9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
A Very Good Pale Ale that every craft beer drinker should drink!
Date of Review: Aug 4, 2009
The Bottom Line: Buy it and you will like it. Great craft beer.
For those beer drinkers who like craft brewers, you owe it to yourself to try a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. This is, perhaps, the staple of craft beers. Look online and try to find a bad review of this beer. Everyone seems to rave about it. After recently discovering a number of craft ales that I thoroughly enjoyed, I realized that I had never tried this beer. So, I went to my local beer store and picked up a six pack. This beer is a bit pricey, at $7.99 for a six pack, but was on target for other similar craft brewers. Heck, a six pack of Miller Lite was $5.29.
I poured my first Sierra Nevada Pale Ale into a pint glass, and immediately, I was impressed with the color. It has an amber color, which I did not expect. I guess I was expecting something much lighter in color, so this was a nice surprise. The beer poured with a nice 1 inch foamy head. After you pour this beer, the aroma is very apparent. You will smell citrus and floral notes, with a grapefruit-like smell being most prominent. The beer is nicely carbonated and sits well in the mouth. It has a very light and fresh taste, probably due to the citrus and floral tastes. It is very easy to drink and quite enjoyable. It left a nice lace on the glass which lasted quite a while.
One of the things I find most interesting about the beer is the packaging in comes in. Most bottles (or six pack holders) will give a brief description of the beer. Upon reading the description for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, it tells the drinker that a thin layer of yeast will be on the bottom of the bottle, as this ale was bottle conditioned (a true sign of a craft brewer). I found this to be an asset to the beer and something I found myself intrigued with. Just make sure not to pour the yeast into your glass (it won't hurt you, but it's better to leave it in the bottle).
Overall, I was very impressed with this ale and I now understand why it is so highly acclaimed. I would certainly purchase this ale again and I would definitely recommend it to any craft beer drinker, and any beer drinker in general.
