Beer of the Week! 12/14/21

Sierra Nevada Narwhal

Regularly $13.99 / Now on Sale for $12.96
Imperial Stout

Most people think of Chico, CA’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Company as a purveyor of hoppy beers … and they are that. Trust us; they are. However, they are also so much more. Case in point, this throughly lovely, bewitching Imperial Stout!

The Narwhal is made of caramelized malts, Chocolate, Carafa III, Honey, Roasted Barley, and Two-row Pale malts, all laying the groundwork for this rich, smooth, slightly sweet brew. It pours like motor oil, and drinks like a dream.

Now, you would think that hop heads like Sierra Nevada would shovel in the bitterness on top of all that malt. After all, they do have Cascade hops in there. (Seriously. Does Sierra Nevada even make a beer without Cascade hops. (They do, actually, bunches of them.) ) However, they also have Eukanot and Magnum hops, which are much more subtle hops. So, rather than strain to have the hops punch through their massive malt bill, Sierra Nevada brewers fold the citrus and fruit flavors into the brew. It’s a smart strategy that reminds you how much stouts are what it’s all about.

(And if you want to go for the 1-2 punch, we have the Bourbon Barrel-Aged Narwhal as well!)

Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause someone once told us we needed a “dos” of cerveza.)

Lickinghole Creek Twelfth Night

Regularly $13.99 / Now on Sale for $12.96
Spiced Quadrupel

Coming out of Goochland, Lickinghole Creek — Virginia’s first farm brewery — gives us this, their über tasty holiday beer.

The Twelfth Night starts as a Quadrupel, but a really full-bodied Quad. We don’t know if there’s such a thing as an Imperial Quad (though why couldn’t there be?), but raisin, plum, currant — all the deep fruit flavors that Lickinghole Creek says are there are there.

LC then goes to Spice Town with nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, whole cloves, cardamom, star anise, and orange peel. However, we imagine that they’ve had their share of over-spiced holiday beers, because they clearly have decided not to go that route here. Instead, the spices enhance the core Quad like jingle bells trick out your sleigh. We look forward to drinking this beer even after the holidays are over (if there’s any left).

Remember!

You can see our entire beer inventory on Untappd.com!