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Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
- From:
- Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
- California, United States
- Style:
- American Pale Ale
Ranked #204 - ABV:
- 5.6%
- Score:
- 90
Ranked #9,084 - Avg:
- 4.03 | pDev: 11.66%
- Reviews:
- 3,288
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Feb 23, 2024
- Added:
- Jul 05, 2001
- Wants:
- 377
- Gots:
- 3,615
Our most popular beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a delightful interpretation of a classic style. It has a deep amber color and an exceptionally full-bodied, complex character. Generous quantities of premium Cascade hops give the Pale Ale its fragrant bouquet and spicy flavor.
38 IBU
38 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by cgrunin:
Rated by cgrunin from Texas
3.93/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Dec 22, 2017
3.93/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Dec 22, 2017
More User Ratings:
Rated by mooseheadchris
4.55/5 rDev +12.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
4.55/5 rDev +12.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Perfectly hopped, bright, and endlessly drinkable. A gold standard.
Feb 15, 2024Reviewed by LanceBiggums from Canada (AB)
4.47/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.47/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Light amber or dark honey colour. Huge aroma, with bready and caramel malt, rather English in character, and piney, earthy, and spicy hops. The taste follows exactly, with some extra citrus elements. There is a good amount of bitterness from the American hops, but it's well balanced by a stiff-upper-lip English style malty backbone. Goes down a treat as well, perfect amount of carbonation, solidly medium mouthfeel. Overall an excellent beer, the best American ale I've ever had, and well deserving of its reputation.
Dec 21, 2023Reviewed by Pomcq
4.86/5 rDev +20.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
4.86/5 rDev +20.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
Deserves a higher rating here—never came across a beer produced on as widely a scale, as available, as consistently delicious and as drinkable as this. It’s the go to!
Dec 03, 2023Reviewed by dano213 from Pennsylvania
4.23/5 rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.23/5 rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
12oz bottle purchased from the fridge as a single for $2.49. PKGD 09/12/23, so this beer is just over two months old.
Look: It has a very nice copper color. Essentially clear but there is a slight haze. There is a steady stream of tiny bubbles rising up the glass. There was a frothy, eggshell-colored head of about two fingers that eventually reduced to a thinner layer.
Smell: It has the trademark Cascade hop nose that Sierra Nevada has become known for. Lots of citrus notes, pine, some floral and honey notes, and earthy goodness. It has a bit of caramel malt character also. The nose is also a bit peppery. More specific notes of orange peel, pine tar, and resin. The aromas are so nice, this could be a nice perfume or cologne.
Taste: Ah, so refreshing and so tasty. It is very flavorful and also very easy to drink. The flavors on the palate very much mimic the nose. It's the prototypical West Coast Pale Ale: it's a hop-driven American Pale Ale that also has a substantive malty backbone with nice caramelly, biscuity flavors. It has a very nice orange peel flavor that is not overly bitter or sweet. There's a more subtle grapefruit pith and lemon peel character. The finish is moderately to highly bitter.
Feel: It's light to medium-bodied. Nicely carbonated; it has a slightly soft mouthfeel. It's very drinkable. Super clean and very crisp, especially for an APA.
Overall: This is an excellent beer. I can't believe that it took me so long to review this. I think that part of the problem and my only criticism of this beer is that I find it very hard to obtain fresh. I'm not sure why that is since SN has such good distribution (especially with the NC facility) and this is their flagship beer. I think that what sets this beer apart from most other American Pale Ales is its more bitter, drier finish. I think that it really adds to its refreshing-ness.
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
5.6%
BITTERNESS UNITS
38
CARBS (GRAMS)
14.3G
CALORIES
175
PROTEIN
1.9G
MALTS
Caramelized, Two-row Pale
HOPS
Cascade
YEAST
Ale
Nov 21, 2023Look: It has a very nice copper color. Essentially clear but there is a slight haze. There is a steady stream of tiny bubbles rising up the glass. There was a frothy, eggshell-colored head of about two fingers that eventually reduced to a thinner layer.
Smell: It has the trademark Cascade hop nose that Sierra Nevada has become known for. Lots of citrus notes, pine, some floral and honey notes, and earthy goodness. It has a bit of caramel malt character also. The nose is also a bit peppery. More specific notes of orange peel, pine tar, and resin. The aromas are so nice, this could be a nice perfume or cologne.
Taste: Ah, so refreshing and so tasty. It is very flavorful and also very easy to drink. The flavors on the palate very much mimic the nose. It's the prototypical West Coast Pale Ale: it's a hop-driven American Pale Ale that also has a substantive malty backbone with nice caramelly, biscuity flavors. It has a very nice orange peel flavor that is not overly bitter or sweet. There's a more subtle grapefruit pith and lemon peel character. The finish is moderately to highly bitter.
Feel: It's light to medium-bodied. Nicely carbonated; it has a slightly soft mouthfeel. It's very drinkable. Super clean and very crisp, especially for an APA.
Overall: This is an excellent beer. I can't believe that it took me so long to review this. I think that part of the problem and my only criticism of this beer is that I find it very hard to obtain fresh. I'm not sure why that is since SN has such good distribution (especially with the NC facility) and this is their flagship beer. I think that what sets this beer apart from most other American Pale Ales is its more bitter, drier finish. I think that it really adds to its refreshing-ness.
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
5.6%
BITTERNESS UNITS
38
CARBS (GRAMS)
14.3G
CALORIES
175
PROTEIN
1.9G
MALTS
Caramelized, Two-row Pale
HOPS
Cascade
YEAST
Ale
Pale Ale from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Beer rating:
90 out of
100 with
12276 ratings
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