Subsidiaries
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
OK, I love hops and all, but does Seirra Nevada have to put so many into ALL of their beers, regardless of style? The hop character is great in their pale ale and celebration ale, but it ruined the stout for me, and it pretty much ruins this one for me, too. It has a fruity, almost vinous aroma, with hints of alcohol. The flavor has some malty, sticky sweetness, with some fruity esters, but the hops kick the crap out them, steal their lunch money, and force them to hide in the background. I think this will be great with some age, if the hop character mellows out, but my young sample isn't all that great. [re-rate, original: 3.4] Alright, after some consideration, and several additional tasting, I must appraciate this beer for what it is, and not penalize it for what it is not. I am quite the hop head, and this has hops out the wazoo, and it has enough malt to satisfy the malt lover as well, so it is really the best of both worlds. I need to pick up SEVERAL more six packs, some for drinking, some for aging, because I know this will be great for years to come.
Tried
on 13 Feb 2003
at 16:55
8.6/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Dark brown in colour, fast-fading head. Great thick pour. Nice smell...very strong too! Insanely thick-bodied taste and a great full flavour. Very strong maltiness and a strong hoppy flavour which goes perfectly with the beer! 2003 vintage.
Tried
on 07 Feb 2003
at 19:42
5.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5
Get this extreme hop character out of my stout, right now! If it weren't for that, this would be a mighty fine stout. There is a roasty flavor with a decent malty sweetness, but the hops wash them out so much that you can't enjoy them, and then the hops return again to ruin the finish, making it slighty metallic. I hate it when an otherwise good beer is ruined by one, fatal flaw.
Tried
from Can
on 01 Feb 2003
at 18:08
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
This is a pretty darn good pale ale. It has a pleasant, floral hop aroma. There's a pretty good balance between the hops and malts, and the body is substantial for a pale ale. This is is golden in color, not amber as the description suggests. Pretty impressive.
Tried
on 01 Feb 2003
at 17:00
4.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 5
Certainly not one of their better ones. Far too gassy and fizzy.............
Tried
on 14 Jan 2003
at 08:14
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Tap in Chico: Light amber with off white head.Sweet malty nose with hints of fruit. Light malt flavor with citrus hop finish. Wel balanced
Tried
from Draft
on 14 Jan 2003
at 08:13
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
Stouty-black colour, sweet-portery smell...tastes like a common porter, nothing special!
Tried
on 10 Jan 2003
at 18:49
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Decent light, somewhat hoppy beer. Each time I sample this, it gets better and better....Its the definitive american pale!
Tried
from Can
on 10 Jan 2003
at 18:48
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
2005 Batch:
Nice deep amber coloured body with a ruby tint and a great nice tan head. Aroma of fresh cascades, pineapples, malt and alcohol - a good aroma! Medium-bodied; Sharp pine and spruce hoppiness with some floral notes and a short malt flavour. Aftertastes focuses solely on the hops, no malt or alcohol tasted at all. Overall, not as good as previous years’, but good in its own right. Not enough malt this year - definitely! Sampled from a 12 ounce bottle purchased from Norm’s in Vienna, Virginia on 19-Dec-05. Rating for this sample: 8,4,6,2,13.
Dark amber colour with ruby highlights and a thin white head. Very hoppy aroma with subtle malt scents. Fresh hop flavour with a great balance of malt. Aftertaste bittered from the hops. Overall, a nice beer-truly a great seasonal! Rating for this batch: 8,5,8,3,15
2002 Batch:
Somewhat spicey, but a great overall cold weather beer. It’s not too dark, but it’s got some good spicey tones. Not close to my favourite winter beer! Rating for this batch: 7,3,7,2,14 2001 Batch:
Still a lot of hops in the nose. Died down hoppiness in the taste, but its still damn hoppy! No spice nor malt, however. Aftertaste clean but hoppy. Overall, a great aged beer-super nice to try! I sampled this pint on draught at RFD in Washington, D.C. on 20-June-2004 (making it over 2.5 years old) with JonR888710 & Haddon90. Rating for this batch: 8,4,8,4,16
Nice deep amber coloured body with a ruby tint and a great nice tan head. Aroma of fresh cascades, pineapples, malt and alcohol - a good aroma! Medium-bodied; Sharp pine and spruce hoppiness with some floral notes and a short malt flavour. Aftertastes focuses solely on the hops, no malt or alcohol tasted at all. Overall, not as good as previous years’, but good in its own right. Not enough malt this year - definitely! Sampled from a 12 ounce bottle purchased from Norm’s in Vienna, Virginia on 19-Dec-05. Rating for this sample: 8,4,6,2,13.
Dark amber colour with ruby highlights and a thin white head. Very hoppy aroma with subtle malt scents. Fresh hop flavour with a great balance of malt. Aftertaste bittered from the hops. Overall, a nice beer-truly a great seasonal! Rating for this batch: 8,5,8,3,15
2002 Batch:
Somewhat spicey, but a great overall cold weather beer. It’s not too dark, but it’s got some good spicey tones. Not close to my favourite winter beer! Rating for this batch: 7,3,7,2,14 2001 Batch:
Still a lot of hops in the nose. Died down hoppiness in the taste, but its still damn hoppy! No spice nor malt, however. Aftertaste clean but hoppy. Overall, a great aged beer-super nice to try! I sampled this pint on draught at RFD in Washington, D.C. on 20-June-2004 (making it over 2.5 years old) with JonR888710 & Haddon90. Rating for this batch: 8,4,8,4,16
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Jan 2003
at 18:47
7.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
2002 Bottle: Another winner thanks to the Hollingshead Deli in Anaheim. Deep amber color with a thin and rocky off-white head. Huge toasty malt aroma. Flavor of malt, alcohol and dark fruit. This is easily the hoppiest Barley Wine I have had, but it actually works pretty well. The hops make it more drinkable than the usual overly sweet malt/alcohol found in most Barley Wines. This would be a great beer to age for a year or two.
Tried
from Bottle
from
Hollingshead Deli
on 10 Jan 2003
at 18:39