Sierra Nevada Stout

Brewery: Sierra Nevada
Location: Chico, CA
Style: Stout
Brewery Website
Rating: A

Today we are tasting the Sierra Nevada Stout. This stout pours up an opaque mahogany color with a huge dark tan, foamy head. Right away the nose detects some good things. There are waves of complex aromas with roasted cocoa, earth, and wine along with both fruity and floral contributions from the hops.

The complexity continues on the palate. Aromatic hops lead off with both fruit and floral notes. This is followed by roasted coffee notes from the malt. A second wave of hops then rolls in with pine, juniper and a mild bitter bite. There are also some highlights of rye bread and wine. The Sierra Nevada Stout is medium-bodied and quite drinkable for a stout. There is also a bit of warming alcohol as well. The finish has a lingering hops bite over unsweetened cocoa and espresso

The Sierra Nevada Stout is a great, unique stout. This is a rather hops-forward style for a stout. The roasted malt flavor pairs excellently with the hops, but the hops are really the top dog here. The hops flavors are well-balanced. While there are some fruity hops notes, you aren't getting hammered with a big Cascade monotone which really wouldn't work here. The Sierra Nevada Stout drinks like a "roasted IPA" (especially since the body is a bit on the lighter side for a stout). This is a great showing from Sierra Nevada and the perfect dark beer for hopheads.