Sierra Nevada 40th Hoppy Anniversary Ale: Thoughts?

2007-2009:
5.9% ABV; 45 IBU
2-row Pale, Munich, C-60 Caramelized
Bitter: Centennial/Chinook
Finish and dry hop (torpedo): Cascade

2020:
6.0% ABV; 65 IBU
2-row Pale, C-60 Caramelized, Malted Oats
Bitter: Cluster/Cascade
Finish: Centennial/Cascade
Torpedo & Lupulin (dry): Centennial/Cascade

 

It was fantastic. Sierra Nevada “house flavor” turned up to 11.

My wife bought a 24 case at Costco last Friday, I drank the entire thing Sat/Sun watching NFL.

Might need another case this weekend to watch my Niners stomp the Packers again!

 

I am both frightened and amazed at what some of you are able to drink, I would be sick for a week+ if I did that.

 

I would die.

 

Well finally found a few 6rs at the most unlikely spot in Newport Or. 12 bucks, Oh well bought two anyway as by the time anyone else gets some it will be 6 months old. Did I mention that the coast has the worst beer distributor on the planet?

 

I had a bottle earlier. I like it.

 

it's way more than I drink these days but it's only 12 beers in a day x two days. Watching football and grilling or hanging out with friends on a play-off weekend, it's easy to be casually drinking beer for ten-twelve hours. More than that if you start at brunch or, say, at golf in the morning.

 

Well, without the beer guy at Liquor Shed who used to bug, excuse my French, the shit out of our distributors, I fear that I won't see this coming to Casper.

 

Yeah I couldn't do it. MAYBE with 4% ABV beers I could but I would probably still have some trouble.

 

Except this beer is 6% ABV.

That’s the equivalent of nearly 29 standard beers (12 oz. at 5% ABV).

 

All I know is that at $14 a 12 pack from Safeway I just grabbed another...wife has drank as many (if not more) than I have thus far. Packaged date of 12/20/19... might be one more 12pk in my future at that price and freshness. Bravo Sierra!

 

I had my first of these tonight and (in spite of the naysayers) really enjoyed the throwback yet forward looking vibe I got from it. Seems fitting for a 40 year stalwart, and bodes well for the next 40 years!

 

When I saw "40th Anniv" and "IPA" I was expecting and hoping for a Double IPA. I bought a sixer of the 40th and it was very good. Kudos to them for being more about the Anniv. as opposed to the "extreme factor" of the beer. I'll be getting more of this beer and I like how Sierra Nevada rolls - they don't need constant releases and one-offs to remain relevant.

 

Considering the run of different beers they did for their 25th I would have to agree here....

 

Man...I had a single bottle and wasn't crazy about it but I think I need to revisit this... everyone else seems to dig its balance....

 

A little tease/preview...

I did my blind side-by-side with Celebration, Pale Ale, and the 40th Anniversary.

I got them all wrong on the first try. Second try I still got a couple wrong (might have had one right, I forget).

These beers were shockingly more similar than you'd think...pictures and more details coming later.

 

I, for one, am not too shocked.

The hopping schedule used to brew those three beers are not 100% exactly the same but there is a fair bit of overlap. The malt bill of these three has a lot of similarity. And using the same house yeast strain and fermentation process will yield similar results from that perspective.

I would like to think I could distinguish these three beers via blind tasting but it would not surprise me too much if I personally failed in my attempts.

Cheers!

 

You're gonna make me do it, aren'cha?

I sort of did it with 40th and SNPA, but nothing scientific. Could still tell the difference in body and malt character.

 

I was surprised, but after thinking about it more, not shocked. These were all hoppy beers, and the hops kind of mask some other qualities of the beers.

After I knew what they were, I could tell the differences easier, because I knew what to look for.

For what it's worth, I haven't done a ton of blind tastings, but the two I've done recently I guessed all beers correctly. The last one was two hoppy beers, but they were New England IPAs.

Finally, just a quick note before I forget, I found Celebration closer to 40th than the Pale Ale. But age could have played a part here as the Pale Ale was from 10/17/19.