Sierra Nevada 40th Hoppy Anniversary Ale: Thoughts?

Agreed, but as I posted above, the brewer seems to be considering it in the bucket of “West Coast IPA”.

Sure, the label says, “Hoppy Anniversary Ale”, but they’ve never explicitly labeled any IPA as a West Coast IPA, with the exception of one of their Beer Camp beers.

 

Well tried it and my opinion? Tasty as Hell! Exceedingly well made.

See Stone you can make a good beer without beating us to death with hops!

 

Wow, your palate is very different from my palate in this regard. Earlier this evening I had a draft pint of SN 40th to see if maybe a draft version would be different but this draft pint tasted just like what I drank from the bottle.

You can read more this Sunday on NBS.

Cheers!

 

tried it again, getting less of pils experience, but doesn't really trip my levers as a West Coast IPA, to me it is more of a plain Jane IPA that is pretty middle of the pack

 

This isn't a WCIPA - there's barely any malt presence. Those who do think so might want to recalibrate a bit.

 

Ya I don't seem to be experiencing this beer the way many other people are. I get a pretty prominent malt flavor (bready with a light caramel hint) and the hops taste very piney/resinous, next to zero citrus, but a strong herbal note that I want to call out as bergamot (which I think others have noted as a tea like note).
Probably not coincidentally I do not like this beer as much as others seem to. Palates are strange things, I really want to try this classic west.coast IPA that the marketing team and many on this board have described but every one of these 40th bottles I've had has been the same piney/earthy beer with a strong earl grey note and a relatively prominent malt character. Almost like a hoppy amber from the 90s or something.
Whatever's going on, I seem to be the outlier here so cheers to Sierra Nevada for 40 great years and to 40 more. And cheers to all us lucky beer drinkers, especially the ones loving this special release from those fine folks in Chico

 

Great point. You might add "American IPA" to the style. I feel that there is enough that wouldn't qualify into any of these categories. "American" being a more balanced or malted version of the West Coast.

 

I discussed this beer in today's New Beer Sunday thread:

Happy 40th Anniversary Sierra Nevada!

I was trying to remember when I first had a Sierra Nevada beer. I am pretty sure it was SNPA but what year that would be is eluding my memory banks. It had to be well over 20 years ago but which year?

Anyway, the fact that Sierra Nevada has finally reached their 40th anniversary is a big deal IMO. I have a related anniversary story from November 2017 that I posted in a past thread:

“I have been on a road trip the past three weeks with the principle purpose of visiting family and friends in Texas. This past week was the return leg with a route of Texas to New Orleans (2 nights) to Asheville (2 nights), Virginia (1 night) and then home.

On the way to Asheville we stopped off at the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Mills River, NC and luckily we arrived at the taproom at 8:50 pm (10 minutes before closing time). I was informed by the bartender that earlier that evening they celebrated the 37th Anniversary of Sierra Nevada: a speech from Brian Grossman and free pretzels and free chicken wings. I was bummed out that we were late to the party. The good news is that at least we could buy a beer (or two) and eat some dinner. I saw their extensive tap list (20 different brands) but I immediately zeroed in on the Kolsch – one of my favorite styles.”

There has been some discussion that for their 40th Anniversary Sierra Nevada should have made a ‘different’ type beer. Personally I am very pleased they decided to make this beer an homage to their roots.

From the Sierra Nevada website:

“Malts

Two-row Pale, Caramelized malts, Acidulated, Oats

Hops

Cluster, Cascade, Centennial”

Look at that hop bill, they even took the step to use the ‘heritage’ American hop of Cluster hops (I presume for bittering) in this beer. In a couple of weeks I will be once again be brewing my annual batch of Classic American Pilsner and yes using Cluster hops for bittering this beer.

Also:

“Hop-forward beers weren’t popular when we started brewing in 1980. But we loved them, and we knew that if we were going to open a brewery, we’d better make something distinctive. It’s been 40 years since then, and we’re still brewing what we love. This beer showcases the bold flavors and aromas of a classic West Coast IPA: intense pine and citrus with a deep gold color and slight caramel sweetness. Here’s to following your passion, and to the next 40 years.”

Well, what does an homage beer taste like? Let’s find out.

Served in my Spiegelau IPA glass:

Appearance:

Golden colored with a big, fluffy white head.

Aroma:

The aroma is subtle, mostly a combination of citrus & fruity but there is some pine as well.

Taste:

The flavor is ‘better’ than the nose with more notable citrus/fruity but some pine is there as well. There is a moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

It is light - medium bodied with an off-dry finish. There is also a subtle but noticeable aspect of astringent here.

Overall:

I think this beer is good. I enjoyed the hop flavors of this beer.

For my palate this beer would have benefited from having more malt qualities – particularly more body. Oh, and an even lower amount of astringency would have been an improvement.

GO CHIEFS!!!!

Cheers!

 

Good looking glass!

 

With the first 5 bottles of the 6-pack I wasn't overly impressed but I just had the last one and thought the balance of malt and dry, bitter hops was much better. I may pick up another pack.

 

I liked the first 6 pack so fine, I am going to buy another 6 pack or three. A finely balanced ale, which is very liked.

 

Agreed, my last bottle was the tastiest.

As a tease (and because I don’t feel like writing out the details right now), here’s a preview of my second blind tasting with this beer on Super Bowl Sunday...congratulations Chiefs fans!

 

such stuff as dreams are made on!

 

Um, not exactly "blind."

Man -- that Bigfoot is darker than I remember.

 

Had one last night. I thought it was well balanced and very drinkable.

 

Haha, we had them in coffee mugs for the blind tasting and then poured the rest in glasses just because I wanted to have a picture showing the differences in color of all four. Looks really cool in my opinion side by side.

And yeah, that Bigfoot is a real outlier here. I had a 2020 Bigfoot yesterday, it’s REALLY good this year. I highly recommend picking some up if you see it.

 

Still no Bigfoot sighting around here. I have a case in order but the shop can’t tell me when they might get it. At this rate it will be spring before it arrives.

Enjoy

 

Luckily you don't have to worry about freshness with this one.

 

Now you did it... (waiting for new can of worms fallout -- )

 

Worm #1 I really had a problem with Bigfoot at 1-3+ years old. Medicinally bitter (especially at 1-yr.) I've only enjoyed it fresh.