Sierra Nevada has been pumping out the Hazy Little Thing and IPA’s a plenty but what caught my eye recently was the label above. Wild Ale aged in wine barrels? That is certain to go on the shopping list.
SNA
Considering the R&D that Sierra Nevada has put into hops, I am cautiously optimistic that they can pull off a N/A beer. Much like gluten-free beers, it is a hard category to pull off matches with the “real” thing that people are expecting.
Maybe it will show up in cans or bottles and not just on tap.
Braupakt
Another Chico meets Germany collaboration is ready and no, it is not an Oktoberfest, not yet. Weihenstephaner and Sierra Nevada have brewed up Braupakt Hefeweizen.
Here is the beer description – Braupakt “is a fruity, hoppy Hefeweissbier based on the venerable Hallertauer Tradition hop strain and given a sophisticated twist with the addition of US Amarillo and Chinook hops.”
Just down the street from the Infinity War Hollywood premiere on the top floor of a non-descript building there were balloons spelling “bier” and “prost” as the two venerable breweries threw their final party of a cross-country tour.
Braupakt pours a dark orange and is very hef hazy in the really big, near wine goblet it was poured in. There is a bit of spice. Less clove and more nutmeg/cinnamon and the collaboration sticks to the roof of the mouth. There is a slight bitter hopping but this tastes more like cinnamon bread.
I also tasted the Original Helles which came in a big German sized pour. This is such a solid beer. Beautiful yellow with a candy sweetness to it. It is just so easy to drink.
The highlight was hearing the two breweries talk about the their collaboration and a sneak preview of the fall Oktoberfest beer that they also did.
Review – BFD from Sierra Nevada
There are more of the “stovepipe” cans out on shelves and one that I have recently tasted is from the venerable Sierra Nevada, BFD. Is it a big deal?
Pours a light yellow and oh so clear. Straightforward and simple. Lightly dusted with bitterness. Aroma is very muted. I am reaching when I say a sweet bready note. Very lip smacking. Light pineapple note to it. Kings Hawaiian roll? If you are watching an NFL Draft or the Freakin’ Pelicans, this is a beer you can enjoy without worry about having had too many.
Review – Know Good vs No Middle Ground
Thanks to a generous BevMo gift card, I impulsively picked up the newest 4-Way IPA variety box from Sierra Nevada. Two of the beers are and have been available in the past, so let’s see which of the two newbies are my favorite…
…and that honor goes to the coffee IPA by a nose. This was not a battle of the best however. I was not wowed by Know Good. There was some piney resonance there but the flavors just didn’t leap up. Kind of restrained and like many other IPA’s out there.
The Middle Ground had that extra ingredient which fueled it to a more two dimensional (close to 3D) mix of flavors and the coffee note also did not overly diminish the hops either.
Now I have to re-check out the Flipside Red IPA.
4 New Experiments
Looks like Sierra Nevada is keeping the pedal down on hops. A new variety pack is in the pipeline…
No trade names just FZMR2, HBC 472, HBC 438 and HBC 520, Nug-033 and Steiner 04190 are ones to look for.
Holiday Beer # 6 – Holiday Haze from Sierra Nevada
A new holiday offering from Sierra Nevada is our next featured beer, time to get Hazy for the Holidays….
Sierra Nevada – Hop v Hop
Let’s have a hop battle. Which do I like best from Sierra Nevada?
Celebration in one corner and Northern Hemisphere in the other.
Both the Wet Hop Northern Hemispher and the Fresh Hop holiday beers pour a nearly identical deep orange color.
Both are very malt forward. More red ales in my estimation. Both again are very dank and woodsy in Hop bitterness. I almost get like a cedar note from the NH and a toasted malt note from Celebration but I blind tasted this duo and thought at first that my wife had tricked me and poured the same beer in each taster glass. This were the only tiny differences in the beers.
Celebration wins in the end by a small amount due to that malt touch that adds a little sweetness to the strong woodsy bitterness.
Long Distance Brew Bro’s
Sierra Nevada does more collaborations in a year than most breweries do in five and they have another on in the pipeline. This time with the famed German brewery, Weihenstephaner. Looks to me that this might be a beer style that is tweaked.
Electric Collab
Chico’s Sierra Nevada has teamed with Reno’s The Brewer’s Cabinet for a new IPA that is electric, or Electrum which is a naturally occurring alloy of silver and gold. In this case the two ingredients are Amarillo hops and Simcoe powder.