Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale is an American Barleywine with a 9.6% Alcohol By Volume. This beer is certainly brewed with cellaring it in mind, as each year the cap displays the year it was brewed. It is common practice for people buy a six pack or a case of twelve, and drink one or two of the beers, and put the rest away for some aging.
My bottle that I will review is very fresh, as the 2012 batch of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale just hit the shelves. If you are new to cellaring beer and are wondering what to expect, what normally happens is that any aspects of the beer that may seem a bit extreme when fresh will smooth out over time, but I think part of the fun for people that cellar beers is that you never know how they will turn out until you finally taste them.
Sierra Nevada Barleywine Ale is a mostly clear, dark brown beer, with a pretty sizable off-white head topping it off. A medium amount of lacing remains behind.
The nose has a deep caramel malt base, with a bright hop profile, largely citrus and pine. Smells like the classic Three C's hops are exclusively used. A noticeable spicy alcohol is evident.
The mouth is very full and fairly active, with some thick malts, which are primarily caramel but there are some lighter malts mixed in as well. Some darker fruits transition into the dominant hops, which are primarily citrus and grapefruit, but also get into pine and resin, and finish fairly bitter. A bit of spice from the elevated alcohol is present, but overall it is well blended.
The longest I've managed to cellar a beer thus far has been about 2 weeks, but I have bought cellared versions from Blue Max before, and the beer certainly does age well. I like it fresh and I don't think it would be overwhelming to most people, but if you like to cellar beers then you probably already have a number of Sierra Nevada Barleywine Ales tucked away.
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale : A-
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