Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Juniper Black Ale is a boozy dessert

On the heels of the Beer Camp Weizenboch comes an 8% Juniper Black ale that sounds very enticing. Both these beers are high in alcohol for their style and I'm convinced that these people at beer camp just want to get drunk on the good stuff. And I have to say...good for you!

This is delicious as hell (happy berfday Jesus, sorry). There is a smooth roast with only a small but tasty spicy bite to it thanks to the juniper. It's especially amazing with the ice cream and pairs like a like a liquid syrup. . I'd say it's THE ROCK rating. This is a beer I would like to gather more of and share with my friends.

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Weizenbock is a homebrewer's dream come true

Merry Christmas! I awoke from a Brandy Alexander induced 5 hour post Christmas power nap. Oops. Somebody got a little sauced at Christmas. Happens to the best of us. I even missed the Lakers losing, which makes me sad that I missed that.  But thankfully I have a holdout from the summer to get me back into the Christmas drinking spirit.

This is a holdout from the summer months that I bought and held onto. The Sierra Nevada Beer Camp is a really great idea and epitomizes the spirit of Craft Beer - collaboration, passion for beer and creating unique products. Applicants send in a video on why they should be invited to the Sierra Nevada brewery one weekend in August. The winners are formed into a small team and together they brainstorm a beer recipe and brew it that weekend. It sounds like a wonderful, dream come true experience for any home brewer and if I hadn't been behind on my application for the Miami Ad School, I would have applied. Now you'll know what I'll be doing this June!

The Weizenbock is a surprising 6.8%, a bit high for the style but on par with the Weihenstephaner Vitus.  The aroma is incredibly sweet and quite yeasty. The pour leaves the brew cloudy from the unfiltered wheat flakes. Their are flavors of apple and other citrus. This would've been a deeelightful summer beer on the porch, but it goes just as well with me Ma's roast beast (beef) on Christmas. Happy holidays everyone. TRANSFORMERS rating.

New Clairvoux Ovila Dubbel collaboration with Sierra Nevada is monastery friendly

David picked this up from Whole Foods and as soon as I heard the abbey's name, I knew I'd heard it somewhere. It soon clicked that I'd read an article months ago in the LA Times that was heart and liver warming.

"In partnership with monks at an abbey north of Chico, a brewery will release an ale that pays tribute to the Trappist beers of Europe. Proceeds will help reconstruct a monastery from stones left by William Randolph Hearst."

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/29/local/la-me-monks-beer-20101130

I can drink and support local architecture? Sold. Where do I sign?

Kleenex's have been my best friend for the past four days. That, beer and ice cream, which together complete what's nown as "Gods Medicine"

If you like history, read the article as the monastery stones have a long and twisted road to their California resting place.


The dubbel isn't as sweet or as full bodied as a Trappist Dubbel. The flavor profile includes soft caramels and it's closer to a brown ale. It's crisp and pours a beautiful color. It's very drinkable but for $11, the price isn't worth it. I sure wish it was cheaper, I'd drink more. ARMAGEDDON rating.

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum, whole cone imperial IPA, oh hey Evan!

I was still pretty jet lag slagged today, tried to get as much done as possible, but it was also Ned's birthday - not going to make it easy to concentrate when you've got dank cake to sort out at work. Came home at 5 and took a nap. Then Even came by, great surprise. This was unexpected because he was supposed to be halfway to Antarctica, but he had bike problems and came back to SoCal to get some parts. He already has an apartment in Cabo and had been living in his tent on the beach for awhile. What a gangster.

Hoptimum is even more dank than when I first tried it at the El Segundo Whole Foods beer fest (which was amazing). Combo of the huge hops and the high alcohol are really intense. Even with the excellent balance, the oily bitterness is still hard to escape. Excellent Imperial IPA, will look for this very soon before it's all gone.

This is Jon Stewart. Bitter, biting, witty, strong, hilarious after only a few run-ins. Jon Stewart, as a beer should no doubt enjoy the same commanding character he enjoys in real life.

Between Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Imperial IPA and Texas Pecan Pie, who needs a Valentine?

It's Valentine's Day blah blah blah shards. Real Men (*citation needed) spend a Bromantic Night drinking beer, eating pie, bottling delicious home brew and enjoying the company of a couch surfing friend Evan - who has spent the last two months on the Mexican Coast living in a beach tent and is currently regaling us with stories which make me want to call him names like "jerk face," "asshole," "god damn you," and "sure you don't need a party buddy?" (real friends don't let other friends party with beautiful strangers, duh).

And my first valentine Momma Davis sent her favorite fat kid a Pecan Pie. That's Texas love. 

So good once it touches the lips

David purchased this after tasting it at the Whole Foods Beer Festival and it is phenomenal.  This is up in the pantheon of Double IPA's alongside Stone Ruination. Classic Sierra Nevada body with an incredibly smooth but incredibly hoppy flavor. There's an interesting bite in the middle of my sip, like a hop spike, that's fleeting and adds an interesting characteristic to the taste.

This is DANK. It is Original Gangster Dank. It's 10.4% alcohol (which I don't taste at all) and it's over 100 IBU's. I mean, wow. Shenanigans. I'm pulling my hair out in delight. BAD BOYS rating. Seriously, pick it up.


If I can get off that boner coaster, David and I bottled our second home brew together, the Belgian IPA. We knew from tasting it during the primary to secondary fermentation transfer, that the brew is still a working recipe and we need to step up the malt/fermentables for the next batch.

With our tasting today, we forecast the brew to be 'pretty decent.' It's not there yet because the hops to malt ratio isn't where we want it, so it'll be pretty hoppy but hopefully not overwhelmingly so. I'm also crossing my fingers that the bottle conditioning / carbonation will bring out the hop aroma, because it's not very strong right now. The greatest surprise is the beer's clarity. It's fantastic and I couldn't ask for anything clearer. It's pretty close to a Houblon Chouffe:

 

This result is from either the wort cooler I picked up before the last batch or the Fascist-isque temperature control in my room, or both. Regardless, I'm proudly pleased with the final product. Two Mondays from now we'll taste and see what's in store. Best Valentine's Day in a long, long time. 

Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest is a Wet Hopped Mouthful

I like this label, probably because I also enjoy history and like Buster Bluthe from Arrested Development, cartography (no, not really). Here's a rare early morning review for the Northern Hemisphere Harvest.

I just threw up in my mouth from all the ugliness

This brew is wet hopped (hops that are recently picked and are still moist, rather than standard dry hops), creating a brew where the hops play more of a central role in the flavor profile than a standard Sierra Nevada. The wet hops provide an earthy, spicy taste and add a very interesting bitterness that lingers, as if the hops are slowly disseminated, over the course of a tasting. Like most Sierra Nevada spirits, this seasonal deserves a sampling. Solid TRANSFORMERS rating.

Celebration Ale from Sierra Nevada generates mixed feelings

This tastes like Christmas Ale but much like my current construction project, still this falls flat (so far). However, I may be the last man standing on the 'hater' side of the line, because everyone else seems to like it.

Linus, staring contest you and me....Dammit, you always win!

More of a fan this year than when I had it last, but it still doesn't turn me warm and fuzzy. It tastes simply like a Sierra Nevada red ale. I dunno, based on everyone's favorable perceptions you should try this; however, my opinion still hasn't crossed over from the dark side. ARMAGEDDON rating.

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest - Sierra with more Hopst

Delicious and good-lookin'. Sierra Nevada has produced another delight.

Marina del Rey balcony was a fitting place for this taste, aye?

You know those commercials advertising cookies or desert and they announce at the end, "Now with real fudge!" I hope you don't recognize that tagline because I just made it up and that makes you an easily persuaded person, but there are similar commercials and I think you know what I mean. 

Now, imagine if you took a Sierra Nevada ale and injected it with a subtle citrus and hops flavoring while maintaining a well-balanced beer. Wallah, you have the Southern Hemisphere Harvest. My endorsement is if you like regular ol' Sierra Nevada, try this big guy before summer ends! THE ROCK rating.

Sierra Nevada Sourhern Hemisphere Harvest wants to play some basketball

Heyo, this is good. Take regular Sierra Nevada and make its standard hoptacularness just a little more hoptacular. Thank you New Zealand for sharing your hops.

This beer is Charlie Murphy. Resembles his more broadly successful brother, works in Limited Release, more potent and distinct, not as ubiquitously popular. "CHALLENGE HIM!"

Sierra Nevada Autumn Brown Ale Tumbler, Yum

Saturday afternoon I suggested red meat to go along with our Autumn Brown Ale Tumbler. I helped David create a terrifically ridiculous meal: andouille sausage and beef burger with blue cheese and caramelized onions, topped off a spicy mayo sauce. Savory and sweet and spicy.


This-Was-Amazing. It will also be known as the burger that almost destroyed me.

A supreme heart attack and a half

Onto the beer. I'm only familiar with Sierra Nevada's seasonal Summerfest and Pale Ales (shame one me) but both are superb. This beer is no exception. This Autumn Brown Ale Tumbler pours a beautiful dark brown color. I could not only taste the light hops of a traditional Sierra Nevada but also well-balanced rich caramel and brown sugar flavors typical in an American ale. Delicious. it was perfect for red meat. The beer is a solid ale and while I'm rating it as TRANSFORMERS, I will certainly purchase this again soon.