I love Sierra Nevada. I know I am from Chico and that makes me biased but that doesn't make it any less true. Sierra Nevada has so many beers to choose from, one for every palate. Bigfoot is a Chico favorite. Everyone has a "I can drink this many Bigfoots without blacking out" claim. I myself have topped out at four without puking or blacking out. I was seriously drunk though! It was also over the course of an entire evening of partying.

Bigfoot is a barley wine. The Bigfoot we had was bottled in 2010. There are some beers that are always changing in flavor, Celebration and Bigfoot are the first to come to mind. Bigfoot is different every year. It always has that huge hop flavor that punches you right in the mouth. It is a hugely flavorful beer. Some years, when the AVB is higher the alcohol finish can some what taint that pure flavor, but not this year. I thought this years Bigfoot was remarkably smooth and easy to drink. Maybe that's because it's only at 9.6% AVB this year.

I can't say that the smoothness is all the lower AVB though. Celebration (my favorite beer ever) has also been getting progressively smoother. Maybe it's a sign of Sierra Nevada perfecting the recipe, maybe it's an attempt to appeal to the bigger market. Either way Bigfoot is a beautiful barley wine.