Beer Spotlight!

2023 Sierra Nevada Barleywine-Style Ale

$14.99 for the six-pack bottles
Barleywine Style Ale

In 1983, Chico, CA’S Sierra Nevada Brewing Company first released their Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale, the second commercially released American Barleywine. Since then, the Bigfoot has become the prime representative of the style. Once a common offering for many craft breweries, the Barleywine has been pushed aside by newer styles. However, Sierra Nevada still releases its powerhouse of an ale annually, and every year we’re still glad they do.

(To read a brief history of the Barleywine, see our write-up from last year.)

One of the great things about the Barleywine is that it’s one of the styles of beer that can age well. Fortunately, we still have some of the 2022 vintage left over, giving you a chance to do your own little vertical tasting and see what a year does to the Bigfoot. Spoiler Alert! Here’s our summary …

2023 Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale

Brewed with — we assume — the same caramelized malts and 2-row Pale malt as its predecessors, the star of the Bigfoot is its Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook hops. Eschewing desiccated hop pellets, Sierra Nevada only brews with whole hop cones, so that’s what they throw into their mix for the Bigfoot. You can taste the brightness of these fresher hops in a dank, grassy herbaceousness that floats on top of the malt.

2022 Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale

After a some months, the hops are still there, certainly. However they’ve surrendered their edge, blending into the rest of the beer. Now the malts’ chocolate and fruit notes come through allowing for a more balanced beer. Actually, after tasting our beers of the week, year-old Bigfoot strikes us as similar to a red ale in which you’ve turned up both the malt and the hops.

Remember!

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