Trip In The Woods (2026): Barrel Aged Narfoot
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

 

Appearance - The beer was brownish, black and appearance with some visible carbonation.

Smell - In large part, it smelled like a barrel aged stout. However, there was some definite pine in the nose.

Taste - In the big picture, this was somewhat like drinking a black IPA. At the front, it acted more like a stout. There were notes of smooth, chocolate and bourbon. At the back, the barleywine stood out more with notes of pine and malt. The barrel notes seemed constant.

Mouthfeel - The beer did not have the body of a stout as it was on the thinner side. It did seem to have a strong body.

Overall - This beer was hard to define, but I am pretty sure I liked it.

pours dark as the sea at midnight…a fairly quickly dissipating tan head with no lacing
(swirl it a bit before nosing and the head rebuilds)

now the nose is more Narwhal than Bigfoot…
super chocolate-cherry bomb…roasty malt meets bourbon barrel-char… am assuming the
vanilla notes already present were enhanced with the aging (and sure, the barleywine factor)

…and the Bigfoot aspect comes out to play
on the first taste… the viscous quality of the imperial Stout remains undeterred but there are these little oil slicks of barleywine
emerging through the thick roiling darkness (

Many thx to CarolinaCardinals for this special bottle!

A - Dark brown pour with dense caramel lacing

S - Chocolate char and toasted toffee and caramel with oak, Bourbon, and light vanilla.

T - Bourbon, chocolate, cocoa, toasted toffee, chocolate malt char, vanilla, toasted caramel, and ends on the boozier side. Somewhat Bourbon forward overall.

M - Viscous body with some warming in the throat on the way down.

O - Pretty fantastic beer!

Purchased directly from the brewery online.

L- Pours a viscous ebony with a moderate tan head.

S- Has that BA Narwhal aroma.

T- Rich cocoa, plumy, raisins and coffee.

F- Lush and tannic at the same time. Very delicate carbonation.

O- I’m sure that I would have superlatives aplenty for this offering, yet I find myself tongue tied!

Sierra Nevada Trip In The Woods BA Narfoot American Strong Ale, 12.8% ABV. Pours black with a 3+ finger medium-brown head that left no lacing. Aroma is roast malt and bourbon. Taste is dark fruit, bourbon, and roast malt, faintly sweet, moderately bitter. Decent mouthfeel, some dryness. Overall excellent.

 

I had a short pour cold while I made dinner, enjoying the rest now at cellar temp and I'm enjoying it more. There is definitely more stout here, dark chocolate covered cherries and some nice, bitter char. Some caramel and a bit leafy bitterness at the end seem Bigfoot-y. The booze is nice and the oak is pretty prominent with a strong tobacco note.

Good stuff and I'm glad I have another bottle, but it's like the 2 beers almost cancel each other out in a way. The parts are greater than the sum. Tom said this didn't seem like a finished product, to me it almost seems overdone. Maybe too much time in oak?

Trip in the Woods (2026) Barrel-Aged Narfoot from Sierra Nevada. 16.9 fl oz cork and cage bottle, purchased 21/02/26 from Sierra Nevada on line. $ 20.00/$ 1.18/fl oz. Stored at 40 degrees F at home. Reviewed 07/03/26, review 3700. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Only date on the bottle is “2026”. Served at 57.0 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 60.9 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Black (SRM 40), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lit, same, with light only penetrating the edges, amber.
Head – Average (Maximum three cm, aggressive center pour). Sandy Tan, high density, short duration; the head drops to a 0.1 - 0.15 cm crown fed by spotty carbonation, and a large thin center island.
Lacing – None – moderately surprising at only 12.8% ABV.
Aroma – 4.5 – Sweet bourbon, no hops, no alcohol.
Flavor – 4.75 – Sweet bourbon and some light roasted malt. The advertised “dark fruit” is comfortably present. No hops, no alcohol (12.8 % according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Moderate gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Full: Syrupy: Soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the BA style description.
Final impression and summation: 4.5 Uncredited label art. Excellent! I’ve had both Narwhal and Bigfoot 2026 in the past week, and this is definitely Narwhalish – very mellow and smooth compared with this year’s Bigfoot. Definitely picking up the bourbon barrels, but the caramel is approaching imaginary and the chocolate is just plain absent. Fortunately, I’ve got two more bottles maturing for a later date.

Acquired 3-500 ml bottles from the Mills River campus 1-23-26. This is 1 of 2 new brews of the bi-monthly Friends of the Family drop. Consumed bottle #1 2-5-2026.

Beer poured black with a very nice head that is still hanging around 10 minutes after the first pour.

Nose is barrel forward with notes of whiskey, oak, vanilla, cocoa, and old school hops.

Taste is like drinking two separate Narwhal and Bigfoot brews. Getting a lot of cocoa from Narwhal while Bigfoot brings the C hops, the citrusy undertone, and a under the radar balancing hop. Barrel attempts to tie the two together and lends oak, vanilla, and fresh whiskey. Finishes balanced.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and very smooth but not super viscous.

Overall, what an interesting beer. The flavors are definitely distinct; the barrels were very wet. This is not a finished product and contrary to my current anti-aging philosophy, i suspect aging it in a closet for a year or two may be beneficial.