After getting out incredibly early from a class for my EMT cert, Nicole and I decided to head to Buffalo Wild Wings. The one thing that I found quite interesting was what they listed as their “craft” beers. The list included: Miller Chill, Budweiser American Ale, etc. Although I like Miller Chill, I wouldn’t classify it under craft brews. Anyways, I picked Sierra Nevada because a) I haven’t had it before and b) it was on tap.
ABV: 5.6%
Style: American Pale Ale
Trivia: This is the flagship and most popular beer from Sierra Nevada. It’s also a multi-year gold medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival.
Random: I seriously heart the Asian Zing sauce at Buffalo Wild Wings.
When I got this brew, it looked like some of the head already dissipated. It was served with a one finger head that left a great deal of lacing. The color is a clear, warm orange with moderate visible carbonation. The nose was very muted. All I got was some hops. Nicole got some pine and kept saying that it tasted like beer (you can see how helpful she is with tastings some times). Then, she kept repeating that it was piney. On the taste, I definitely got some pine, but not as much as in other pale ales. In all fairness, this tasted very different from the other pales that I’ve reviewed (Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale and River Horse Hop Hazard). There’s also some citrus in the brew, but again, it’s muted. There was also a decent amount of malt on the end of it. Basically, the brew started slightly bitter and ended slightly sweet. The finish was also more on the sweeter side. Due to the low ABV, this would be a good session beer and it goes down really easy. All in all, solid brew, but not overly complex (which can be a good thing too and in this case, it is). This would make a good tailgating or BBQ brew and could appeal to everyone.
[...] that he didn’t know they had more than one beer, but he would check and it tasted just like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It was Blue Point Toasted Lager…really tastes nothing like Sierra [...]