I don't even remember what my last Sierra Nevada beer was. That is to say, I didn't have one this week. As I've stated before, the reason I have this blog at all is to remind myself of what beers I've had and what beers I liked. Could this just be a spreadsheet? Probably. And it would probably be easier to do, easier to fill out, and easier to reference, but this is the route I've gone, and I am obeying the fallacy of sunk cost.
First sip is, indeed, pine and bitterness. There are grains under it, but they are difficult to pick up with the pine layers all over this beer. When it says that it's double dry-hopped, I assume at this point that they used nothing but pine hops for their dry-hopping, because that is hitting like a hammer, and I can't say I'm that big of a fan. Well, at least, the sip isn't great. Let's hop on over to swigtown.
Tip-in is subtly sweet with pine in the air and citrus spritzed right across it with no carbonation to speak of. The middle suddenly presents carbonation burn with light and airy pine over citrus and grains, and it is very good (where was this in the sip?) right there. Then, the finish is pine resin with bitterness that doesn't bite nearly as much as the sip.
Bottom Line: It is good enough to overcome its hop handicap.
3.5/5
