Controversial Beer Opinions (Round Two)

I actually really like most Sierra Nevada beers, but I'm with you on Bigfoot. Something that bitter and malty just doesn't work for me.

 

Not a fan of
Belgians
Pilsner
Lagers

 

Maybe you just don’t like Sierra Nevada’s hoppy beers?

Because personally I feel Pale Ale, Celebration, and Bigfoot are all riffs on a similar theme, with the big difference being ABV.

Pilsners are lagers.

That would be like saying you don’t like IPAs and ales.

Lagers are a fairly broad category.

 

yeah exactly. Sorry if my post or the one I responded to weren’t clear

 

I like their labels. Kudos to them for doing something unique.

If I had to give an award to best labels though, it would definitely go to Oxbow. Their use of fonts and overall label design is amazing, and their wide range of beers are pretty damn fantastic too. Modern Times Ultra Series labels are truly drool worthy. They definitely look more like “art” than any kind of beer label. Mikkeller consistently crank out amazing and hilarious labels as well.

 

I’ll always be a sucker for the old school Sam Adams logo.

 

I would add their west coast stout to that list. And I totally understand why people would hate it. They seem to aim for this particular rose flavor you can find in cascade. Its unique in it's consistency in those "classically SN" hoppy beers. But I can definitely see it being a serious turn off.

ETA: should also add torpedo to the list, and I'll add that I revisited torpedo a week or so ago because i saw a single that was about 20 days old. I remembered why I'd dropped torpedo from.my rotation and it was really that rose note taken too far for me

 

Oh never mind.....

 

Well that certainly is controversial -to a point.
This coming from someone that has been in the restaurant/hospitality business for 40 plus years and as a Cook ( chef is way over used) for a majority of that time. Without seasonings there would be no difference in the foods of different cultures. I certainly agree that whole foods with minimum seasoning and the fried foods, fats, oils and red meat and all processed foods are garbage and I tend to eat whole grains, vegetables and fish as often as possible (hard to do when you work a 13 hour shift straight through). As an experienced cook I carry much of this over to what Im doing in tbe kitchen. I believe this is what people are gravitating towards currently. I use salt judiciously and dont put salt or pepper on tbe tables. I make my own ketchup and dont allow commercially produced condiments on the tables. I agree with most of what youre saying but alot of folks just dont get
Moderation is key.
I am in bed writing this after work but lets discuss this more. I have alot to say.

 

Amen, the seasoning is where the real magic that is "cuisine" happens. Salt is a base flavor and can be sourced from any number if ingredients (including of course the various forms of nacl crystals) but food without herbs and spices is just sustenance

 

Wait. You think SNPA and Bigfoot are similar?!?!?

I agree, and have publicly stated for years, that SN overhops everything they make. The fact that it takes at least 3 years for Bigfoot to start tasting like a Barleywine is Exhibit 1 in that trial.

But, I'd argue that the similarities are more yeast based.

 

I'm pretty sure they have the same hop lineup as well

 

Same malt bill, I assume the same yeast...Bigfoot has Centennial and Chinook in addition to Cascade. They both have Cascade, Pale Ale is just Cascade though.

I find Celebration to be even more similar to Bigfoot though. They both taste similar aged as well. I've often called Celebration "Bigfoot Light". Celebration and Bigfoot are the EXACT same recipe according to their site as well.

This probably isn't very different than when your local brewery has 8 different New England IPAs, only one has just Galaxy, while another has Galaxy, Citra, and Mosaic...etc.

Well, I don't think I do, I know I do (sorta). Blind tasting was done in coffee mugs. This was afterwards when they were poured in glasses.

 

Weird that you'd get that from Torpedo and Stout.

The rose comes from Centennial according to @SierraTerence . And neither beer has Centennial.

See below:

 

The rose (floral) flavor is from a hop essential oil of geraniol. There are a number of hop varieties that contain this essential oil and Cascade is one of them (see list below). Needless to say but hops are an agricultural product and the amount of geraniol in a given hop crop will depend upon the crop year, the location where the hops are grown (the terroir effect), when the hops are harvested (e.g., early harvest vs. late harvest) and other factors as well.

“It is found in Cascade, Citra, Centennial, Chinook, Pacific Hallertau, Southern Cross, Motueka, Aurora, and Styrian Golding hops.”

https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/euk63bzlWH/

Cheers!

 

Its just a note I get from their beers regularly and looking at the hop.bills cascade was the common denominator. Its so prevalent, to me, in their beers and so much less common in others that I assume whoever is doing the hop.buying for Sierra Nevada is selecting for it

 

But Torpedo doesn't have Cascade.

Like others (@beertunes) have said, I'd suspect it's the house character/yeast that makes them taste very samey to you.

 

But Torpedo is brewed using Citra hops and those hops contain geraniol; see my post (#576) above.

Cheers!

 

Its just a note I get from their beers regularly and looking at the hop.bills cascade was the common denominator. Its so prevalent, to me, in their beers and so much less common in others that I assume whoever is doing the hop.buying for aierra

Well serves me right for assuming, I guess its just the way their yeast interacts with hops generally (unless they have multiple ale yeasts) because I don't get that character from their porter or narwhal. Now I'm curious to try their hazys and hop bullet and see if I get the same notes