Review: Ovila Abbey Quad

Ovila Abbey Quad
(collaboration with Sierra Nevada and the Abbey of New Clairvaux)
10.2% ABV

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA

12.7 oz btl
Served in St. Bernardus chalice glass
No date on bottle
Reviewed on 2/16/14

This quadruple ale pours a dark amberish brown color with a decent beige head that has okay retention. Good lacing.

Smell consists of plums, dark fruit accents such as cherry and raisin, malt, slight caramel, floral/herbal notes, slight leather, slight tobacco.

Taste consists of thick dark fruit with dominant plum, cherry, and raisin flavors, some caramel, touch of vanilla, alcohol, floral and herbal notes, notes of tobacco and leather.

Mouthfeel is thick on the palate with some decent lingering bitterness. Touch of dryness.

Overall, this is a nice tasting quad that's heavy on the dark fruit flavors.  Plum, cherry, and raisin flavors are quite evident, with some decent accents such as caramel, vanilla, and even tobacco and leather coming through. This might not stack up to the renowned Belgian quads, but it definitely has some good flavor and a unique profile.  Comes in a nice looking bottle as well.

My score: 91

Review: Sierra Nevada Stout

Sierra Nevada Stout
5.8% ABV
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
12 oz btl

Served in Dogfish Head signature glass
No date on bottle
Reviewed on 7/3/13

This stout pours a dark brown color with a thin beige head that dissipates quickly.  Moderate lacing.

Smell consists of roasted malt, coffee, some chocolate, hops, caramel, mild soy, touch of spice.

Taste consists of dry roasted malt, coffee, hops, bitter chocolate, touch of floral and herbs, some caramel.

Mouthfeel is dry and bitter on the palate.  Consistent body from front to back.

Overall, this is a nice dry and bitter stout has a nice profile of flavors.   Roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, and hops come together with some nice touches of floral, herbs, and even caramel.  The body on this is consistent from start to finish.  After the first few tastes, it's dry and bitter, but with a few more tastes, a creaminess emerges.  Another solid effort from reliable stalwart Sierra Nevada.


My score: 90

Changes to My Current Top Ten

Okay, this was probably evident as of this review--there have been some significant changes to my Current Top Ten (side right column of this blog).  Firestone Walker Parabola enters the list at number two and screws things up royally.  So, three of my four top beers are not IPAs.  Sierra Nevada Hoptimum also enters the list, at number ten.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton has fallen out of the top ten, as has Firestone Walker Wookey Jack.  Nothing against either of these beers—I love them both still—but it’s getting harder and harder to come up with a top ten.  Fear not, they are sitting right on the cusp, as are Stone Imperial Russian Stout, Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, Stone Enjoy By IPA, Duvel, and a few others.  There’s really not much separating the bottom five of the top ten and a bunch of others.  Depending on the day and how I’m feeling, there could be some interchangeability. 

So, the list now has three stouts, six IPAs (I’m throwing Nugget Nectar into this category, even though it’s technically not one), and a quad.  A hophead list that doesn’t have hoppy beers at the top two spots. 

Review: Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum (2013)
10.4% ABV
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
12 oz btl

Served in Duvel tulip glass
No date on bottle
Reviewed on 5/26/13

This imperial IPA pours a light amber color with a good thin off-white head.  Decent lacing.

Smell consists of strong bitter hops, grapefruit, citrus, strong floral, herbal, hints of pepperiness, malt.

Taste consists of dry, bitter hops, strong citrus flavors with grapefruit, some apricot, touch of orange, strong floral notes, spiciness, malt.  Quite crisp and tasty.

Mouthfeel is smooth yet somewhat earthy on the palate.  Quite dry and bitter.  Very fresh and crisp.

Overall, this is a fresh imperial IPA that has a strong flavor profile of dry, bitter hops and a strong mix of citrus notes.  Even though the hops are quite dry and bitter, they don't overwhelm, and there's enough maltiness to make this rather smooth.  As it warms up, some good texture comes through.  Nicely done.  Rates well with other imperial IPAs.  As it's from Sierra Nevada, it's widely available at a decent price. 

My score: 96

Review: Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

ABV: 7.2%

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
12 oz bottle
Served in Dogfish Head Signature Glass
Reviewed on 8/18/12

This IPA pours an amber/gold with a slight haziness.  Good white head that keeps some retention.  Decent lacing.

Smell consists of hops, grapefruit, citrus, some pine, slight malt, slight spice, hint of vanilla.

Taste has hops with good medium bitterness.  Citrus and pine notes as well as malt that is somewhat muted with a strand of spice.

Mouthfeel is smooth with a good earthy graininess.  Nice dryness comes through once the beer comes up to temperature.  Good balance of flavors.

Overall, this is a tasty, hoppy IPA with good bitterness and dryness.  Solid though not palate-overwhelming flavors.  For the price, you can't beat what you get with this IPA.  Actually, it's hard to believe that such a good tasting IPA can be so inexpensive. 

Score: 92

Summer Beers: Do We Have To?

The approaching summer season should be viewed as a great opportunity to enjoy the warm weather and abundant sun, perhaps having a beer or two on a patio with friends and family as sunlight remains past the 8:00 hour.  But summer also means lighter tasting seasonal beers—pilsners, lagers, wheat beers, and fruit beers.  With a few exceptions, I’m mostly disappointed by such offerings.  For most pilsners, lagers, and wheat beers—even those produced by craft breweries—I have trouble finding what makes them more distinct than similar products produced by the macro breweries, which I don’t care for anyway.  Fruitier beers often sound interesting, and who doesn’t like some good fruit flavor, but what passes for fruit flavor in beer—and not accents to hops and malts—often to me tastes artificial and weak. I think, simply put, I just don’t care for the styles of summer beer.

So, even though it’s summer and my palate should be looking for crisp, light, refreshing beers, I still find myself wanting my usual favorites.  IPAs, stouts, Belgian ales.  Other than some seasonals, IPAs and the Belgians are pretty much made year round.  Generally speaking, there are probably more fall/winter seasonal stouts out there, and a dark beer such as a stout can be firmly associated with the cold winter months, but many fine stouts are made year round as well.  Basically, while I’m open to trying something new, I want the dry bitter hops that I find in IPAs and the chocolate and coffee malt flavors that I find in stouts.  I don’t care about what the calendar says.  For me, these are rich, exquisite flavors that should be enjoyed year round.  Don’t look at me funny when it’s 95 degrees, the sun is frying eggs on the asphalt, and I’m pouring a can of oil black Ten FIDY that I’ve been saving since the previous fall.

If you made me drink a beer that had to meet summer beer criteria, I’d probably go with Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, though it’s not a summer seasonal but a world class, year-round offering.  Sam Adams Double Agent IPL wouldn’t be a bad choice either, as it’s a good mix of a maltier lager and hoppier IPA.  The classics--Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sam Adams Boston Lager, and Anchor Steam Beer--hold up well also, as they are relatively light on the palate yet still tasty and reasonably sessionable.

The Classics

If you're a craft beer connoisseur, there are certain beers that were likely your gateway into the world of craft beer.  You may not have known it at the time, but once you tasted them, your palate realized that, yes, beer can be something different than what's being sold as beer on clever tv commercials.  If you came of drinking age in the 1990s, I think the following three beers, which I consider the "classics," were likely part of your craft beer introduction:

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale:  The classic pale ale that was likely my introduction to craft beer back in the '90s.  It still doesn't disappoint.  In terms of flavor, it may have been surpassed by others over the years, but this one is the grandfather of them all.

Samuel Adams Boston Lager: Possibly the most pervasive craft beer in America (Blue Moon doesn't count).  If you're into craft beer, it's easy to overlook, but it's still worth coming back to now and again.  At many dining establishments, this might be your only craft choice.  My review here. 

Anchor Steam Beer:  It took me a long time to realize that the brewery is "Anchor" and the beer style is "Steam," rather than "Anchor Steam" being the brewery name (which would be a cool name for a brewery).  "Steam" beer is an old American style that's not widely brewed anymore, and everyone but Anchor has to call it "California Common," as Anchor holds the rights to the designation "steam beer" (more info here).  Anchor Steam has a distinct, even unique taste.  Malty, with hops, bread, and touches of caramel and citrus, and even what I call a slight cotton candy touch at the front. 

The best thing about each of these beers is not only are they tasty, but they're affordable and widely available.

Review: Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout (2012)

Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout (2012)
10.2% ABV
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
12 oz bottle
Served in Dogfish Head Signature Glass 
No date on bottle
Reviewed on 12/16/12

This stout pours a thick dark brown color with a good bubbly beige head. Good lacing.

On the nose, malt, dark chocolate, coffee, slight hops, caramel, slight cherry, slight raisin.

Taste has chocolate, malt, coffee, licorice, cherry, (almost a chocolate-covered cherry cordial flavor comes in), mild hops, hints of raisin, touch of sugar, touch of vanilla extract.

Mouthfeel is smooth and dry, with some good creaminess and a nice pointed kick of bitterness.  Fairly bold with some nice bite at the back of the mouth.

Overall, solid, tasty imperial stout with a distinct profile of flavors.  As its temperature rises, dryness and bitterness really come through and penetrate the palate.  This one would be a good candidate for some aging.  A nice surprising offer from Sierra Nevada, though quality from SN is not something unusual, but more so since I only just learned about this tasty stout a couple of weeks ago and it's good.  Is it possible I'm beginning to like stouts more than IPAs?

My score: 94

Review: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (2012 edition)
ABV: 6.8%

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
12 oz bottle
Served in Dogfish Head Signature Glass
Reviewed on 11/24/12 

This ale pours a dark amber color with a nice thick frothy head with good retention.  Moderate carbonation. Great lacing.

On the nose, notes of grapefruit, hops, malt, pine, slight floral, and other citrus, maybe a hint of lemon.

Taste has hops and malt, grapefruit, slight lemon, pine, some floral, hints of wheat and yeast.

Mouthfeel is dry and bitter in a good way yet with a fairly mellow feel on the palate.  Flavors are superbly balanced.

Overall, a quite tasty IPA that is both well hopped and well malted.  Great balance of flavors with a profile that comes across as a deep, earthy ale that, even as an IPA, fits well with the winter season.  A superb offering at a great price, showing yet again that you can get world class beers without destroying your budget.

Score: 95