Bigfoot
(has 28 batches)
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Rotating|
Score
7.53
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Bigfoot is a beast of a beer, packed with bittersweet malt and heaps of aggressive whole-cone Pacific Northwest hops. First introduced in the winter of 1983, Bigfoot is a cult-classic brewed in the barleywine style—strong and robust with the refined intensity of a wine. Bigfoot is prized by beer collectors for aging in cellars. Under the proper conditions, it can develop enticing new flavors and character as it matures in the bottle. Each new release or “expedition” is vintage dated. Collect your own and savor the evolving flavors.
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6.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 7
Overall 6
12 oz bottle. Aroma is citrusy, burnt caramel, floral, old lady perfume, orange. Pours hazy amber with a one+ finger beige head with decent retention. Taste is bittersweet with caramel malt and stale citrusy hop flavors. More like an old school imperial IPA that’s been sitting on the shelf months past its prime than a real barleywine. This is sad, because this is the beer that got me into craft beer almost 30 years ago. Now it’s tasting really substandard.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Nov 2025
at 07:43
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6.5
Flavor 6.5
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Pours deep brown with no bubbles. Light cherry and fruit leather smell, not too much alcohol. Some tartness in the nose, too. Taste offers some malt, aged as expected. Flavor has turned a little south, but I can pick out some wine, leather upholstery, and again some nice tartness. I'm so used to barrel aged impy stouts, so barleywines are less familiar. They do change more over time, hops might fade, etc. But that just makes each batch a new adventure.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Oct 2025
at 02:50
8/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 8
Flavor 8.5
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bought locally, packaged November 30th 2023.
Pours a clear deep amber, small head of foam, retention not great, lacing minimal.
Smell is very hoppy with pine some citrus, grass, light caramel malt presence.
Taste is very bitter. Pine and grass, light citrus, some malty notes throughout. Finish is as bitter as it gets. Wonderful.
Full bodied, lively carbonation, I always buy this every year.
Pours a clear deep amber, small head of foam, retention not great, lacing minimal.
Smell is very hoppy with pine some citrus, grass, light caramel malt presence.
Taste is very bitter. Pine and grass, light citrus, some malty notes throughout. Finish is as bitter as it gets. Wonderful.
Full bodied, lively carbonation, I always buy this every year.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Aug 2025
at 14:08
8.9/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 8.5
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Bottles from House Of Trembling Madness. Amber body with a light haze and a beige head. Low carbonation. Faint lacing. Aroma of raisin, strawberry syrup and toffee. Flavour of malt sweetness, black pepper and a whack of bittering hops. Medium to full body with a smooth mouthfeel. Soft fizz. A hoppy, peppery barley wine. I’m glad I bought a couple more bottles.
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 May 2025
at 09:16