Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale
A medium-pour into a bulb yields a two-fingered, medium-tan head. Excellent lacing. Pours a moderately-hazey copper-amber in color, with ample yeast settling to the bottom of the glass. Hops are *very* expressive on the nose, with a sort of buffet-table of bitterness and floral hop qualities. Earthy, both in the hops and malt qualities . . . almost smells 'dirty', like the roots of a plant being transplanted. Vegetal qualities are underlying the floral and citric hop notes, and there are a number of fruit notes here too: ripe plum, raisin, fig, and of course anise/licorice. Some diacetyl, but on-style. Licorice and hop bite/bitterness are al over the first sip, followed by a rounding plummy, toffee quality, and a bit of butterscotch. Even after just a sip, there's a sincere alcohol presence in this one - this brew means business! Notes of apple (red and green) in the aromatics, which play nicely with the floral hops (if I said I detect cherry blossoms here you wouldn't accuse me of floral prose, would ya?) Bitterness is very pronounced, and an aquired taste, but is on-style; very par for the course as per my Bigfoot reminiscenses. There's a lemony-citric and even minty quality to the hops on the palate, and it's worth noting that this has a rather dry characteristic as it is still rather fresh; age should smooth that out a bit. Some cherry notes in this too, but faint. Body is medium-full, and becomes a bit more round as this warms. Caramel notes sre here about midway through, and really work well with the fresh hops and fruit characteristics throughout (the caramel notes, too, should become more pronounced as this ages over the next couple of years). Full mouthfeel, with nice,crisp carbonation, but not overly carbonated. Despite a considerable heft this is indeed quite drinkable for the style. Worth picking up by the case, Bigfoot really holds up down the line.