Trip In The Woods: Ginger Bigfoot
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Trip In The Woods: Ginger BigfootTrip In The Woods: Ginger Bigfoot
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From:
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
11.4%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.81 | pDev: 13.39%
Reviews:
54
Ratings:
136
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 14, 2023
Added:
Oct 24, 2016
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  33
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Davepoolesque:
Photo of Davepoolesque
Reviewed by Davepoolesque from Massachusetts

2.57/5  rDev -32.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
Why? Why make a delicious barrel aged barleywine and absolutely slam it with Ginger? Just not worth it. It's terrible and so inelegant. This could be any strong ale with ginger.
Oct 31, 2016
More User Ratings:
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

2.89/5  rDev -24.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
This one pours a fairly dark brown color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like toasted malt, dark fruit, cardboard, and out of place spicy ginger.

I don’t know whose idea it was to add ginger to a hoppy barrel aged barleywine, but I hope that person got transferred departments. I don’t want them fired, I just want them in a more hands off role, maybe. It’s honestly not as tragic as I assumed it would be, but it’s certainly not good. There’s an OK barleywine somewhere in there, but it’s kind of stale tasting, maybe oxidized, and still just way too hoppy for something barrel aged. The ginger is in there, and way too strong. To be honest, any amount of ginger is too much and out of place, though.

This is medium bodied, kinda boozy, and not drinkable.

This should never have been made. Whose idea was this? Why?
Feb 14, 2023
 
Rated: 4.11 by JakerLou from New Hampshire

Oct 18, 2021
 
Rated: 3.51 by CisPiece88 from Nebraska

Apr 19, 2021
Photo of zac16125
Reviewed by zac16125 from South Carolina

4.48/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Sierra Nevada Trip in the Woods Bigfoot with Ginger
750mL bottle into a tulip
No bottling dates
Reviewed fresh, but just found my old notes so posting them.


A: Pours a dark brown, opaque in the glass but translucent with ruby hues when held to light. 1.5 fingers of light tan head builds before dissipating down to leaves a few patches of lacing. 4.25

S: Aroma is tons of ginger up front, then typical Big Foot notes on the finish with candied sugar and caramel/toffee. Its very spicy, somewhat floral, somewhat citrusy, and pretty sweet. Barrel notes are subtle with charred oak and a bourbony vanilla. Its very unique, way different than regular or BA Big Foot, but I definitely dig it. 4.25

T: Taste is sweet, lots of caramel malts and candied sugar. Ginger is definitely present, but not nearly to the degree of the aroma. There are some floral and piney bitterness hops. Barrel characters are presents with a smooth charred oak and a whiskey booze finish. 4.5

M/D: Its remarkably smooth, not sure to what degree the ginger contributes to that, or maybe its just time from being in the barrel. Its also very drinkable for the style, dangerously so. Carbonation is moderate and appropriate. Near perfect mouthfeel feel. 5

O: I thought this was fantastic. A unique twist on one of my all time favorite beers. SN just doesn’t miss. 4.5
Oct 23, 2020
Photo of CaptainHate
Reviewed by CaptainHate from Ohio

3.91/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Welp this was a disappointment. At some point in the past, probably last year, I had a chance to snag one of the regular Trip in the Woods, didn't do it and it was gone forever. So when I saw one of these in a bottle shop, 2016 vintage, I grabbed it so quickly I didn't notice the ginger caveat. To be honest I'd have surely grabbed it anyway but I'd have not been so surprised as I was tonight as I was about to enjoy this on an end of the summer cool weekend evening as my attic becomes habitable for listening to music, reading and drinking beer.

Poured into a DFH tulip a small tan head quickly dissipated over a dark brownish amber body. Smell was nicely complex of candied fruits over barrel, booze and malts. It's in the taste that the ginger dominates. When it was cold out of the cellar fridge it was "whoa that's too much ginger" but as it warms it somewhat fades but it's still prominently there. There's still the traditional Bigfoot hop bite in the taste but the barrel and bourbon fade way into the background. Mouthfeel is standard Bigfoot so no surprise there.

If I hadn't tried this I'd be kicking myself so I think this will ultimately be a historical curio that I participated in the experiment.
Sep 06, 2020
 
Rated: 3.66 by ummswimmin from New Jersey

Aug 27, 2020
Photo of MonDak_Joe1953
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota

4.01/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
750ml bottle. No dating on bottle or label.
Amber brown colored body, with two fingers of very light tan colored head. The head settles back to a surface cap, and leaves behind a partial ring and spots of lacing.
Aroma is somewhat with quite a bit of whiskey barrel. Malty with a strong sense of ginger.
Taste is malty with burnt sugar, orange, and the note of ginger. Lots of whiskey barrel and vanilla. After taste retains the ginger with the barleywine experience.
Medium plus silky mouth feel. Good head upon pouring but low on felt effervescence.
A very smooth sipping barleywine with the added zest of ginger. It gets better upon repeated sips, but be a fan of ginger.
Aug 22, 2020
Photo of jzeilinger
Reviewed by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

3.46/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.25
Looks amazing but smells like bug spray....the ginger dominates this beer but in a bad way (unfortunately). The ginger dominates, bourbon is 2nd, base beer is third. Would have been great with a more subtle personality and compliment the Bigfoot.
Jun 13, 2020
 
Rated: 3.65 by PhineasMcClintock from Massachusetts

Jun 13, 2020
Photo of LeRose
Reviewed by LeRose from Massachusetts

3.69/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
The pour is a cloudy brown liquid with a tight and tidy beige head. Tight and tidy falls to a ring and Pangea in the middle of the glass. Not the best visual appeal here, but far from the worst.

The smell is boozy, woody, whiskey which you have to search for thru the absolutely huge smell of ginger. As the beer warms, you can smell the ginger across the room, but there is more there. Brown sugar or caramel, kind of a dark bread, and the vanilla emerges from the shadows.

Taste follows the nose with the huge punch of earthy, spicy ginger. It takes some unraveling, but the barley wine is certainly underneath the ginger-pa-looza. Sweetness, definite whisky barrel, dark fruit towards fig, a little vanilla, oak. On alternating sips - weird, but every other sip gives me a harsh bitter maybe as the ginger accumulates...don't know...strange.

The beer is not as heavy textured as I expected. Medium body, mildly carbonated. A bit of a spice burn from the ginger, and the ABV doesn't bother to hide.

I have no idea how long I have had this bottle. I suspect a couple of years. While I enjoy the beer, I think it is pretty unbalanced. If it is that old and still carrying that much ginger and that much alcohol heat, glad I waited
Jun 04, 2020
Photo of SHODriver
Reviewed by SHODriver from North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
A: Poured into a snifter to a deep ruddy brown topped by a dense and slightly rocky finger of cream colored head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing.
S: Smells of an insane amount of ginger with some brown sugar and oak along with a touch of caramel and faded hops.
T: Taste is ginger, brown sugar, caramel, oak, toasted malt, and faded hops with a hint of vanilla. Ginger continues to weave back and forth across the palate on this one. On the swallow there's more ginger, oak, caramel, brown sugar, and vanilla, but the ginger has the most staying power.
M: This beer is big and syrupy on the palate. Carbonation is there but it's on the low end. I think it's still adequate for the style though. The beer has a drying finish which was expected for the style.
O: Overall this is an interesting one. Really nice flavors but the ginger is just a little too prominent. It meshes well with the base beer flavors but it still tastes like it's a little too forward for my liking. Decent complexity but the ginger does overshadow some of the more standard notes. I don't think I'd want to revisit this one, but it isn't bad.
Feb 18, 2020
 
Rated: 3.45 by lsudduth from Ohio

Dec 26, 2019
Photo of Marklaker
Reviewed by Marklaker from Florida

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2016 bottling. I was prepared for a drain pour, having previously wounded my palate parrying with it's black currant sibling....I shudder. I've since discovered the secret with anything Big Foot related is to put it in witness protection for at least two years.

Run....if you don't like ginger. Otherwise, prepare for a piquant smack down. Ginger, a hint of whiskey, more ginger, some caramel, even more ginger, and a touch of pine. For those of you old enough to recall the artifact known as ginger ale....before the Uncola relegated it to a liquid curio....sit back and enjoy!
Dec 25, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by jakea from Wisconsin

Jan 06, 2019
 
Rated: 4.04 by Jcarriglio from Florida

Dec 19, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by DigitGrowler from Kentucky

Dec 08, 2018
Photo of bluejacket74
Reviewed by bluejacket74 from Ohio

4.24/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
750 ml bottle, looks like the bottling date is October 4, 2016. Served in a Sierra Nevada snifter, the beer pours a cloudy brownish/red color with about an inch light tan head that stayed around for a while. There's also a decent amount of lacing. I like the aroma, the brew smells like whiskey, ginger, dark bread, brown sugar, oak and figs. Taste is similar to the aroma, with whiskey, ginger, vanilla, dark bread, brown sugar, caramel, earthiness, oak and figs. Mouthfeel/body is full, it's creamy and coating with a good amount of carbonation. If you like ginger, then I definitely recommend this brew cause it is mostly about the ginger. Have to say this has aged well over 2 years, wish I would have bought some more! $7.99 a bottle (I believe it was on closeout when I purchased it).
Oct 19, 2018
 
Rated: 3.96 by TheHopsman from Nebraska

Sep 09, 2018
 
Rated: 4.21 by Beer21 from Florida

Sep 08, 2018
Trip In The Woods: Ginger Bigfoot from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 136 ratings