BIGfoot Barley Wine Hops all Over Your Palate
Written: Feb 24 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very intense flavor of hops
Cons: High price
The Bottom Line: This is an incredibly hoppy beer, with an equally incredible taste and high price tag.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale |
Brewed by the world- famous Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, California, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine is a beer full of body and intense flavor. Produced in the usual style of a barley wine, this beer is big, bold, and beautiful, bringing the human body and soul to a new level of sensory perception.
Basic Characteristics of This Beer:
Starting with the pour, you already know that this is no ordinary beer. The instant the heavy liquid transfers from the bottle to a glass, the earthy, spicy aroma of hops fills the air with smells of fruit, grain, alcohol, and other scents. The body of the beer is burnt orange/red in color and very full, making it pour a little more slowly than normal brew.
When you taste this beer, your palate is greeted with an explosion of hop flavor as the Cascade hops coat your taste buds with a citrus and plum flavor that lasts and lasts long after the last sip. There is some caramel malt taste mixed in, but the taste of hops is overwhelming, leading to a finish that is bitter, hoppy, and alcoholic.
Sierra Nevada brews this product using two- row pale malt, caramel malt, and dextrin malt; Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook hops; and ale yeast. The final product has an alcohol content of 9.6 percent by volume and there are 295 calories and 24.6 grams of carbohydrates in a 12 oz. serving.
Food Compatibility:
A beer this big needs to be paired with something equally assertive or else its flavor would diminish the taste of the food it was washed down with to practically nothing. A spicy serving of Indian food or Thai might make a good choice. But honestly, I think this is the type of beer that should be served all by itself, as a sipping beer. There are so many unique flavors to enjoy and such a strong flavor profile that Sierra Nevada really deserves to get your full attention, free from the influence of food.
Final Thoughts:
Barley wine is a style of ale that is brewed by several brewers in the western United States and in other places, too. It is referred to by the name “barley wine” because its alcoholic strength is often double or more the strength of ordinary beer.
The most important thing to remember about Sierra Nevada Bigfoot is that it was created for people who really like hops. No, let me correct that- it’s for people who adore the taste of hops and who have occasional cravings that cannot be met by imbibing ordinary pale ale or even India pale ale. Bigfoot ale has an astonishingly high bitterness level of 90 IBU, thanks to the high hop and alcohol level, making it one of the most bitter among all commercially bottled beer in the United States. Not a product for wimps, Bigfoot is a highly- hopped, highly bitter brew that will shock and amaze those who are not accustomed to the barley wine style.
With an alcohol content of 9.6 percent by volume, this is a beer to be taken seriously. Depending on one’s weight and whether or not the stomach is empty or full, drinkers can sometimes feel the effects of this product after only one bottle. It contains twice the alcohol of the average brew, and for that reason it needs to be approached with caution. Also, for obvious reasons, this is not a beer for those who are watching their weight or who are taking part in a low- carb diet. With 295 calories and 24.6 grams of carbohydrates, Bigfoot Barley Wine is one of the market leaders in these two measurements.
Cascade hops are not the only type of hop used in this beer. But for those who are familiar with the taste of Cascades, the citrus- like flavor is unmistakable. And with Bigfoot Barley Wine, the dosage of Cascade and other hops is overwhelming. The hop flavor just won’t go away. Even several minutes after drinking, I could still taste the flavor of those Cascade hops, flooding my taste buds with the flavors of spice and citrus.
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barley Wine has been recognized by the beer critics of the nation on more than one occasion. It has taken home the Gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 1987, 1988, 1992, and 1995, making it one of an elite class of beer to have won four Golds at this prestigious craft- beer festival. It has won countless other awards, too, at smaller festivals and local events.
Overall, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barley Wine is a BIG beer, loaded with intense flavor and hop ferocity. Its taste is probably too radical for the casual beer drinker and it’s too heavy and too filling to be consumed as an everyday- drinking type of brew. But for those who love hops and enjoy them in the largest quantities possible, Bigfoot Barley Wine is a must- try. The hops are just waiting to explode into your mouth, from the second you pop the bottle top. The delicious flavor of hops sticks with you long after you finish your glass, reminding you that the good things in life really are worth waiting for.
Try Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barley Wine, if you haven’t already. It’s a hop fanatics beer, through and through!
Recommended:
Yes
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