beer_name: Sierra Nevada India Pale Ale
text: As a much younger man (21 compared to my current and much wiser age of 25) I happened to be in the lovely small town of Chico, CA doing a product sampling event on the Cal State Chico college campus. On this fateful journey, my colleague and I decided to save our per diem during the day and go big at the Sierra Nevada Taproom that night. After a nice Filet Mignon, we decided to post up at the bar in the taproom for the next few hours. It was here that I first tasted Sierra Nevada's IPA. At the time, I was amazed, it was definitely my favorite and I swore I would start drinking it as much as possible. It is a difficult beer to find outside of Chico and I have only had it once between then and now. Needless to say, I was thrilled to see that Sierra Nevada has started bottling the IPA when I found it in a tiny beer store on a cold March day while visiting Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the beer did not live up to my lofty expectations. The bright white, lacey head and amber, clear body look awesome, but the aroma and taste, although good, leave much to be desired for the brew to be as inspirational as I had remembered. The aroma is mildly hoppy, but unimpressive. The taste is crisp and pleasantly bitter, with no cojones to back it up. Other than the intitial hoppy kick, the overall body and flavor of this beer are almost non-existent. The bitterness remains long after the beer is swallowed, which I like, but there are really no other interesting flavors to describe. I would love to say this beer is still a favorite, but alas, 'tis not. Will I drink it again in the future? Of Course. Will I be making the long drive to Chico anytime again soon? Not for this beer.