It's barleywine season apparently. The last trip over to State Line with Dan showed a slew of barleywine style beers and other various craft brews. There were too many to pick up all of them, and they had run out of a few I wanted, but I did manage to pick up a few interesting selections. One of these was the 2009 Bigfoot, Sierra Nevada's barleywine. I had tried the 2008 25th anniversary Bigfoot last year, but apparently never got to the review. Looking at my notes though, there's a lot of similarities with this year's version, to the point where a seperate review would be redundant.
For those that don't know, a barleywine is a strong beer, often 8-12% alcohol. It's generally brewed during the colder months of the year, and can often be aged due to the high alcohol content and high level of hops. The style originated in England, and was known for it's fruity characteristics. For more information on the style, there's a good article by Michael Jackson (not the singer) here. Sierra Nevada puts their version out annually, and each year has a different label to mark it.
The beer poured a clear, deep reddish-brown. It supported a frothy 2-finger creamy caramel color head that had moderate retention, and left a decent bit of lacing on the glass.
The aroma was grassy but sweet, and a hop scent lurking underneath. There were fruity notes as well, reminding myself and Dan of apple skins, and I thought I detected some cherry at first. I also had a sensation of caramel with the aroma. The smell, however, was not all that strong, and I had to stick my nose nearly in the glass to really get a feel for what was going on.
The taste is of caramel on the front of the tongue at first, followed by a strong hop bitterness on the back half of the tongue as it's swallowed. As the bitterness of the aftertaste kicked in, Dan and I both briefly noticed the taste of fruit loops of all things. With additional sips, I began to notice the fruityness (possibly prune) that existed on the tip of the tongue, and just a bit of spice around the mouth. The aftertaste that developed was similar to the aftertaste of a cup of coffee. The one thing that I didn't notice much in the taste was the high level of alcohol, although as the glass progressed I certainly could feel it.
The beer had a moderate body, with a moderately strong level of prickly carbonation. It left a thin coating on the teeth, but wasn't long lasting. At first the beer had a creaminess to it from the head, which was actually quite pleasant and helped offset the bitterness, but as the beer progressed the head dissipated, leaving a much sharper sensation in the mouth. There was very little warmth to it given it's strength, just a little bit around the mouth after swallowing. It was also nicely balanced between wet and dry, not too far to one side or the other.
All in all, the drinkability of this beer is too high for it's strength. The bitterness is a little much for my tastes, although not overwhelming. It is however a beer that's meant to be sipped, not chugged. It's incredibly flavorful, and although it's a bit harsh, it has the potential to be aged, which should alter the character nicely. I'm planning on saving a bottle or two for a while, and seeing how it is in another year. It's absolutely an enjoyable drink, and one that I hope to be able to pick up every year.
-Adam
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