Tasted Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for First Time

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Hillbilly_Bill

Hillbilly_Bill

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Yuck! I am really disappointed in the bitter taste of SNPA... I was looking forward to it being a little bit smoother. The bad part is that I am about to brew my first beer and it is a Pale Ale... Karankawa Pale Ale. I wonder if maybe I should go easy on the bittering hops or just go ahead with the recipe this first time? Damn.
 
You may have a low threshold for hop bitterness (at least right now). I think SNPA is ~40 IBUs. Do you like other American pale ales?

No idea what Karankawa is supposed to be IBU wise (anyone else try it?). Maybe you should cut back a bit on the early hop additions. Or boil them for less time (45 vs. 60 minutes).
 
Well, the truth is, if you don't like hoppy pale ales, you aint gonna like 67.6 IBUs. So as much as people say AHS hasn't steered me wrong, they can't force you to like a style you don't.

I suppose it is possible that it isn't the amount of hops but the type that turns the OP off for SNPA.
 
As others have mentioned this is a West Coast pale and is by most peoples definition, the standard for the style.

You may lean toward just a standard American Pale Ale like Full Sail, even though they are on the west coast it is a lot more balanced.
 
If you want to post your recipe, we can see if it's like the SNPA that you hate, or not. When you say the aftertaste, what is it you're tasting? Bitter? Citrus? Bitter citrus? yeasty flavor? Astringent? "Hot?", etc. Think about words to describe the taste. My husband only comes up with "funky" for Sam Adams' aftertaste, but I know what he's talking about. If we can pinpoint what you're not liking, we can help you make your recipe more to your liking.

Believe me, the first time I tasted SNPA I thought the same thing. I was a malt lover, and didn't like hoppy beers. But in the last 4 years or so, I became a hop head. About 3 years ago I started to LOVE SNPA. Now, I think SNPA is a very tame beer- kinda like drinking a Bud Light for beer snobs. Oh, don't get me wrong, I still love SNPA as an everyday drinker. I appreciate Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam for leading me into craft beers.
 
You'll develop a tolerance, and later a craving for the hops. It's kinda like wine...at first I had to gag the stuff down, now my palette can't get enough.

Stick to the recipe. I would rather see you make a good beer that may not be your "thing" instead of a sh*t beer that you don't like because it tastes like sh*t.
 
Hillbilly_Bill said:
Yuck! I am really disappointed in the bitter taste of SNPA... I was looking forward to it being a little bit smoother. The bad part is that I am about to brew my first beer and it is a Pale Ale... Karankawa Pale Ale. I wonder if maybe I should go easy on the bittering hops or just go ahead with the recipe this first time? Damn.
Click to expand...

Aww, to Helles with you.

(you might want to try a munich helles recipe)
 
YooperBrew said:
If you want to post your recipe, we can see if it's like the SNPA that you hate, or not. When you say the aftertaste, what is it you're tasting? Bitter? Citrus? Bitter citrus? yeasty flavor? Astringent? "Hot?", etc. Think about words to describe the taste. My husband only comes up with "funky" for Sam Adams' aftertaste, but I know what he's talking about. If we can pinpoint what you're not liking, we can help you make your recipe more to your liking.

Believe me, the first time I tasted SNPA I thought the same thing. I was a malt lover, and didn't like hoppy beers. But in the last 4 years or so, I became a hop head. About 3 years ago I started to LOVE SNPA. Now, I think SNPA is a very tame beer- kinda like drinking a Bud Light for beer snobs. Oh, don't get me wrong, I still love SNPA as an everyday drinker. I appreciate Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam for leading me into craft beers.
Click to expand...

Well, the aftertaste is probably bitterness... something I'll get used to... I hope. I am on my second bottle and it is warmer than the first and the bitterness doesn't seem quite as bad, but it will definitely take some getting used to.
I am too lazy to get the hops out of the fridge and weigh them at this moment... been a really tough day at the lawyer's office, etc., but here is a comment from the description of the Karankawa Pale Ale from the AHS website...

As the name suggests, this is an aggressively hopped American pale ale. It features Crystal 40L, sorachi ace, cluster, and sterling hops. O.G. = 1.051 Approximately 5.1% ABV.

I realize this isn't much, but I think I will probably go ahead with the kit and hope I get used to the hops, because I like the idea of brewing an APA. I may have to go to another style but I will give this a try first. It sure has been a shock to my taste buds... wow.
 
IMO, Sierra Nevada beers have a harsh lingering bitterness which I suspect is a water issue. I enjoy tongue-splitting IPAs from time to time, though my own tastes tend toward the maltier side of things.
 
If you are drinking it strait from the bottle, all you will taste is the hops. Pour hat beer into a glass. It will let the malt out a little bit to balance the bitterness some.
 
YooperBrew said:
If you want to post your recipe, we can see if it's like the SNPA that you hate, or not. When you say the aftertaste, what is it you're tasting? Bitter? Citrus? Bitter citrus? yeasty flavor? Astringent? "Hot?", etc. Think about words to describe the taste. My husband only comes up with "funky" for Sam Adams' aftertaste, but I know what he's talking about. If we can pinpoint what you're not liking, we can help you make your recipe more to your liking.

Believe me, the first time I tasted SNPA I thought the same thing. I was a malt lover, and didn't like hoppy beers. But in the last 4 years or so, I became a hop head. About 3 years ago I started to LOVE SNPA. Now, I think SNPA is a very tame beer- kinda like drinking a Bud Light for beer snobs. Oh, don't get me wrong, I still love SNPA as an everyday drinker. I appreciate Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam for leading me into craft beers.
Click to expand...

I concur! I just posted a Maharaja Imperial IPA in the recipe section that I just racked tonight. It was devine at 102.5 IBU's!! My first all grain was a SNPA clone and it was great. Press forward with your recipe, you will more than likely find that you like it and down the road as Yoop said will find SNPA mild as far as bitterness goes.
 
just move half the bittering hops to a later addition. It will still be tastefully hoppy, but with less bitter aftertaste. ease into loving hops, there is no rush.
 
Don't worry, I am also not a fan. I think you can get used to hope aroma flavor in beers, but if you don't like bitterness then I don't think you ever get used to it (at least in my experience).

I had my first SNPA about 9 years ago, and several times since then. I know taste is subjective but for the life of me I can't figure out why its so popular. I don't think I ever get past the first sip.

It seems like you might not want to make pale ales - or if you do you might want to tweak your recipes according to your taste expectations.
 
I agree that for the most part that SNPA is nasty. I completely disagree that it is "balanced." Now I recall seeing a comment that maybe it is the water. Maybe, I don't know, but that sounds reasonable. Now when I first started drinking hoppy beers, I was taken back by the flavor and aftertaste. Since then I have come to appreciate the hoppy aftertaste of Sam Adams. Maybe I digress, but I still love slightly sweet taste yet suspiciously hinted flavor of hops in a Bass Ale.
 
Accept this credo and you will be happy: "All taste is acquired". If you don't like that Sierra Nevada, drink a six pack of it every week for the next month. You will acquire that taste if you want to.

I remember just a few years ago, I tried a hoppy IPA, Ice Axe, while I was snowboarding at Mt. Hood. It did not taste good - Bitter. Hoppy. It really took one summer trip to the beer festival, which featured many hoppy bitter beers, and all of the sudden I started to expect that from beers. Now I love that hoppy flavor.

The more things you learn to love, the more there is to enjoy. Another credo along the same lines: If somebody likes it, there must be reason. Try it again!

btw. This year, I tried that Ice Axe (which I hated so much) for the second time. I loved it. It definitely hit the spot.
 
SN is one of my fav. beers. but I dint always like hop bombs. try some Hazed and Infused from Boulder Beer Co. that is love for sure.

but you may never like big hoppy beers,so brew it, drink it, then decide.
 
Hillbilly_Bill said:
Yuck! I am really disappointed in the bitter taste of SNPA... I was looking forward to it being a little bit smoother. The bad part is that I am about to brew my first beer and it is a Pale Ale... Karankawa Pale Ale. I wonder if maybe I should go easy on the bittering hops or just go ahead with the recipe this first time? Damn.
Click to expand...

Ahhhhh yes... young grasshopper, you will find that if you keep drinking the good stuff such as SNPA the beer gods will come down and implant new taste buds on your palat, and if you are lucky they will bless your brewday:mug:


Just wait man it will come. Keep sticking your neck out there and trying these new beers that you have never thought to try.

I remember when I started to brew I was the same way.

I live in GA so I tried my first hoppy beer from our local brewery (SweetWater)

Now it was not a pale ale but a IPA... and their IPA does not play, but either way I had a hard time drinking it, but after a while it grew on me and I swear.... once you have that taste for hops you will be having serious cravings for hoppy beers.... kind of like a red meat craving (if you eat it rare... I do... I love it)

Mmmmmmmm..... hops and red meat... sounds like a picnic to me:mug:
 
I'm not a big fan of grapefruit, which is all i get from SNPA. If it's just a bitter issue, though, keep in mind that not all hoppy beers are created equal. There are several techniques out there that allow for some very smooth high-hopped beers.
 
To each their own. I think anything from Alaskan and New Belgium is undrinkable (except 1554).
SNPA? Best beer in a bottle for me.
However... It is a few million light years from a hop bomb.
 
Maybe I'll get to like the stuff... if not, I will brew something else. There sure is a lot out there to choose from. I have 4 more bottles and I am going to drink those and see if I still feel the same way. I also make wine, so I'll just have to follow it up with some of my Blackberry Merlot or Pinot Noir... lol.

:mug:
 
I love the SNPA -- and cascade hops in general. The taste is all relative though -- if you think the bitterness is a bit much, try one of the Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ales and follow it up with an SNPA.. The SNPA will taste quite blah and boring after the SNAA..
Just picked up another sixer of the SNAA on sale today -- good stuff also.
 
I was in the same boat, I hated the first SNPA I had. I've since given it a couple more chances to change my mind, and I've grown to like it a little more.

I tend not to love really hoppy/bitter beers. Generally, if you give me a stout or a porter I'll be happy!
 
Deleted a long rambling which didn't have anything relevant to the OP's question.



Good luck with you quest for a better tasting beer and enjoy the ride.
 
dbreienrk1 said:
Real men love hop laden beers...
Click to expand...

I had to laugh at that. I guess I'm a real man, then!

Really, some people love hops some don't. Some are in love with malt-forward beers. Some like high bitterness, some don't.

My belief is to make what you like. If you like stout, make a stout. If you like brown ales, make browns.

I'm glad you're so open to tasting new beers- that's a great start. But you like what you like, so no need to change. I hate wheat beers, always have. I probably always will. I don't feel that I need to apologize for that- there are plenty of other beers out there to drink instead!
 
Sierra Pale Ale is amazing! I too thought it was bitter at first... if you were talking about DF 120min IPA I would agree!
 
I had one of these last night. I don't think I have drank one in over a year. It was quite pleasing.

Keep tasting more and more and more beers until you find something that pleases you but I think you will soon come to love APA's.
 
YooperBrew said:
I had to laugh at that. I guess I'm a real man, then!


My belief is to make what you like. If you like stout, make a stout. If you like brown ales, make browns.

I'm glad you're so open to tasting new beers- that's a great start. But you like what you like, so no need to change. I hate wheat beers, always have. I probably always will. I don't feel that I need to apologize for that- there are plenty of other beers out there to drink instead!
Click to expand...

+1 on yooper. Brew what appeals to you. Your tastes may differ from mine but you are the one enjoying the fruits of your labor, so, go for it.
Cheers:mug:
 
As has been said, you almost certainly will develop a taste for hops eventually. I remember before I got into craft beers trying an IPA in Asheville for the first time. The waitress said it was their most popular beer, so I thought, "All of these people can't be wrong, right?"

It was disgusting. At that time, I also tried an American Amber that I thought was way too bitter.

I started really trying craft beers in earnest only maybe a year and a half ago. I had read many references to Dogfish Head's 90-minute IPA, so I thought I'd try it.

I don't know why, but I thought that IPA was delicious. Then I progressively have tried more and more IPAs, and really enjoyed most of them.

Hop bitterness isn't for everyone, but just by acclimating yourself to hops in other styles, you'll gradually grow to enjoy APAs and IPAs, and perhaps even IIPAs.
 
I drink a lot of IPA, so SNPA is pretty tame in my book. But, even I have my hops limits.

Nothing wrong with not liking a style of beer. There's many that I don't drink.
 
If you are a BMC drinker moving on to craft brews then your palate is going to need to get used to drinking beers with taste. You just have to try different types of beer and see which ones you like and as your palate developes go back and try those beer you didnt like. I haven't had a SNPA in a while but the one I did have I didnt like but I do like DFH 60 min IPA and stone IPA and luganitas (sp) IPA.
 

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