Sierra Nevada XXX Anniversary - Part IV

The Michigan v. Ohio State game is one that I usually watch with a Buckeye fan - it's either my friend on the East Coast or my friend on the West Coast. This year, neither of them were able to work out the logistics, so I invited a friend from work over for the game. It turned out to be a bad day for football (was not expecting a 30 point shellacking - ugh) but a good day for beer. My work-buddy brought a six-pack of Sierra Nevada Celebration and I just happened to have a bottle of SN's fourth release of their 30th Anniversary beers - the Grand Cru. As Celebration is one of the blended beers in this release, it was a good chance to have a side-by-side comparison.

Grand Cru, by SN's description, is a marriage of our three most acclaimed ales: Oak-aged Bigfoot, Celebration Ale, and fresh Pale Ale blended together and generously dry-hopped.

The pour contained a sizable head that stuck around for quite a bit, leading to a lot of lacing. A dark red/heading-toward-brown color, it's got a little cloudiness to the liquid, but we're not talking unfiltered beer here. Picked up some strong hops in the nose - pine - and some malts and spices, but the hops were dominant. Oak kicked in about halfway through the bottle, but it was more of an addition to the scent vs. a complete reworking just because it climbed to room temp.

Sharp, pine-like hoppiness on the front end (this is the Celebration saying hello), little bit of caramel sweetness from the Bigfoot. And then your hair is blown back by dry-hop finish. Very bitter rush as the beer passes by with a hoppy aftertaste. You get some additional spice and some sweetness as the beer warms, but on the whole, this feels like the marrying of a red and an ESB. For my taste preferences, this is quite good. It's a solid blend, but I feel that the Celebration and Bigfoot are clearly in the driver's seat - if the Pale brought anything to the party, I wasn't immediately picking it up. Oh, and the alcohol isn't hidden - the 9.2% causes the occasional flash of heat, but it works decently with the rest of the flavors involved.

Of Sierra's four, 30th Anniversary releases this year, this would easily clock in as the second best offering (in order: the Stout, the Grand Cru, the Bock, and then the Barleywine) and it's definitely worth a try.