Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Stout from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company 23 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
2002 draught.Probably one of my least favorite Sierra Nevadas, but still a good stout. I was hoping for more of a body. I think Sierra Nevada characteristic hops detracts from this one. The sweet/light hoppy taste not being what i look for in a stout. 2003 bottle. I must say, I enjoyed this much more. This is a lighter stout, for sure, but still quite tastey with lots of barley malt showing through. There is a subtle light coffee flavor along with a roasted flavor that is almost hazlenut. The stout is quite sweet and has a medium body that has a soft honey-cream texture. Appearance is a nice light brown with some mahogany and black shades as well. Good caramel/white colored head. Muted nutty aroma. There is some bitterness on the aftertaste due to the cascades, but it is pleasant and adds some depth.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Porter from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company 23 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Another top 10 for me. It’s no Taddy porter, but for some reason i love this beer. esp on draught. Mildly roasty and nutty, a bit too carbonated in the bottle, but does not kill you with malt, the usual Sierra Nevada Hops taste makes this a lighter porter, but its a nice change. Rerate. Still love this beer. Very smooth even flavor. Perhaps a bit light. Taste is not as complex as I would like, and after trying hundreds more beers, this is still a solid, well made beer, but nothing uniquely great. Hard to find too many faults with it though. Rerate. I’m always constantly rerating this beer, to be honest, but recently, after trying it against Bell’s Porter, it didnt quite live up to my expectation (or was Bells just that good?) Lighter flavor than I’d like, dominated just a bit too much by the oily roast. Too much on the hops as well. Still very well done.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Wow, what to say about this one. Loads of fresh hops, none of that hop extract/hop pellets and it shows. Very bitter, exceptionally so for this style, but still manages to pull off a close to full bodied, round flavor. True the hops outdo the malt, but I enjoy that, and this beer was very original for its time. I have this beer periodically and though I am not blown away by it like I was the first time I tried it, I still find it to be just as good. I am still finding nuances about this beer that I didnt taste the first time i had it. I really enjoy the yeasty character towards the finish, this adds some more depth to the beer. It deserves all of the praise it gets, and I feel people giving it low ratings need to look at it again and consider if they are being cynical. 8/5/8/5/19
Rerate Well I figured it was time to just buy a bottle and start over with a fresh rating. Pour is golden-straw, light hints of rust, foamy white head, small bubbles, good retention and lacing. Aroma has notes of soft woody underbrush, faint hints of only moderately bitter grapefruit, some drying floral notes and a bit of spice and perfume. Flavor is full of pale malt, light hints of toasty caramel, and a mix of lightly herbal hops, green tea, some soft citrus, dry tangerine and a little woodiness. A faint hint of astringency detracts somewhat but it remains a well-made ale, IMHO, with nowhere near the flavor force of some modern APAs, but still flavorful and quenching, quality without force; finesse if you will. Balance is towards the hops, and that’s fine, it’s still got enough malt, I think. Low filtration gives a bit of yeast flavor that adds good depth. I still love this stuff. The rating above is for this experience.
Dogbrick (24322) reviewed Porter from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company 23 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
On the usual scale, the more robust the beer, the more I like it. However, I liked Sierra Nevada's Stout more than the Porter. It didn't seem to have the body the Stout enjoys. Dark brown color and thick sea-foam head. Very subtle roasted aroma. Sweet malty, nutty flavor. Very good, but not the best of the SR line in my estimation.
Dogbrick (24322) reviewed Stout from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company 23 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
I found this to be an excellent Stout, pours almost black with a thin head. Nice dry roasted/coffee flavor and pleasant aftertaste. I enjoyed this one the entire glass. This is probably my favorite Sierra Nevada offering.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
2003: Light gold with fizzy head, grassy hop aroma with a hop dominated palate. A bit light on the malt, but enough hops to make this a good dort style lager, IMO. 2002 Update: Very nice this year. A nice clean, hoppy lager. Reminds me of fresh Sam Adams Lager, but better. Nice tingly maybe somewhat citrusy hop aroma and flavor. Crisp, clean malt character. Smooth, if just a bit fizzy. Bright gold and large solid head. Much more balanced than my notes from last year indicate. I'm upping its numbers this year. 2001: A fairly clean lager with a medium body. Attractive golden color - light head, and very carbonated. Fairly strongly hopped. Plenty bitter, yet little in the way of hop flavor. Just enough malt to give it a little balance. On the whole though, I didn't like the strong bitterness and lack of depth.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Had the draught version at California Pizza Kitchen. Considering how widely available this beer is I'm surprised it took me this long to try it. Not the best APA I have had but still better than average. Good bitter hops flavor and somewhat dry. It is nice to know there are actually decent beers at the grocery store.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Golden coloured. Big hop aroma. Full bodied, clean maltiness. Very bitter finish. I liked it!
omhper (45152) reviewed Bigfoot from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company 24 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 10 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Sampled young. Reddish brown. Thick. Super fuity, super bitter, super cascade aroma. Probably need to mature for some time to become perfect, which is what I intend to do with my 2nd bottle.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
2022: The last time I rated this, I was surprised by the 9 year gap, and here I am 7 years later wondering what is wrong with me. Anyway, this beer is really a beacon of consistency. This is 100% the beer I remember it being. It has that heavy caramel/toffee malt with deep citrus and resin hops. Strong, heavy but soft palate (is that an oxymoron?). Nice bittersweet finish. 2015: I can’t believe it’s been 9 years since I’ve updated this rating. I haven’t consistently been able to find it since I’ve moved to Florida, in fact, the last time I remember even buying was possibly 2008 or 9. This is still a great beer, and while I might not give it a 4.2 if I was rating it for the first time today, it would be a 4.0 probably, and I’m not changing the numbers at this point. This really earns the name barleywine because of how it retains a full smooth soft maltiness, and even with the high hop presence, it never seems like it pretends to be a DIPA. Still has that great red color and rocky foamy head too. I will say that if there’s any difference, the hop profile seems different but probably for the better. It’s a bit more floral, brighter, fresher, not as chewy and resinous as I remember. 2006 (fresh): Whoa! This seems wholly different this year, and I’m sure much has to do with the switch from Nugget for bittering to Chinook. The aroma is amazingly fruity, also soapy and floral. Classic red color remains. Malts seem more restrained, as an intense floral and resiny hop character attacks right out of the gate, with a near burning alpha acid. Strong bitter finish. A step bacward in both complexity and the classic Bigfoot drinkability. 2005 fresh: nothing quite like a fresh Bigfoot. The same nice red color, the large foaming webby head. Aroma piney, a little soapy this time around, some caramel malt. Flavor deep and satisfying: big rounded caramel body with a resiny somewhat grapefruity tingle all over. Intensely bitter finish, but pleasantly so. I see I never rated the 2004 fresh, but I did have one at a year old just a couple of days ago: everything I like in the beer, hops faded just enough to rid this of its heavy resiny feel, and smooth it out. 1 year is good to this beer. 2003 Tasted fresh: Whoopee, Bigfoot is back and as good as ever. Rich piney/resiny hop aromatics, smooth velvety sweet malt (caramel, fruit) profile coupled with tingly hops and a bracingly bitter finish. Prev years notes: I’m really amazed at the hop presence in this beer. It comes across nicely with a pleasant bitterness and full nose of hops. Excellent lace lasts the whole glass. Flavor is rich and full-bodied and well-balanced. The high alcohol content is barely noticeable. Its the smoothest beer above 8% ABV that I’ve ever had. UPDATE: 2002 - same as always, ultra hoppy with quite a citric piney bite. I compared this fresh 2002 with a one year old bottle of 2001. I really prefer the one year old -the hops have softened but are still present and the malt comes through with warmth and depth, making it even smoother! Can’t wait to try it again in another year.