SN Bigfoot takes flight

[gtpro]

Its been a while, so I thought I would jump back in with with a really arrogant thread. I moved up to the Dartmouth/Sunapee region of NH a few months ago and I've been hanging with the Upper Valley Beer Society, great local club with some talented brewers and knowledgeable beer geeks.

Tonight was the holiday party and the centerpiece was the club president's SN Bigfoot cellar collection. He had 1997-2011 minus 99 and 01. I was able to taste them all in order and what a treat it was. The oldest examples had aged to a super smooth and mellow caramel/chocolate concoction. As you progressed to the newer models they got much more crisp and hoppy as any SN you would buy today.

I was able to to truly appreciate the progression of a beer that cellars very well, and consider it a very lucky opportunity.

Brew on!

 

[Mongrel]

Nice! Vertical tastings are awesome. Just did a 09-11 tasting of The Abyss at Deschutes a few weeks back, but holy hell, 97-11 of Bigfoot is impressive

 

[jonmohno]

More recent ones should be more hoppy/bitter,doesnt ageing mellow that out and bring the malt more forward anyway?So the 11 would taste more like the 97 in about 10 yrs,then? Or is it known they just use more hops in them now,compared to 97?

 

[OldWorld]

Bigfoot is a pretty nasty beer when it is young. At six months it gets a tiny bit better, after a year it is much more approachable. It is pretty amazing what aging and oxidization can do to transform a barleywine.

I think two years is the sweet spot for the big foot beers. One of the best beers I had was a 1997 JW Lees barlewine back in 2000...ooh boy it was nice.

 

[gtpro]

jon- exactly, the hops almost totally fall off as the beer ages, the pleasant sweet and malty characteristics really come to the forefront.

old- I totally agree, new bigfoot is quite a harsh beer, it definitely becomes better with some mellowing time.