The EPIC 5 year vertical tasting of BIGFOOT

Had the opportunity to do a 5 year vertical of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywine
We chose to not open the 2013 and stop at year 2012 because of the flavor profile of the 2012. a few tasting notes from the epic tasting.

2009
Slight oxidation huge roast tannin and caramel notes. zero hop profile on the nose or the palate. This beer was past it's prime and on the decline IMHO.

2010
Zero oxidation. Very nice plumb notes and a touch of raisin with caramel being the highlight of this beer. Malt and barley notes come through at the finish again zero hops on the nose but slightly on the palate. Very nice and warm barleywine.

2011
Absolute balance between the heat of the 9.6ABV the caramel and plumb on the palate and the hops being a real player in this beer both on the nose and tongue. the 2011 was by far the favorite of the group. It tasted clean and fresh and very drinkable. (I would oak this in a hot second)

2012
this is the reason we didn't open the 2013
VERY hot! the hops were so in your face we "almost" couldn't drink it. There was little of anything accept heat and hops. The hops were overwhelming as was the alcohol. This beer needs a year of good aging maybe 18 months.

I did blend the 2011 and the 2010 in a 2 oz glass and I feel this was the best of all.
I feel very privileged to have been a part of this. A HUGE thank you to Byron at Sierra Nevada for the beer from your personal cellar.

Cheers
Jay

awesome. Craft brewing at its best.

I still have a 2006 bottle of this sitting in my fridge. I haven't been able to force myself to open it.

Nargan said:

I still have a 2006 bottle of this sitting in my fridge. I haven't been able to force myself to open it.

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Ohh I am sure from this vertical its WAY past its prime.

At that point I would probably never open it!

Cheers
Jay

I'm surprised that there was such a difference between the 2009 and the 2010. I would definitely open the 2006 if I had it. I have a couple 2011s, 4 of the 2012 (which I thought was great when it was fresh) and 8 of the 2013 which I haven't tried yet.

I won 04-11 Bigfoot last month. I'm not too worried about them being past their prime, I've had 10 yr old Bigfoot before and loved it, but I enjoy oxidized flavors more than most people.

hogwash said:

I'm surprised that there was such a difference between the 2009 and the 2010. I would definitely open the 2006 if I had it. I have a couple 2011s, 4 of the 2012 (which I thought was great when it was fresh) and 8 of the 2013 which I haven't tried yet.

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Yeah I really was surprised too. It was night N day between the 2 of them. It was actually night N day between all of them really. Each one had a character all its own. If you have 2011 IMHO that's the beer to drink.

Cheers
Jay

Do you know how it was stored? At what Temperature?

I'm wondering if Nargan's would still be good because it has been stored refrigerated.

jungatheart said:

Do you know how it was stored? At what Temperature?

I'm wondering if Nargan's would still be good because it has been stored refrigerated.

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All 5 years that we got were received from the brewery by Byron who works at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company there in Chico Ca who also has a HUGE passion for beer and does the pouring of Sierra Nevada beers for groups after the tour. (who also uses a Jaybird 15" false bottom for his home brewing (sorry shameless plug, couldn't resist)) He cellared them himself. I am going to guess they were stored under ideal conditions, but that said you just NEVER know...I would ask him for the love of beer science, but I would think it would be insulting.....

Cheers
Jay

Jaybird said:

[...]He cellared them himself. I am going to guess they were stored under ideal conditions, but that said you just NEVER know...I would ask him for the love of beer science, but I would think it would be insulting.....

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There are innocent ways to find out. You could mention that folks enjoyed the vertical tasting review, and some - not having access to brewers in high places - asked what was the best way to store big beers to assemble their own vertical collection. Quickly followed by "For instance, how do you store your Bigfoot bottles?"

Btw, thanks for the thread. I found it very interesting indeed...

Cheers!

day_trippr said:

There are innocent ways to find out. You could mention that folks enjoyed the vertical tasting review, and some - not having access to brewers in high places - asked what was the best way to store big beers to assemble their own vertical collection. Quickly followed by "For instance, how do you store your Bigfoot bottles?"

Btw, thanks for the thread. I found it very interesting indeed...

Cheers!

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Ya know I bet the next time I see Byron it will come up. That's a great approach.

Cheers
Jay

great review, thanks

Awesome. When I'm due to pcs next year I am going to set up up a few great vertical tastings. I have bottles of 2010-present of Bigfoot, Abyss, and the annual Black Butte. Should be good times. Unfortunately I do not know anyone who enjoys craft beer. My buddies here all think green stinkies are the epitome of great beer.

Keith_Mahoney said:

Awesome. When I'm due to pcs next year I am going to set up up a few great vertical tastings. I have bottles of 2010-present of Bigfoot, Abyss, and the annual Black Butte. Should be good times. Unfortunately I do not know anyone who enjoys craft beer. My buddies here all think green stinkies are the epitome of great beer.

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Brotha' I would almost pay your plane ticket here from the islands for the Abyss vertical tasting!!! pick me pick me!!!!

I want to see picts of that one!

Cheers
Jay

we have a basement and it keeps about 60 degrees here even during the chico summertime, no light and they are stored upright in their original case boxes...the funny thing is even if a beer doesn't quite taste right one year it tastes fine after aging for some time. and because i work at SN i have enough bigfoot that i can ride out the next zombie apocalypse, something like 70+ cases spanning 6 years and various random bottles older than that.

i haven't noticed much difference between years after 8-10, i had one from 1999 that had zero carbonation and tasted like pecan pie

aging note: always upright, never on the side for cork and cage bottles, unless you want your aged beer to taste like said cork and have a ton of old yeast in your pour

pairswellwithmorebeer said:

we have a basement and it keeps about 60 degrees here even during the chico summertime, no light and they are stored upright in their original case boxes...the funny thing is even if a beer doesn't quite taste right one year it tastes fine after aging for some time. and because i work at SN i have enough bigfoot that i can ride out the next zombie apocalypse, something like 70+ cases spanning 6 years and various random bottles older than that.

i haven't noticed much difference between years after 8-10, i had one from 1999 that had zero carbonation and tasted like pecan pie

aging note: always upright, never on the side for cork and cage bottles, unless you want your aged beer to taste like said cork and have a ton of old yeast in your pour

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Byron
Thanks a ton! I feel privileged to have been part of it.

Ohhh and welcome to HBT!!!
Cheers
Jay

Hey thanks to the both of you. And sometimes a years batch just seems to do odd things. Since its dealing with yeast its just like wine I Would suspect, there is a lot out of your storage control like the malt used, the yeast and other brewery level variables that can make it difficult to predict!

Very fun...I got between 6-12 Bigfoot from 2010-present aging in the cellar...cant wait to do my five year!