I have written this post to commemorate a momentus occasion, my local Morrisons has now started selling Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, well actually I started writing this post to celebrate it but that was over a month ago now and in the meantime Aldi decided to sell a who load of this luscious stuff for £1.29. Some of you may have had it in your local supermarkets for a while now but up until now I’ve had to get it from bigger Tesco stores or via the internet.
Those of you who have never had Sierra Nevada Pale Ale don’t know what you are missing, it’s one of my favourite beers and a beer I can drink all night long and is certainly one of the best things to come out of the USA!
mmmmmmmmmm just look at that view
Sierra Nevada have been brewing for 30 years and make some of the most awe inspiring beers I have ever tried, they are a craft brewery on steroids (not literally obviously) They take their brewing very seriously and stick to their guns along the way.
Pale ale comes in lovely little stubby 350ml bottles with a lovely green label, I am a big fan of the Sierra Nevada branding and labelling, it always catches the eye and gives you plenty of info about the beer.
It pours a lovely burnt amber colour which glows in almost the same way as Thornbridge Halcyon. The aromas are spicy and floral with bags of citrusy cascades and hints oof pine .
The flavour is nothing short of brilliant, it’s so well balanced it’s hard to fault, It’s smooth and oily, citrusy and piney, there is a little malty sweetness in there followed by a bitter but not too bitter kick from the hops, this tingles your tongue and leaves your palette refreshed and gagging for more. It’s near enough to the perfect session beer, I really could drink it all night long.
I’ve been lucky enough to try it on keg in a couple of establishments like the wonderful Sheffield Tap and it’s even better, fresher and riper than the bottled version. It’s enough to make me want to go to all the way to CA and try the stuff fresh.
If you haven’t tried it get your self down to Morrisons or Tesco and buy a few bottles, if you don’t like them I will be amazed, if you really don’t like them feel free to send them to me, they wont last long in my fridge.
You can visit the Sierra Nevada website here or follow them on twitter here
Ah, I remember when my local Sainsbury’s got this in, about 4 years ago. I think that was the day I became a real beer fan.
You’ve been deprived if you haven’t had it near you until now! Never seen it in an Aldi though.
Lovely, lovely beer. I’d disagree with one thing though, I think the condition of the draught is pretty variable. The bottle is always perfect though.
I can’t even go into here how important this beer is to me. Gateway beer. My favourite beer in the whole world…ever.
definitely a gateway beer for me too, I remeber the surprise at the taste and flavour first time I had a bottle,there is always some in my fridge, along with Brookyn Lager and Sam Adams Boston Lager.
I absolutely love Sierra Nevada pale ale since I found it in tescos a while back.
Was on holiday in California earlier in the year and took a bit of a detour to check out their brewery in Chico. Had a great tour and the tap room at the end was great – able to get a sample tray of about 13beers :D. All of their stuff including current seasonal ones and a few one offs was available in the bar.
Out there the draught pale ale is a different beer to the bottled stuff – cant remember the reason behind this but got to taste them side by side and bottled stuff was much nicer.
Great site btw.
thanks for the comments, would love to visit the tap room, ive only ever had the draugh pale ale in sheffield tap and pivini in york and like you say it’s a different beast.
Every time i have a bottle of this amazing ale it intantly transports me back to New York. I have only been there one time but as soon as i sip this stuff i can actuall feel the new york vibes around me its amazing!