http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/esb.html
Sierra Nevada 'Early Spring Beer'. I am pretty excited to try it.
Sierra Nevada 'Early Spring Beer'. I am pretty excited to try it.
New Sierra Nevada Seasonal: ESB
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Soulive
Well-Known Member
It is good. I've had the bottle and on tap. Don't expect the traditional ESB though. Its definitely Americanized...
Soulive
Well-Known Member
Brentk14 said:
Right but they've also categorized it as an ESB regarding style. So your buddy does like this particular Bitter. This is quoted from the press release on it...
"The company, which just celebrated its 27th year with the release of its fall seasonal Anniversary Ale, decided to brew their interpretation of England’s classic Extra Special Bitter style. "
Ya, its definitely a twist of the real deal. I wouldnt say it is americanized because that would imply we couldnt hang with the real deal haha. Anyways, its a good brew. I am really wanting to take a trip down to their brewery. My buddy lives in chico, ca and has to rub it in all the time with his "guess where I am right now" crap haha. I really want to try their bigfoot barleywine.
bigjohnmilford
bigger than most
thanks to jzal8 for putting the word on the street. 
Soulive
Well-Known Member
Brentk14 said:
I love Sierra Nevada and they might be my favorite brewery. If I could visit them, it'd be like my Graceland! What state are you in?
Professor Frink
Well-Known Member
I must have gotten a bad 6-pack, because I really disliked this beer, it tasted exactly like PBR to me.
Soulive said:
I am in Medford, OR. About a half hour from the Cali border. I guess its about 3 hours from where I live, but the roads have been pretty terrible due to the weather. I am prob going to go down in April.
Soulive
Well-Known Member
Brentk14 said:
Whether you can get Bigfoot by you or not, its probably better straight from the brewery. I prefer it aged but definitely try it one way or the other...
Desert_Sky
Since 1998
thanks for posting this. Ill be sure to keep an eye open when I head over to the store this evening.
Soulive said:
Correct, and they also say:
Our ESB combines the best of English tradition with West Coast style. A blend of malts featuring British-grown Maris Otter is balanced with the earthy spiciness of hand-selected English and US hops.
I think it is pretty neat because they are mixing US and English ingredients in this loosely modeled ESB. Maris Otter and American 2-row. English and Us hops. Very cool.
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jzal8 said:
Translation: they couldn't find any EK-Goldings either.
Jekster
Well-Known Member
I saw this at my local beer market today and was intrigued. However, I quickly grabbed Bigfoot instead since I'm a big fan of their barleywine and don't tend to like ESB's too much.
TwoHeadsBrewing
Well-Known Member
Soulive said:
I have the privilege of living in Chico, not 10 minutes from the brewery. I have to say, their new ESB is a great new beer. What is really cool is that they aged a small batch of their Bigfoot in whiskey barrels, and the had it on tap in the brew pub. Not sure if there is any left, as the "special" brews go pretty quick.
That being said...I'm a total n00b to home brewing but an experienced beer drinker. If anyone wants a guide when they're on vacation to beautiful Chico, CA I'd be happy to show you EXACTLY where the pub is
.Cheers!
Ryan_PA
Well-Known Member
I finally had this on draft last night. I was under-impressed. It was too light for my liking. More of a lawnmower beer than any relative to an ESB IMO.
mrkristofo
Well-Known Member
Ryan_PA said:
Definitely a trick to the name...It's an Early Spring Beer, but by no means an ESB. I picked up a couple bottles and was also under-impressed. SN can do much better.
brewt00l
Well-Known Member
FWIW, if your expecting an ESB in the style of Fullers, Scarlet Lady or something like Sawtooth, this ain't your ESB...it's hoppy and not overly malty. I have had it and it is definitely that SN take on an ESB..which, aint a bad thing IMHO.
The BJCP guidelines even acknowledge this:
Comments: More evident malt and hop flavors than in a special or best bitter. Stronger versions may overlap somewhat with old ales, although strong bitters will tend to be paler and more bitter. Fuller’s ESB is a unique beer with a very large, complex malt profile not found in other examples; most strong bitters are fruitier and hoppier. Judges should not judge all beers in this style as if they were Fuller’s ESB clones. Some modern English variants are brewed exclusively with pale malt and are known as golden or summer bitters. Most bottled or kegged versions of UK-produced bitters are higher-alcohol versions of their cask (draught) products produced specifically for export. The IBU levels are often not adjusted, so the versions available in the US often do not directly correspond to their style subcategories in Britain. English pale ales are generally considered a premium, export-strength pale, bitter beer that roughly approximates a strong bitter, although reformulated for bottling (including containing higher carbonation).
History: Strong bitters can be seen as a higher-gravity version of best bitters (although not necessarily “more premium” since best bitters are traditionally the brewer’s finest product). Since beer is sold by strength in the UK, these beers often have some alcohol flavor (perhaps to let the consumer know they are getting their due). In England today, “ESB” is a brand unique to Fullers; in America, the name has been co-opted to describe a malty, bitter, reddish, standard-strength (for the US) English-type ale. Hopping can be English or a combination of English and American.
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style08.html#1c
The BJCP guidelines even acknowledge this:
Comments: More evident malt and hop flavors than in a special or best bitter. Stronger versions may overlap somewhat with old ales, although strong bitters will tend to be paler and more bitter. Fuller’s ESB is a unique beer with a very large, complex malt profile not found in other examples; most strong bitters are fruitier and hoppier. Judges should not judge all beers in this style as if they were Fuller’s ESB clones. Some modern English variants are brewed exclusively with pale malt and are known as golden or summer bitters. Most bottled or kegged versions of UK-produced bitters are higher-alcohol versions of their cask (draught) products produced specifically for export. The IBU levels are often not adjusted, so the versions available in the US often do not directly correspond to their style subcategories in Britain. English pale ales are generally considered a premium, export-strength pale, bitter beer that roughly approximates a strong bitter, although reformulated for bottling (including containing higher carbonation).
History: Strong bitters can be seen as a higher-gravity version of best bitters (although not necessarily “more premium” since best bitters are traditionally the brewer’s finest product). Since beer is sold by strength in the UK, these beers often have some alcohol flavor (perhaps to let the consumer know they are getting their due). In England today, “ESB” is a brand unique to Fullers; in America, the name has been co-opted to describe a malty, bitter, reddish, standard-strength (for the US) English-type ale. Hopping can be English or a combination of English and American.
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style08.html#1c
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