Sierra Nevada 40th Hoppy Anniversary Ale: Thoughts?

No problem, people are always confusing me and Tongo (I consider it a compliment ).

 

The one I tried tasted like an IPL or a Straight Pils almost, maybe I should try again? Right now this is a miss for me

 

Too cold, maybe?

 

Vons has SN 12 packs on sale for $10.97 at the moment. I went with the fresh Pale Ale. I still have a few Anniversary in the fridge. If they still had Celebration I would have bought a 12 of those.

 

i've always gotten that from SNPA and from some of my Cascade-heavy home-brews and accordingly have (personally) attributed it, perhaps erroneously, to Cascade. Or the interplay between C-60 and Cascade.

 

Love this beer & love this thread! I am getting sixers from my neighborhood grocery for about $8.49. I must admit I was not initially impressed with the 40th but that was because I was totally engrossed in this year's Celebration Ale. I love the idea of a blind taste test of SN beers as they rarely disappoint. (I have a trip to NoCal scheduled in March & Chico is my only must-see.)
Thanks to all of you seasoned BA guys for breaking these beers down to the essential characteristics. I would never have tasted Earl Grey nor am I sure that I want to. I am going to spend next week looking for BigFoot fresh..

 

Straight American or Nouveau Pils? 'Cause I got no hint of Pilsner with the hops used in the 40th. It's "all American."

 

Okay, so here's my somewhat more scientific version of the blind tasting. More scientific than @AlcahueteJ because I drank some water in-between here and there.

I marked some red Solo cups on their bottoms with C, S, and 4 for I.D. and had my wife fill them a quarter full to start.

Celebration bottled: 10.07.19, 40th bottled: 12.03.19, Pale bottled 11.19.19.

Nailed the Celebration off the bat; just too big to be either of the others. With warming, the alcohol really stands out on the palate and the mellow sweetness of bigger malts balances so well with the hops -- classic.

The 40th and PA really were more difficult than I expected, until I focused a little harder and recognized the smoothness of the PA and the bigger resins in the 40th (again, bigger than the PA, not necessarily bigger than other IPAs out there). The body of the 40th is thinner and more crisp than the PA, probably due to a hop-focus with the 40th.

Bottom line is, SN brews good beer. No tricks or "innovative" recipes, just making solid, drinkable, tasty beer. If someone handed me a beer and said, "Here, drink this -- it's from Sierra Nevada." I wouldn't question too much.

 

Straight, based on a lot of comments I saw in this thread,I'm thinking this one may not what they were offering/intending. I have yet to see it in Arkansas, so I may have to revisit

 

Well it took awhile to finish, so possibly at the start?

 

If I was confused with either of you I’d consider a great compliment.

@TongoRad

I picked up singles of Pale Ale, Celebration, 40th, and Bigfoot...round 2 coming up Super Bowl Sunday.

 

I had my first go in the Sunday New Beer Thread, had two more since. I am glad I came across this thread and had the opportunity to pick up this 40 year old HILF (Hoppy IPA Love-it Forever) offering. She's a dime and I am loving every sip!

Planning on picking up twelve more this week!

 

Yesterday I had the new version of Tropical Torpedo for NBS (link), and I was thinking that it would have been a nice addition to the blind tasting mix that I did alongside the 40th. It reminded me more of the 40th than any of the other Sierra beers I had in my tasting, but still distinctive from it (and not as enjoyable for me). Just a thought. No pressure.

 

Hmm, I wonder if I could even find it, I don't recall seeing it recently in my area. Then again, I'm not really looking either. I was at the store yesterday and saw the regular Torpedo.

I also really disliked Tropical Torpedo when I had it, might have even been a rare drain pour for me.

 

I dug it! I think if you expected something off the wall, or particularly different, you were bound to be disappointed, but going into it hoping for a crisp, well balanced west coast pale, I was exactly whelmed. I'd definitely buy it again.

 

As I drink more of the 40th Anniversary, I get less of the Hop Hunter thinness and enjoy it more than I thought originally. That is all, carry on.

 

And how fucking late to the party am I? This is a damn solid beer. Maybe not too exciting, but what the hell is wrong with that? As I grow older I find myself seeking out good west coast IPA's that don't try to reinvent the wheel, and that pretty much spells out this beer. Thank you Sierra Nevada for not trying to be pretentious.

 

Not sure if there is any documentation of such a thing, but I noticed that the SN 40th has been at the top of the Trending Beers list for quite a while -- new record?

@Todd

 

Frustrating that this hasn’t dropped in Kansas yet! I may have to cross state lines to Missouri to pick it up. <shudder>

Am a big fan of both SNPA and Torpedo, so hoping I can score at least a 6-pack before the Super Bowl.

 

Seems a really good reason to include it. If you can’t distinguish your drain pour and all...

(if you can find it, but @zid I think had a can I had not seen before, so maybe a newer batch is out there?)