ALE, BARLEYWINE

A barleywine is a characteristically potent ale style ranging from copper to brown in color. Barleywines generally have a rich texture, a high alcohol content (around +/- 9%) and bold hops and malt flavors that can be sometimes overpowering when still young in the bottle. Unlike most beers, barleywines are often brewed to be aged and not consumed fresh, as the ale conditions in the bottle or cask over several months to a few years. This conditioning will help to tame and blend the raucous hops and barley and maturity will often impart the beer with wine or cider-like characteristics and complexities.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico California has been crafting beers since 1981, closer to the beginning of the microbrewery revolution in America than many. The Bigfoot Seasonal Barleywine is one among several styles the brewery boasts. It has won several distinctions, including gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival in 1987, 88, 92 and 95. Barleywines have enjoyed an increased popularity among craft breweries in the United States, and are often produced as winter seasonals.

The Bigfoot 2000 vintage was chosen as this week`s featured beer. Sierra Nevada`s latest seasonal weighs in at 9.6% ABV. This beer is best enjoyed with a couple of years in proper storage under its belt, but I`m going to let ol` Bigfoot get an early crack at me. It is a handsome beer once out of the bottle and into the glass. Bigfoot is a lush, red-toned amber topped by a delicious looking head. It smells sweet, almost fruity, hinting at a richer apple aroma to come with some aging. It also smells potent. The alcohol, the barley and the hops are all boldly apparent in the nose and gently shoving one another for center stage. This could be quite a ride going down the hatch. The taste delivers on what the aroma was shouting… that this ale demands to be recognized, and recognize it I did. This is not badly balanced considering it`s a bit premature in the tasting, but it is certainly not delicate. Bigfoot is an appropriately brawny name, as the hops assert themselves like a backhand slap from a 9-foot sasquatch. Beneath this is a strong, malty sweetness that sits on the tongue for a bit once the hops have finished stomping over your palate. It has a creaminess to it, which assists somewhat in moderating the bitter sting and cloying maltiness.

Overall, not a bad tasting beer when one considers that age should blend and reign in the character. Legend has it that a Bigfoot will mature into a much more pleasant yet still distinctive and hoppy beer. Only time and proper care will reveal whether or not this story has a happy ending. I`m going to keep the rest of my six-pack in cold storage and wait and see. For those that appreciate a bold, muscular beer give the 2000 a shot. For everybody else that`s interested, pack some up in the fridge and wait out the storm; I`d suggest 2 to 5 years if you have the patience, but even a year may be enough to mellow it. As always, though, don`t take my word for it. Go try some yourself.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: Jim Clark