Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Cellaring & Group Reviews

@SFACRKnight couldnt agree more

 

Don't you go dragging me into this now...

 

Finally saw that this stuff showed up in force around here. Realized before I tried it that it's probably been about 10 years since I have had bigfoot. That said I was very surprised at it. Waaaaay hoppier than I expected, to the point of almost feeling like an IPA more than anything else. cliffnotes
L: amazing ruby/copper color, really bright, really nice head with great structure.
S: Nice dark fruit notes along with pretty assertive herbal/hoppy bite
T: black tea and lemon/lime peel, some caramel, some tart apple, surprisingly dry. My thoughts are generally 'lets call this an imperial english IPA'.
F: much too thin for the style, very light on the tongue, the most surprising aspect overall to me. This level of levity on a beer this big is impressive if a bit confusing
O: A beer that is not unpleasant to me, but not what I'm looking for if I think to myself 'I really want a barleywine'.
I gave it a rating around 3.75, about 10% below it's average.

Funny to me that if you told me this was SNs new double IPA meant to compete with hopslam I would think, great job, this is a really pleasant malty double IPA. I'm super curious now to see how this ages, also super curious to track down one of the barrel aged bottles and give it a try. I see potential here but my overall take away is utter surprise at how far from expectations it actually strays

 

I probably have one bottle of 08 left and a couple of each year between 09 and now in the basement. I have opened as many as 6 different vintages in one night (sharing with a friend) and I have come to the conclusion that comparing one year to the next (say 13 to 14) is basically pointless, they are just too similar. If you have some "wide spaced" vintages (4-6 years) then things start to get more interesting.

I haven't done one of these in a while, I'm going to go poke around in the basement and see what I find

 

Most American barleywines toe that line. Avery Hog Heaven was initially called a dry hopped barleywine, and later rebranded as a red IPA. I can see validity in both arguments. Lawyers guns and money from crazy mountain is another one that toes the line. I suppose I should be giving more validity to our discussion @ManBearPat

 

I may have to delve deeper into the american barleywine category then

 

haven't seen the 19 yet, but i do have a vertical from 2003-18

 

I only have 16 - 19 and I don't know if the remaining 8 bottles of 16 are going to survive the year. The longest I ever had one survive is 5 years. After reading the ages of some in this thread I might have to hide some from myself!

 

Right. This thread may cause an irrational urge to purchase and squirrel away beer for decades. Tell your doctor if beer builds up and they're cool and might come drink some with you

 

Right? It makes me want to just get a case to store away and have a couple each year. Same with Mad Elf. I think that's also a much better beer with age. When that comes out in the Fall, I'm planning on getting a case and storing most away in the cellar.

 

Yep, after posting my thoughts above, I ran out to score some '19, several bottles of which now sleep soundly in my cellar. This site is a deliciously bad influence on me.

 

Ya, this thread is bad news. A local shop has a case for $55 after tax. May be worth it.

 

Bought a '19 bottle last night to decide if I want to buy a 6er/case.

Also, I agree with y'all that it's generally more of an IPA than a barleywine, even by American barleywine standards. I'm brewing my own SN clone for a bourbon barrel (will be second use for beer, so hopefully more oak than whiskey), and I'm going to use Maris Otter and MO crystal instead of 2-row and American crystal to try to give it a bit more malt to counterbalance the hops. Gonna call it Britfoot. Here's hoping it works out.

 

Just picked up a six pack this week. Fresh this has a lot of citrus on the nose. The taste has a good mix of floral and citrus hops up front with a bitter finish. There's malt in there also, but less than I remember from aged versions.

 

Ok, I'm very into this 2019 Bigfoot.

 

I’m totally down for this. Will give me the excuse I need to open the couple bottles I have left. One each of 14 and 15.

Also have one Barrel Aged Bigfoot left from 2015. Would do both 15’s side by side.

 

I haven't had a fresh Bigfoot in a few years. It's always a disappointment after having it aged a few years. If I find some singles, I'll buy one for this thread. If a sixer is all I can get, I age them all.

 

Wife and kids are out of town, nothing to do but drink Bigfoot


2008 and 2015

A: They both look very similar in the glass, surprisingly the 2008’s head lingers a bit more. Both are dark ruby color, crystal clear and light tan head. The 2008 might be a tiny bit darker, but that could be my imagination.

S: When I poured the 2008, I got a blast of caramel and fruitiness like dark cherry or prune. Nothing obvious as I poured the 2015. In the glass, the hops are more apparent, but not in a “this is centennial or cascade or …” just a definite hoppiness.

T: Very bitter, lots of hops but not obvious west coast Sierra Nevada hops, lots of caramel malts, makes me thing dark British caramel vs something basic like C40, light toffee, hint of sweetness. The 2008 gives me hints of chocolate, but probably more me thinking Heath Bar (toffee covered in chocolate).

M: Rich, round/almost creamy, tongue coating, medium amount of carbonation (even in the 2008). The hoppy bitterness lingers for a long time on the tongue. Somewhat palate wrecking, but in a good way, I guess I really like hops.

O: I’m surprised how similar these two vintages are. The 2008 comes across as a little rounder on the tongue and a little more muted in flavor, but neither are small/shy beers, they walk up and punch you in the mouth. One conclusion from tonight, I’m done keeping multiple vintages of Bigfoot. I’ll still going to hold back some each year because it is a different beer after a couple of years, but after a couple of years, there is not enough of a difference to my palate to keep 10 different vintages in the basement.

Probably a bad idea but, let’s throw 2018 into the mix

More citrus hops, a little more fruitiness that I think is the hops vs malt or yeast driven. A bit more tingly carbonation on the tongue, seems a little more on the crisp side relative to the older vintages. The easiest way to summarize is to compare 2008 to 2018. The 2018 has much more hop flavor, obvious citrus and pine. While the 2008 is hoppy, it is without the hop flavors, it is mostly just a hoppy bitterness. The lesser hop flavor in the 2008 lets a little bit more of the malt shine through.

The difference between 2015 and 2018 ends up being that the 2018 comes across as “fresher”, it is a little bit more “alive” or hoppy/fruity/flavorful. Not necessarily better, just fresher. The 2008 ends up with a little bit more malts, more restrained hops, slightly muted vs fresh. In the end, I’m somewhat amazed at how little difference there is between 2008, 2015, and 2018, maybe the oxygen caps actually do something.

I have a 2013 waiting in the fridge, need to find 2019 to compare very fresh to older.

 

After my 2/4 initial plunge with a 2019, which was at my daughter's and son in law's place in Santa Cruz, I decided when I returned to chez Hate to pop one of the 2018s (bottled 12/01/2017) as a basis of comparison. One huge difference: I store mine in a cellar fridge set between 50-55; God knows what the kids fridge is set at but it's a *lot* colder. Maybe because of that the head was much larger and consistent with what photos here have illustrated. Definitely because of the temp differences the smell was more prominent as was the taste. The hops are still very forward and any drop off is indiscernible to my unrefined palate. There's still an underlying sweetness that I hope comes more to the fore with increased age. I'll probably pick up a 2019 sixer tomorrow for cellaring.