I tasted 3 beers @ a dinner party last Friday: Michelob Pale Ale, Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout, and Sierra Nevada BigFoot Barleywine Style Ale. The Loves came to celebrate Emily's birthday with us.
Michelob Pale Ale was better than I remembered. A passable and pleasant Pale Ale.
Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout was a tasty treat. The smoke and chocolate flavors accompanied well flank steak and formed a fantastic combination w/ cinnamon gelati ice cream.
Sierra Nevada BigFoot Barleywine Style Ale formed the nightcap. The bottle I drank was just under 3 years old. This bottle had lost some of its earlier aggression and the body seemed weaker than I remembered. It is still a tasty flavorful treat. Piney bitter hops drive the taste and they are balanced by a strong malt backbone.
SNBFBW a great example of an American Barleywine. A fresh one is a flavor explosion caused by a collision of a massive malt backbone and two tons of bitter northwest hops. Reviewers on BeerAdvocate rated SNBFBW as one of the top 100 beers on the planet on 29 December 2005. It goes great with sticky sweet desserts like carrot cake with creamy icing.
SNBFBW occupies a significant portion of my cellar. It is released early each year. I have bottles from 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. With age the hops become more mellow and the malt emerges and evolves. Reviewers report that port and chocolate flavors emerge over time. I hope to test for the presences of these flavors thoroughly myself in the coming years.
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