Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Brewsmith · 05-11-2008, 07:42 AM

Here's the official thread for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, beer of the week for May 4-10 2008. Use this thread for all tastings this week and later.

Aroma is light orange citrus hops. Color is a deep gold, orange, very clear. Thin off-white head with some lace. Flavor is dominated at first by hop flavor, a little citrus and a little spicy, with some bitterness, followed by some sweetness and a rich malt background. Toasty, biscuit malt flavors. Medium body, carbonation dries out the finish. There’s plenty of reasons why this beer is a classic American pale ale.

vav · 05-11-2008, 05:30 PM

I must be the only person that doesnt like that beer.

**BierMuncher** · 05-11-2008, 06:24 PM

This was one of those beers where my first bottle I thought..."oops...this was a mistake...".

By the time I finished the bottle though, I had an immediate hankering for another.

Acquired taste? Most likely. Bu I acquired a taste pretty quickly, and like any hoppy beer, my desire for even more hops grew quickly.

SNPA was my first APA, in the true (west coast) sense of the word.

**usnsti** · 05-11-2008, 07:14 PM

Ahhh yes. One of my favorites. A definite "must try" for any one who loves beer. It's not for everyone, but like Bier Muncher said, you acquire the taste pretty quickly.

Tankard · 05-11-2008, 07:40 PM

LOVE IT!! I love SNPA.

This was also the beer my first homebrew was patterned after. Great stuff.

**Mutilated1** · 05-11-2008, 08:18 PM

SNPA is kind of hit or miss sometimes though. The ones I bought last fall were great, nice and citrusy - almost like grapefruit juice, but the last couple of six packs I got were mediocre at best.

**BlindLemonLars** · 05-11-2008, 08:43 PM

I absolutely love SNPA, and consider it the "baseline" west coast APA, to which all others can be compared. It's remarkably consistent from bottle to bottle, at least here in its home state. I find that impressive in a bottle conditioned beer.

Besides, founder is a member of my homebrew club.

My own APA recipe is quite similar...a touch hoppier, a little paler.

elkdog · 05-11-2008, 08:50 PM

The first time I tried this was the first time I liked a hoppy beer, and the first time I understood that beer tastes better from a glass. A revelatory moment. Thanks to SNPA, I will always brew a West Coast Pale Ale pretty regularly.

**EdWort** · 05-11-2008, 08:54 PM

SNPA is good stuff. Sam's club doesn't have it at $18.99 a case anymore, but I was able to snag a couple cases at Costco for $20.99 each on Friday. It's $8.99 a sixer in the grocery store.

I'm saving the box and the bottles for later use. When a case of bottles cost $15, it's tough to beat SNPA for 6 bucks more. It's like buying a case of bottles and the beer costs $0.25 per bottle.

**Yuri_Rage** · 05-11-2008, 08:56 PM

SNPA is good. Just good. It's become popular enough that many chain restaurants carry it now. So, if they have SNPA, Sam Adams, and some BMC offerings, I go for the SNPA. Otherwise, it's Sam Adams. Mostly, I'd rather have something else.