Beer Spotlight!

Spotlight on the Sierra Nevada 2022 Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale

$14.99 for the 12oz six-pack
American Barleywine

By the mid-1700s in England, brewers were brewing strong ales for aristocratic houses. These beers boasted the level of alcohol that you could find in a mild wine — nine to ten percent ABV. The idea was that they could replace wines for the upper set (a useful thing as, at the time, England had a habit of warring with its neighboring wine-producing countries). To get such alcohol levels, brewers had to use considerably more malt, making it so that only the rich could afford these beers. Ladies and gentlemen and fine non-binaries, we offer you the first barleywines!

In 1854, Bass (Yes, THAT Bass), Ratcliff & Bretton released a barleywine that they called Bass No.1 — the first commercially released barleywine. Just over 100 years later (in 1975), American craft brew pioneer Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco released the first American Barleywine. Using Cascade hops from the Pacific Northwest, their take on the barleywine was considerably hoppier than its British originator. In doing so, Anchor set the precedent for American barleywines. Eight years later (1983) and 165 miles north in Chico, CA, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company released the second American Barleywine — the Bigfoot, which, thankfully, they still offer … right now.

The 2022 Bigfoot features 2-Row Pale malts and other caramelized malts. In this age of fruit-noted beer, Sierra Nevada still bitters the Bigfoot with a trio of good old-fashioned “C-hops” — Cascade, Chinook, and Centennial. (Yum!) Right now the 2022 is a tight little package, with the malt restrained and the hops fresh and vibrant but not overly strong. Of course, what it tastes like now is just the beginning of the journey since barleywines are designed to age. So as one and two years go by, its taste will change. The challenge is whether or not we have the patience to wait that long ‘cause it’s pretty tasty right now.