Lager Summer Seasonal that Doesn't Taste Like One
Written: Jun 19 '04 (Updated Jun 19 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice mixture of hops and malt
Cons: Not really a typical summer beer- no wheat or fruit taste
The Bottom Line: This is a good beer, but it doesn't taste anything like the typical summertime brew.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Sierra Nevada IPA |
Sierra Nevada is a popular craft brewery that can always be counted on for producing beer products that are good tasting at the very least, and great tasting at best. This brewery, headquartered in Chico, California, is one of America’s most recognizable craft breweries, with its products sold in every state.
Many breweries make a seasonal summer beer product, usually with a wheat base and/or a fruity flavor. Sierra Nevada is no exception, and its summer beer is the subject of this review. It’s Sierra Nevada Summerfest, a European- style pilsner.
Basic Characteristics of This Beer:
Poured from the bottle, this beer has a golden/straw color and the body is completely clear, indicating that Summerfest is well- filtered. The aroma of this beer is grainy, with some alcohol notes and honey, and quite pungent. Foam level is pretty good, and there is a small amount of lace left along the sides of the glass as you drink.
The taste of Summerfest is grainy and tart and tends to be on the bitter side thanks to the hop accents. The flavor is like liquefied bread with kitchen spices added. The overall taste is clean, but not quite as refreshing as other summer beer products. The aftertaste is bitter. Long after I finished my glass, I could still taste the bitter sensation in the back of my mouth.
Sierra Nevada brews this beer using Dextrin, Munich, and Two- row pale malts, along with Perle and Saaz hops and bottom- fermenting lager yeast. The final product contains a bitterness level of 32 IBU and an alcohol level of 5 percent by volume.
Food Compatibility:
This product would match up nicely with Cajun chicken, spiced turkey, and a few other light meats. Chips and salsa would also make a good companion to this type of taste. It does not match up well with beef dishes or sweet foods.
Final Thoughts:
Summer beer is something I look forward to each year. Who am I kidding?- I look forward to all the seasons and the great tasting beer that accompanies each one. But summer beer is even more special to me, partly because summer is my favorite season and partly because of the refreshing taste that summer beers typically offer.
With Sierra Nevada Summerfest, you get a lager beer (a surprise for Sierra Nevada, whose products are almost entirely ales) that is clean and pleasant to drink. But the taste is not quite what I expect in a summer beer. This product, unlike other summer seasonals, doesn’t contain any wheat and it doesn’t have much fruit flavor either. This beer is brewed in the tradition of a pilsner and it could easily be passed off as an ordinary beer, without the seasonal label. There is really nothing about this beer that reminds me of a brew specifically made for summer.
The taste of this beer is primarily grainy, with enough hops to make the overall taste profile more bitter than sweet. Judging by the aroma, I was expecting this beer to have a much stronger alcoholic taste than it turned out to have. It was still bitter overall, but the bitterness was more the result of the hops than the alcohol. The aftertaste is also bitter and lingers for a long while. Even now, more than 45 minutes after I took my final sip, I can still taste this beer.
Sierra Nevada changes this beer slightly each year, with small alterations with the recipe. Therefore, you cannot rely on past reviews of this beer to reflect the current taste attributes accurately. I have tried this beer before, and I can recognize certain tastes that have changed and certain differences in appearances. If my memory serves me correctly, this beer was a little more hazy in the past and a little sweeter. This year, 2004, presents a Summerfest that is completely clear and a little more on the bitter side, with a stronger emphasis on the hops.
Sierra Nevada can always be counted on to produce beer products that are better than average. This beer, while not a classic, still has enough positive qualities to give it a recommendation. I don’t like it as much as some of the great- tasting summer wheat beers on the market. But Sierra Nevada Summerfest still has enough good taste to recommend. It is a pretty good- tasting lager that is pleasant during summertime or anytime.
Recommended:
Yes
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