Sierra Nevada appreciation...

Favorite: Celebration
Why?: the name says it all

 

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum... hard to ask for more from a DIPA and that <$10 price point is great

 

Celebration if I had to choose one.

 

SNPA, torpedo, hoptimum, celebration, Bigfoot -- these are probably my favorites but I can't say I've had anything from them that really turned me off

 

I thought it was underwhelming. Not bad by any means; the flavors were all good, I just wanted more. But for casual drinking that might be a positive.


My favorite is Kellerweis. It has just the right balance of tartness and wheat-ey sweetness for me. Very refreshing, yet interesting. That or Ruthless Rye.

 

Their stout and porter are at or near the peak as no frills examples of the styles. SNPA is an obvious classic. I find Torpedo and Kellerweiss don't stand up to the same level of excellence as those other three in their year round stable, but are still great, especially at their price point. Celebration might be their best attempt at beer nirvana. Tumbler is good, but I'm never going to buy that over Bell's Best Brown. Ruthless Rye is their weakest, I think.(Can I say I miss Glissade?) Summerfest is good, but Czech Pilsners don't really rev my engine. Hoptimum is great but is in a hypercompetitive space right now, so it tends to be overshadowed. Same for Narwhal. Bigfoot might be the Barleywine closest to an IPA that I've ever had, so I respect it for that, but have other preferences in that style. And I think that about wraps up their main stable...

That said, Celebration and Stout are my favorites in their lineup.

 

I think I gained 5 lbs on Celebration Ale over the holidays and love Ruthless Rye!

 

Quality beers with GREAT prices, I love Sierra Nevada!

 

Ruthless Rye gets my vote for favorite.

 

Gotta disagree with the Ruthless Rye statement. Aside from it being a great beer, and since you proceeded to talk about other beers and their place in their respective types, how many rye IPA's are head and shoulders above Ruthless? There's some but not many IMHO.

That being said - to answer OP's question. Probably Bigfoot or, yes, Ruthless Rye.

 

Sierra Nevada is awesome!!! They are a great company and produce quality beer. Barrel Aged Bigfoot was amazing and so is Knightro.

 

SNPA is a classic. Their porter stout and kellerweis are also well made. Celebration is a rite of Winter.

So I was at a National Homebrew Conference more that a couple of years ago. It was brewery night, and here was a keg of Bigfoot. SN donated kegs of Bigfoot for a home brewers conference.

I love SN.

 

ESB was my favorite.

 

Finesse and elegance back up an assertive personality- it is made for the long haul and is not going to hit you all at once. It's a perfect representation of chocolate/caramel malts and mildly spicy Willamette hops, extremely well put-together in terms of residual sugars, yeast signature and bitterness; flavors that magically continue to develop over a number of pints that seem to belie the seemingly straightforward initial concept. They've really refined this recipe over the years, and it's where their craftsmanship truly shines.

One of my all time favorite beers, and perhaps underappreciated. Drink it fresh, though.

 

I love how people on this site accuse Goose Island of fiendishly undercutting the valiant craft beer movement with their insidiously low prices, but Sierra Nevada has great beer at great prices!

#BAcirclejerk

 

Definitely agree with that. I love both the stout and porter as solid, well-made, well-balanced versions of their styles. Kind of like a sports car that is not in-your-face, but rather has smooth lines, a shiny black finish, a nice light-brown leather interior, a smooth purr of the engine... what are we talking about again? Ah yes, beer. Sierra Nevada. I'm drinking a Bigfoot as week speak, and ah... delicious. Can't pick a favorite, so I'll just say...

T-1: Bigfoot, Pale Ale, Stout, and Kellerweis.
Bigfoot: Not only an unbeatable price point, but a great barleywine. If I crave a barleywine, I actually crave Bigfoot, regardless of the price.
Pale Ale: Classic. Always refreshing. Fits me for almost any mood, any time of year.
Stout: A great, quiet, sessionable stout. Always good to have around.
Kellerweis. I spent the first warm weekend this year on my porch with some Kellerweis and peanuts. Life doesn't get much better.
5: Porter. Really only 5th because my ready access to Founders Porter as well GLBC Edmund Fitzgerald makes theporter competition pretty tough. SN Porter competes well though.
6-7: Summerfest and Tumbler. Both just fit the seasons perfectly for me.
8-9: Torpedo and Celebration: Still great beers. Honestly haven't had torpedo in a while... but the big IPA field is tough to compete in. Celebration, definitely good, but I think I lose my mood for hoppiness around xmas.
10-11: Ruthless Rye and Narwhal: Ruthless Rye loses out to Founders Red's Rye for me, although that is moving to limited 4-packs now making it almost twice the $/oz of Ruthless, so I might change my thinking here. I want a little more kick in my RyePAs than Ruthless. Narwhal just couldn't fight with Bell's Expedition, Founders IS, or Stone IRS with me.
Never had Hoptimum.