Trip In The Woods: Grain, Grape & Wood
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

an absolutely fabulous beer, one of my favorites in awhile from these guys, honestly maybe ever. this series keeps producing some really neat beers, and this is chief among them. its done with big red wine grapes, and it shows in the color, an almost crayon purple red color to it, a short head from the tap, and some legs on it like a big red wine. the nose is awesome too, a very cool hybrid drink here, with some heavy fruit on it, but thats not all, round tannins, sturdy oak, pretty full malt character, and warming alcohol like a brandy or something, slightly sweet, slightly tart, very mature and mellow, well aged, entirely unique. crazy fruit nuance to this, black currant, blackberry, boysenberry, black cherry, the wine is awesome, merlot and syrah i think they say they use here, definitely robust, some tang from the skins it seems, subtle vanilla from the oak, not at all sweet though. hugely full bodied, but i taste the grapes a lot more than the malt, especially as it warms, like a big northern california red, the balance here is incredible, its like a barleywine meets a port or something, decadent but also not a one and one thing for me, i could have several pours of this, and seem to keep discovering something new with each sip, and its gone well before i want it to be. this is amazing beer, a highlight in the extensive and impressive sierra nevada portfolio, and really one of the better beer/wine hybrids in the game. elite level beer here, do not miss this one!