Life & Limb - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

superdedooperboy

Georgia

4.08/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

25.4-ounce corked-and-caged brown glass bottle poured into a Dogfish Head Signature glass. Batch 2, brewed and bottled in 2011. Served at cellar temparature, approximately 50 degrees F.

First off, the label art for this brew is wonderful. While there are many labels out there that appeal to me personally, there's just something about this one's style that appeals to me.

After a bit of a struggle, the cork breaks loose with a mighty pop. The pour is something truly unexpected. Deep, dark brown, showing nearly black but with some vague ruby-brown highlights showing through around the edges when held to the light; the head that rises is creamy and pale beige, making it seem as if a batch of Guinness made its way into the tanks in Chico.

The nose gives away that this is no Guinness, with a mildly spicy nose that shows off notes of pepper and cinnamon; the characteristics are reminiscent of a Belgian strain, though in actuality a blend of the house yeast strains from Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head was actually employed. Some sweetish malt is also evident, with notes of burnt toffee and dried dark pit fruit.

Mouthfeel is spectacular, with a creaminess that harkens to the creamy head, the semi-full body feeling almost like it was poured from a cask. There are truly not that many bottle-conditioned ales out there that possess such a perfect cask-like mouthfeel.

On the palate, things are fairly sweet up front and all around. Notes of caramel, chocolate, even a hint of coffee show themselves up front, with a spiciness similar to that in the nose appearing shortly thereafter; notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and faint clove meld with faint bitter herbal hops and merge into the sweet character of maple syrup, with a bit of woodiness also present. The malt (and probably yeast) profile of Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA actually comes to mind as well. The finish actually combines all of the palate's characteristics from start to finish, and the combination thereof lingers forever afterward.

Though seemingly fairly weighty and obviously high in alcohol, the combination of yeast strains and the use of highly-attenuative syrup makes this brew much more drinkable than it seems on the surface, though more than one serving can be a bit much and slightly cloying -- sticking to 10- or 12-ounce pours is highly recommended.

Quite interesting and a delicious showcase of the relative breweries' ingredients and brewing prowess. Not something that is going to change the world, but as with the brews in Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary Series, this is a collaboration that will most certainly go down in history.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2011 05:45:35 | More by superdedooperboy

megamass

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -0.5%

05-18-2013 05:54:21 | More by megamass

FUwolfpacker

South Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%

05-18-2013 03:11:03 | More by FUwolfpacker

jkane101

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -6.7%

05-18-2013 00:39:14 | More by jkane101

SmellsofMahagony

Texas

3.25/5  rDev -19.2%

05-16-2013 02:14:01 | More by SmellsofMahagony

Rob315

Kentucky

3.75/5  rDev -6.7%

05-15-2013 12:32:47 | More by Rob315

rderedin

Maine

3.25/5  rDev -19.2%

05-15-2013 00:55:05 | More by rderedin

vitese

California

3.75/5  rDev -6.7%

05-12-2013 18:13:00 | More by vitese

Kelp

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev -0.5%

05-12-2013 04:47:41 | More by Kelp

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -6.7%

05-10-2013 17:37:02 | More by twenty5

paulromeroii

California

3.5/5  rDev -12.9%

05-10-2013 06:34:48 | More by paulromeroii

caslansis

Colorado

4.75/5  rDev +18.2%

05-10-2013 02:45:52 | More by caslansis

tommyguz

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -6.7%

05-09-2013 23:52:33 | More by tommyguz

cadaugherty

Illinois

4/5  rDev -0.5%

05-09-2013 00:07:09 | More by cadaugherty

HopAttack3

Virginia

4.75/5  rDev +18.2%

05-08-2013 10:35:47 | More by HopAttack3

Prost76

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev -0.5%

05-05-2013 11:09:50 | More by Prost76

strongaf

Washington

4/5  rDev -0.5%

04-25-2013 06:18:10 | More by strongaf

superspak

Michigan

4.1/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled 6/29/2011. Pours fairly clear extremely dark reddish brown color with a 1-2 finger dense khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of raisin, toffee, molasses, toast, biscuit, wood, chocolate, maple, clove, light vanilla, and roasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with great balance and complexity of malt notes with well balanced wood notes. Taste of raisin, toast, toffee, chocolate, dark bread, wood, maple, molasses, light clove, roasted malt, slight char, and roasted earthiness. Slight earthy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of toffee, toast, raisin, chocolate, maple, molasses, dark bread, roasted malt, light clove, slight char, and earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice complexity and balance of malt flavors with wood notes; with light hop balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a creamy and fairly slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is an excellent strong ale! Great balance and complexity of malt flavor and wood aging; and very smooth to sip on. Really enjoyed this one.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 03:55:48 | More by superspak

drgonzo2k2

California

4.25/5  rDev +5.7%

04-21-2013 18:05:37 | More by drgonzo2k2

Chisfinest84

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +11.9%

04-20-2013 22:42:34 | More by Chisfinest84

tvv375ia

Iowa

4/5  rDev -0.5%

04-19-2013 01:54:14 | More by tvv375ia

facundoCNB

New Jersey

4.06/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a beautiful dark brown pour with 3 fingers of beige head, excellent lacing, great head retention. smells of licorice, caramel, maple, honey, vanilla, slight hint of bourbon, chocolate. an earthy bitterness up front followed by a sweet brown sugar/bourbon flavor.. notes of vanilla, chocolate, very sugary sweet.

medium body, a bit thin for the abv.. low carbonation.. a nice burn on the gums, warmth in the chest.

overall, a really nice offering. way different than the ipa they came out with this year. but still really nice.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2013 00:51:38 | More by facundoCNB

Skott1123

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +11.9%

04-13-2013 17:21:14 | More by Skott1123

blackie

Virginia

4.1/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

bomber from Norm's Vienna and cellared awhile after release

a: poured into a wide piraat snifter, life n’ limb is a deep mahogany brown in color, floating a dark khaki head that quickly falls back to only a thin ring

s: huge sweet malt nose - dark brown sugars, genuine maple syrup, spicy-sweet alcohol, lots of earthy, natural sweet aromas, raisin and date, wet cured tobacco, a earthy root spice that’s presumably birch, gentle touches of bitter chocolate, the sugars and alcohol give something of an apertif effect, moderate resinous pine hop aroma buried within, quite nice

m: carbonated to a light-moderate level, with a medium-full body and some sugary weight, smooth and picking up some creaminess after sitting for awhile

t: very rich on the tongue - loaded with heavy, dark malt sugars, date, sweet maple syrup, highly sweet, a moderate pine hop presence puts a small dent in the malts - adding a nice bitterness to the finish, some boozy fumes in the back of the throat - can feel the strength on this one, dark sweet breads, drying a touch after the swallow to leave woody roots, dark fruit leather, and toasted malts to linger

o: lots of alcoholic effect, dig the malty sugar flavors but it wears after awhile, the maple and birch add some interesting effect - nice overall, huge and somewhat complex but not fully capitalized, was far too hyped at the time

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2013 02:16:41 | More by blackie

AdamElb

New York

3.75/5  rDev -6.7%

04-09-2013 00:37:55 | More by AdamElb