Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest

Same night as the Rogue Yellow Snow IPA.  The southern hemisphere was good, so I can't wait to drink

Look/Smell - Dark Tan, slight yellow.  Hoppy, with caramel malt in background.

Taste - Hops, like Yellow Snow, but softer, and balance by caramel and, and too many commas in this sentence.  This is an IPA I'd like to give to someone who's never had one.  Wow, it's smoothness is even better as you get through the initial taste.

Rating - 8
Great IPA, what you should look for.  I think it's right in the middle, so it get's a deserving 8.

Sierra Nevada Organic Estate Homegrown Ale

I can't say "No" to Sierra Nevada, especially in such an awesome, wax capped bottle.  The label is beautiful, a green garden vine wrapped around a little prairie house growing barley.  It says it's wet hopped, as opposed to dry hopping which lends itself to higher alc., and this one does come in at 6.7%, so on the medium side.

Look/Smell - Orange Amber slight Red, hazy but not opaque.  The head is super light and white.  Sweet hops and barley make up most of the aroma.  Smells sweet, like orange or persimmon or peach.

Taste - Yes peach, and maybe persimmon...ooohhh and lemon.  What a Wam-Pow! of great fruitiness subtley hidden behind well mannered hops.  The hops are like the guy/girl at the party you notice who's cool even by themselves.  The barley is that same person, only a little smarter and more flamboyant.  If barley were a guy he'd be stronger and have a little hair on his chest.  As a women she'd wear a succulent dress, very classy 1930's look.  Mouth feel is light, never going beyond a wheat beer feel.  After taste is barley and hops, the fruit's up front.

Rating - 10 WOW!!! DELICIOUS!!! Man this is what I needed after a long night of studying.  Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest

Fresh Hop Ale...that's the gist.  I'm celebrating the International Beer Drinking Day w/ this one.  I do have another 30th Anniversary from them but I want to wait on that one.  It says on the bottle the hops are from New Zealand, picked fresh in season, then brewed here.  FTW "Zealand" was not in my Firefox's dictionary...interesting.

Look/Pour/Smell - Amber!  I like it.  Strong head, lasting awhile but the bubbles seem light.  HOPS!!!  HOLY HOPS!!!  The second one I said for my own amusement.  Everything you'd ever think about hops is all packed into this one.

Taste - I waited about 5 min for the head to settle.  Well...so I assumed and you know what that does.  I was ready for a strong punch in the face from hops, but surprised to find a hop profile that only by a few inches exceeded the malt.  The hops compliment the sweet malt.  The sweetness is fleeting at the beginning, with the strong, gentle hops stepping in quickly.  It rolls down easily.

Rating - 10
This one takes the cake mostly because it's in a class of its own.  Is it an IPA?  Well they didn't call it that (although I'd suspect it is), or is it a traditional Ale w/ extra hops?  Since it is class defiant it deserves a rating fit for a king.

Sierra Nevada Sierra 30th Anniversary

Alright, I couldn't pass this up.  Sierra Nevada, a well known to-do craft brewery, and they have been around for 30 years.  This is an accomplishment for any company, let alone one who represents less than 1% of the market share (Hypothesis).  This is my 3rd beer, I went from a good hefe, to an IPA, and I wanted to finish strong with a stout.  So not only does it peak my interest, but completes my beer path.

Taste/Pour/Smell - Nice and heavy, bubbles drop down, medium carbonation = an easy, slow style pour.  Can't wait to smell it.  Coffee first, chocolate maybe which I hope comes out in the taste.  Coffee is definitely the #1 smell though.

Taste - For the record, the head lasted ~10 min, and I do write for my friends wine blog, and so I like the "resting" of the beer to allow it to have time to mingle with the air.  Roasted is the first word comes to mind, really roasted but roasted well.  The last after taste is chocolate which comes really late which is nice.  It's a really deep taste.  I feel sorry for the connoisseur who doesn't have the chance to partake.

Rating - 10
It was a quick decision to chose a 10.  It's the leader in the stout category.  It is the holy grail that all other stouts should try to achieve.  This might be the first 10 I've given, but it's truly deserving.

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis

"Kellerweis is one of the only American Hefeweizens made using the traditional Bavarian style of open fermentation. This difficult and labor-intensive technique adds uncommon depth and flavor complexity. Our hazy-golden hefeweizen is deeply flavorful, refreshing and perfect for a sunny day. To serve, pour two-thirds into a glass, swirl and pour the rest."

Nose, Head, Look - Epic wheat smell w/ strong clove smell.  Less orange than others but not a problem.  Fluffy head, lingers, strong.  Unfiltered makes me happy, and makes the beer that much more enjoyable.

Taste - Follows the head with its epic and very smart wheat, this s where the wheat taste should be.  Even less orange (I like orange) but no problem mostly because the clove is very nice.  Hops are the framework that allows the sweet wheat to be.

Rating =8
This is the wheat beer others should envoy.  My personal want is for more orange or lemon, but ultimately its strong wheat flavor makes your heart melt.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Tiny bubble pour, warm grain yellow color, strong head.  Pine hops in the smell dominate. 

Awesome bitterness, hops in the flavor can't be missed.  Amazing that a beer can be this tasty and bitter.

Rating = 8  Doesn't get much better than this in the IPA category.

Sierra Nevada BigFoot

Short head, very short hold time.
Strong hops smell.
Good reddish color.
Strong alcohol taste, small malt, stronger hops.

More like something you sip, but if you want a typical beer taste this isn't for you.  The alcohol really overpowers all the other tastes.

Rating : 5

Sierra Nevada Wheat

Much better choice than my last entry.
Light malt but enough that you know it's a wheat beer. Very slight hint of spice, slight citrus.
Mouth-feel is excellent, not too heavy, not too light.
Cloudy due to it being unfiltered, but still a light yellow.
Hops are the clean flowery flavor that Sierra Nevada is known for (try their Torpedo if you want to know what their hops are all about).
Hops keep the head strong for ~1-2 min.

Grade 1-10 = 7