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If I was a good enough beer blogger, maybe Kris Kringle or Mrs. Claus (hint, hint) will find one of these bourbon barrel bottles of Torpedo for me to try. I don’t know which dominant flavor will come out on top but it will be interesting to try for sure.
While scrolling through GABF (Great American Beer Festival) Facebook posts, I ran across the following Sierra Nevada, tidbit…
Ken Grossman announced that the original Sierra Nevada brewing system will travel the United states, making occasional stops to brew in celebration of their 40th anniversary. I hope they head to L.A. because that would be a brew day to watch.
Here is your handy link spot to read what I covered in Brew & You in September….
September 5th – Project Barley, A Velvet Glow from Russian River + a state gathering at Long Beach Beer Lab.
September 19th – California Craft Beer Summit in Long Beach plus plenty of Oktoberfest fun.
Now that we are in September, it is seasonally appropriate to talk Oktofest beers. Today, I will compare and contrast the gold standard (since the German collaborations have started) Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest and a local marzen from Chapman Crafted in Orange.
Starting with the latter. This is really quite biscuit rich. That creates a backbone for other flavors to play off of. I get a little citrus note as well as a bit of nutty. Good sparkle to this. May not have the mineral tinge that a classic may have but this is a beer that reminds what happens when malt is in the fore.
The Bitburger 2019 version of the Okto pours a red/brown color. Another malt forward beer but this is a notch or two lighter in both malt character and heft. There is a nice hop character here but the beer overall still tilts to the German side. Searching my memory, this seems like the lightest version so far. Part dunkel and bigger part lager.
Can you believe that Sierra Nevada has reached the 40-year mark? It appears that to mark the occasion they will be sending forth a new hoppy either Pale or IPA depending on if they want to celebrate their iconic pale or the hote-selling Hazy Little Thing.
Seeing the success of Hazy Little Thing, the hop masters of the bi-coastal Sierra Nevada have created a bigger brother for the brand in the same 12oz container. I would have thought that a little brother might have been a better choice considering the marketplace but I as a beer geek will be seeking this one out.
Thanks to a breeze that moves yeast and cultures from peach orchards into the brewhouse (as it were), the latest Estate offering from Sierra Nevada has a unique peach/wine/beer hybrid effect. I had lost track of this line but this might reinvigorate my interest in their farming.
The Brux returns for a 7th time as Russian River and Sierra Nevada re-re-re-release the iconic “domesticated wild ale”. It will be interesting to see if a new version will be made now that Russian River has their own coolship surrounded by extra wood from the Sierra Nevada construction of Mills River. (Hopefully this will come in small bottles)
Sierra Nevada has expanded. They have acquired the Sufferfest Beer Company of nearby San Francisco. (During SF Beer Week no less.)
Started in 2016, Sufferfest makes gluten-removed beers such as a Kolsch and a Pale Ale. They are geared towards runners specifically and the health aware in general. The brewery has its origins at UC Davis in 2012.
I can see the fit meshing from multiple viewpoints. Company culture seems to be in the same ballpark. Sufferfest is in a market that Sierra is not. They are geographically close. But for some nagging reason, I don’t know how this will benefit Sierra much.
Sufferfest will be able to be brewed (once the recipes are dialed in over in Mills River) on the East Coast which will open a market and the probably longer arm of Sierra distribution. But they could have entered into a brewing partnership without buying. And it is still unclear how big, either the gluten-reduced or athlete market is going to fare long term.It’s sort of like trading for a player who has three-year contract vs. a similar player who has an expiring contract. If the three point shooting goes south, you can walk away under the second scenario.
Maybe the numbers look really good for Sufferfest and that is what this deal is based on but I will be watching this one.
I probably tallied north of 60 beer reviews this year. I know that there are some who hate the practice or don’t think that personal preferences can be of use, but I think it is instructive to see which beers struck a chord and which elicit such little word count as to telegraph the yea/nay response.
On to the last review of the year, I have dug into the cellar and brought out the famed barleywine from Sierra Nevada, Bigfoot.
2013
Faint port like aroma. Bitter at the end. Showing some age I think. Caramel notes and a slight oak-y bourbon flavor. A bit vinous.
2017
Lighter and brighter. Bitterness is there but not pounding. A little burnt tasting. More pine notes on this one.
Of the duo, I would take the 2013 first. It had a swirl of different flavors and aromas going on in it’s 12 ounces.