with any given Barleywine, this is a prime candidate. 4.25

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale
4.16/5.00

Vertical Notes:

2012 Bigfoot (1 Year, 6 Months Aged):

Pours a slightly more golden cream head, thicker in consistency albeit much improved retention and lacing. Sediment is far more heavy. Aroma is notably more husky and robust, collectively less clean. The hop character is fading but still largely intact, herbal hops prevail and the subtleties or citrus and floral notes fade to the background. Alcohol is still notable, although a touch less hot than in the fresh batch. One year makes a difference in flavor with a more revealed sweet malt character and a faded, but still highly potent hop bitterness. The flavor gives way to some unusual yeast characteristics- hints of pronounced pepper, figs and raisins are subtle but far more notable with a milder, more rounded flavor. Alcohol is still very perky and hot, but collectively this is a more drinkable beer than the fresh vintage. Feels very much like a work-in-progress with a half-developed malt and hop profile, still a little rough around the edges and too young to settle down.

2011 Bigfoot (2 Years, 6 Months Aged):

Appearance is similar in quality to the 1 year batch, a touch more foamy and lighter in complexion. More intense carbonation and finer sediment. Aroma is similar to the 1 year batch, the malt bill is slightly cleaner and more bready with hints of peppery and herbal hops still permeating, but becoming increasingly one-dimensional in light of a smooth barley-led character. Aroma is rounding out significantly, the alcohol pinch is tough to spot out in the open. Two and a half years has given this beer a great deal of time to mature and round out any off-notes even more. Expect a faint growing dryness amongst a developed slick malt base with just a touch of creaminess and a fuller body. Hop presence is relegated to some mild bitterness, still balancing out the flavors well. Candied malt characters are coming out from the yeast- dark fruits more notable than ever before, yet still traces of the depth this beer has. Alcohol presence is finally backing off. This beer is going places with age, much more committed than 1.5 years but still certainly not at the end of its journey. I'll keep aging a few bottles to see where this takes us in the coming years.

Recommended Vintage: Fresh or 2.5 years+

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2013 03:54:16 | More by Jadjunk

NoetheMatt

Kentucky

1.75/5  rDev -58%

06-19-2013 03:11:09 | More by NoetheMatt

BColton1

Rhode Island

4/5  rDev -4.1%

06-18-2013 01:37:30 | More by BColton1

Hoptron_3000

Australia

4/5  rDev -4.1%

06-17-2013 14:57:22 | More by Hoptron_3000

spw109

New York

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

06-17-2013 07:12:07 | More by spw109

Cleaver35

Oklahoma

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

06-17-2013 01:12:00 | More by Cleaver35

ryutheblade

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev -22.1%

06-16-2013 22:32:28 | More by ryutheblade

adityashekhar

India

4/5  rDev -4.1%

06-16-2013 14:08:53 | More by adityashekhar

anson42

California

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

06-16-2013 02:15:22 | More by anson42

His_Royal_Hoppiness

United Kingdom (England)

4/5  rDev -4.1%

06-15-2013 21:39:43 | More by His_Royal_Hoppiness

Bockerdoppel91

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

06-14-2013 11:46:57 | More by Bockerdoppel91

Rosanne

California

4/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

no aroma, hoppy taste upfront, sweet linger.

Shared a taster on-tap as part of four flights at the brewery; Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, Chico, USA. As part of a six-week West Coast beer tour. I rate to taste, not to style. See my blog for more details: carbeers.wordpress.com

Serving type: on-tap

06-14-2013 07:37:56 | More by Rosanne

Illmaticzx

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

06-14-2013 04:28:14 | More by Illmaticzx

gleemonger

California

4.48/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Deep reddish brow, mostly clear, with a large tan head. Looks delicious, like a dessert. Good head retention with lots of lacing.

Big hop aromas, with citrus, pine and grapefruit. Plenty of sweet caramel malt. Nice punch, but also smells like it's going to be smooth.

Massive flavors, way bigger than the aroma even suggested. Tons of the same blend of hops I'm getting from the aroma, but with a big bitter smack too. The malts are just as big with the thick caramel sweetness that never takes over the hop show.

Pretty heavy, moderate carbonation, lingering. Bitterness takes away from the smooth drinkability, but that's pretty normal for the style it seems.

Barleywine as a style is pretty hit or miss for me, but this is definitely one of my favorites. There's no medicinal backbone that many have, yet this is definitely all barleywine. I really appreciate the crazy levels of everything here - maybe just a little less bitterness would've taken this one further for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2013 19:37:14 | More by gleemonger

pajonkunz

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.1%

06-13-2013 16:39:50 | More by pajonkunz

themilkman87

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

06-13-2013 02:42:25 | More by themilkman87

ChalupaBatman

California

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

06-13-2013 02:21:48 | More by ChalupaBatman

Paccamacca

California

4/5  rDev -4.1%

06-13-2013 00:13:00 | More by Paccamacca

Jas45678

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

06-12-2013 23:35:09 | More by Jas45678

utopiajane

New York

4.35/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a mahogany red with 2 fingers of tight creamy foam that fell off when it was good and ready. Amazing clarity. Left some yeast floating on top and some sticky, sticky lace. Just beautiful. Nose is big sweet malt. Delicious and fat with caramel, toffee and grain. Hops round it out with dark fruits, cherry and floral. Touch of spice way, way in back. Malt opens up fat and bold as it warms. It’s sweetness deepens but never goes over the top. Hops character is always forthcoming, enlivening and bursting with resin and bitter. Alcohol stays well hidden until the end and contributes to the dryness in the finish. Balance is perfect between the big sweet grain and the oily bitter. This is a strapping, and downright huge beer that was a pleasure from first sip to last.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2013 09:17:47 | More by utopiajane

Tlab3

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

06-12-2013 00:36:27 | More by Tlab3

bpasquini

California

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

06-11-2013 23:17:53 | More by bpasquini