Sierra Nevada Celebration

I've had Sierra Nevada Celebration a couple times before, back before I really got into beer.  I remember thinking it was very bold, but I couldn't remember much else about it, so I snagged a bottle to try again:

Vittles:
American IPA
6.8% abv
65 IBU

Score:
Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 23/25
Taste: 38/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 91/100

Impression:
It's certainly bold, that's for sure.  It packs one hell of a hoppy punch both in the nose and on the tongue.  The aroma is dominated by grapefruit, with some spicy, pine, and floral notes playing backup.  There's a bit more of a malt presence in the flavor than there is in the bouquet, and that provides a decent balance, but the American hops characteristics, particularly the grapefruit and pine, are really front and center.  I'm also picking up on something a little on the herbal side lurking in the background -- it's a little unexpected, but not off-putting.  If you're looking for a solid IPA, this'll do quite nicely.

Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis

Nothing says summertime to me quite so much as a good hefeweizen on a hot sunny day.  Thankfully, I had a Sierra Nevada Kellerweis stowed away in my keezer, so I cracked it open and kicked back to relax:

Vittles:

Weizen

4.8% abv

Score:

Appearance: 10/10

Aroma: 23/25

Taste: 37/40

Mouthfeel: 9/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 92/100

Impression:

On initial taste, it wasn't as banana-y or clove-y as I would have hoped.  It had a sharp, astringent taste for the first few sips, but then it seemed to mellow out a bit, and it became more enjoyable.  After that initial odd taste, this beer turned into a very good example of a hefeweizen, and I thoroughly enjoyed the yeasty goodness to the last drop.  There weren't many surprises here -- it smells and tastes of wheat, yeast, clove, banana, and a hint of citrus.  The finish is mostly clean but slightly sticky.  It's the kind of beer that feels nutritious when you drink it.  I'll have to look for this one again!

Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

It's been a while since I've had an American barleywine, and I found a 4-pack of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot at a very good price the other day, so I picked it up:

Vittles:

American Barleywine
9.6% abv

Score:
Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 24/25
Taste: 38/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 92/100

Impression:
This is definitely a heavy-hitting, Pacific Northwest hop bomb, and it's delicious (pardon the redundancy).  The pine and citrus/grapefruit aromas were the most forward for me, but the floral, earthy, and toffee notes in the background rounded out the nose very well.  The flavor follows the nose very cleanly, though there's more spice in the tongue than in the aroma.  This kind of beer seems to sit on that fine line between DIPA and American barleywine, but when you think about it, then two styles are very, very close anyway.  I still prefer English barleywines to American ones, but this is a damn good beer regardless.

Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Torpedo

I've been waiting to try Sierra Nevada Torpedo for some time now, but with the wealth of IPAs currently in my stock, I kept putting it off.  I've heard it's very good, so I wanted to save the best for last, since I'm fairly sure I'll like it better than the Saranac and Sam Adams beers I still have sitting in my keezer.  But, my curiosity got the better of me, so I finally cracked open the Torpedo:

Vittles:

American IPA

7.2% abv

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 23/25

Taste: 37/40

Mouthfeel: 8/10

Style: 5/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 90/100

Impression:

The picture above is a little misleading -- the beer's more of a coppery-amber color, and it's brilliantly clear, with plenty of the bubbly.  The aroma has most of the characteristics you usually find in assertive American IPAs -- pine, resin, and grapefruit, with a bit of a herbal character, too.  I like the balance between hops and malt in the flavor, and this is one of the better IPAs I've had recently in that department.  It's all kinds of tasty with a good level of complexity, and it showcases some of the more pungent west coast hops flavors, especially the pine and grapefruit.  I'm not always in the mood for an IPA, but this is one I could enjoy whenever.

Cheers!