I must admit I felt a little bit guilty about criticizing the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in my last post. I don't disagree with what I wrote, but I didn't want to give the impression that I felt that Sierra Nevada's whole approach was to capitalize on the microbrew new recruit club. To help ease my nagging guilt, I drank a 750 ml bottle of Sierra Nevada's 30th Anniversary Grand Cru this evening. Simply put, I fucking loved it.
Yes, I loved it. But it isn't my favorite brew in the 30th Anniversary series. That distinction goes to the Fritz and Ken Imperial Stout, though I admittedly have not tried the bock (and don't have much interest in doing so given my feelings about German style beers). Grand Cru is a complex, dry-hopped blend of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale, Pale Ale, and Oak-Aged Bigfoot Barleywine. The result is an incredibly smooth strong ale with an ABV of 9.2%. The dominant tastes are of pine resin and slightly bitter hops. The bitterness is very well balanced, however, with a subtly sweet malt finish. I really hate talking about beers' appearance and aroma, but the head on this beer is worth mentioning. Not only was the head ample, but it was also deliciously succulent. I slurped up the one-inch plus head and enjoyed it almost as much as the weirdly irresistible ice cream/root beer fusion head you get on a root beer float. It also left some serious lacing on the edge of my pint class, which people seem to care about even though it just makes the glass harder to clean.
Ten dollars is a lot of cash to drop on a bottle of beer, but the three Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary ales that I've tried are worth every penny. Grand Cru may be the best balanced beer I've ever tasted, and I've had a lot of beer...
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