Sierra Nevada Barrel-Aged Bigfoot

Sierra Nevada Barrel-Aged Bigfoot is an American Barleywine aged in Whiskey Barrels, 11.9% ABV. This review is for the 2015 vintage.

After the most comical of wimpy pops from the cork this beer pours with a murky reddish brown color that gets a bit worse with each glass. I have to be honest, the aroma isn’t all that impressive to me. The beer doesn’t smell bad, in fact it smells a lot like the 2014 Bigfoots I’ve been opening during 2015, but that is what makes it disappointing… I was expecting more. There might be the slightest bit of whiskey on the nose as the beer warms, but otherwise it is an aroma I am very familiar with. The taste does reveal the barrel in the beer in big time fashion. Strong notes of sweet vanilla, charred wood and straight bourbon are intertwined with the classic sweet caramel and hop spice of Bigfoot. The finish recalls the sweet vanilla and even more bourbon mixing with some strong hop bitterness.

I found myself enjoying this a lot more than I expected, the barrel treatment is really adding a whole different level of flavor to this already outstanding beer.