Tag Archives: sierra nevada brewing company

Sierra Nevada Glissade

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Spring is a season of in-betweens. That is especially true up here in the Northland where spring can mean heavy snows and biting cold one day and temperatures in the 50s the next. Spring up here calls for in-between beers; beers that are light enough for when the weather is fair, but heavy and warming enough to take the chill off your bones when it gets rough. Maibock, the traditional spring seasonal beer of the Germans, is just such a beer. It’s malt-forward, but lighter in both color and flavor than it better known cousins. It’s rich and warming, yet crisp and light; perfect for the season.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company released their version of a maibock, Glissade, last year. The brewery describes it as being a subtle take on the style “with restrained sweetness, [emphasizing] subtle malt flavor, balanced against delicate aromas of spicy and floral European hops.” Here’s my notes:

Glissade
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, California
Style: Helles Bock
Serving Style: 12 oz Bottle

Aroma: Honey sweet with hints of caramel and bread. Faint background of citrus.

Appearance: Brilliant deep golden color. Ample fluffy white head that is very persistent.

Flavor: Luscious honey and caramel are the stars of the show. Fresh bread adds complexity to the malt mix. Medium-low bitterness cuts the sweetness, keeping it light and crisp. Herbal, almost minty hops offer a welcome counterpoint to the honey. The finish is long with lingering honey notes.

Mouthfeel: Rich, creamy, and full-bodied. Pleasantly mouth coating. Medium carbonation. Very drinkable.

Overall Impression: This is not a complex beer. Everything is up front to be easily grasped without a lot of searching. Yet it’s not without depth. Perhaps that what makes it such a well-crafted beer. Soothing, warming, rich, yet utterly drinkable.

Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale

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Every year since 2005, autumn at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company meant the release of Anniversary Ale. Until 2007 this American pale ale style offering was only available in the brewery’s Chico, California tasting room/pub. Increased demand led to the beer being offered in bottles after that.

This year, the brewery is putting an end to this tradition and starting a new one. Instead of Anniversary Ale, they have released Tumbler as their autumn seasonal. Called an “autumnal brown ale”, the website boasts of its “gracefully smooth malt character” from the use of malt “within days of roasting at the peak of its flavor.”

Here’s my notes:

Tumbler
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, California
Style: Brown Ale
Serving Style: 12 oz. Bottle

Aroma: Caramel and grainy sweetness are accentuated by toast and light coffee roast. Subtle earthy hops let the malt take center stage. Hints of raisin.

Appearance: Medium-dark brown and clear. Pours with an ample beige head that lasts and lasts.

Flavor: As in the aroma, malt is the star; caramel, toast and nuts with light chocolate and coffee in the finish. Earthy and minty hops offer a cooling counterpoint to the malt. Medium bitterness with a crisp Burton character balances the sweetness. Background flavors of minerals, salt, and even coconut reveal themselves as the beer warms.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with medium carbonation. Nice creamy texture.

Overall Impression: I have stated in blog posts that one of my defining characteristics of a great beer is articulation of flavors. This beer has that. Malt, hops and other background characteristics are all detectable in and of themselves, yet they come together to make a tasty totality. Tumbler is a very well-made beer. But I would be disappointed by anything less from Sierra Nevada. The earthy hops and sharp, but subdued bitterness make a great counterpoint to the nutty/toasty malt. A nice beer for a chilly autumn eve.