Sierra Nevada 'Bigfoot Ale' 2015. Barleywine Style Ale. 9.6% abv. Amber-ruby color. Two fingers of thick, creamy tan head. Outstanding retention and superb lacing. Nose of rich malt, caramel, herbal hops, woodsy. Front taste of tall malt, toffee, bittersweet dark fruit, botanicals. Aftertaste is abundant bitter-herbal hops, dark chocolate, raisins. Full body. Mouthfeel is warm-hot, creamy, astringent.

This is wonderful big beer, one of the original barleywine-style brews of the microbrew age. Over the years, there have been variations of it, most notably the barrel-aged treasure, but this standard Bigfoot is my favorite, a go-to big beer that I look forward to every holiday season. Lots of dark, creamy, fruity, and spicy flavors in each sip that makes for a nicely complex taste overall. A classic and standard in its category, great fresh out of the bottle or you can age it another year for a more mellow, richer taste. Either way, I love this beer. Highly recommended.

From the brewery:

"Our cult-classic beast of a barleywine. Bigfoot is a beast of a beer, brimming with bold flavors of bittersweet malt and heaps of aggressive whole-cone Pacific Northwest hops. First introduced in the winter of 1983, Bigfoot is a cult-classic beer brewed in the barleywine style, meaning a strong, robust, bruiser of a beer with the refined intensity of a wine. Bigfoot is prized by beer collectors for its supreme cellarability. Under the proper conditions, it can age like a fine wine, developing new flavors and character as it matures in the bottle. Each new release or 'expedition' is vintage dated. Collect your own and see the flavors develop and progress."
[source: sierranevada.com]

Red Branch Brewing Honey Stout. 7.2% abv. Dark brown color with a finger of beige head that recedes to a thick lasting collar. Excellent retention and lace. Aroma of honey, raisins, plum. Front taste of honey, dark fruit, roasted malt. Aftertaste of bitter fruit, earthy, mildly sweet. Medium body, a tad thin for a stout but the honey taste and feel help make up for it. Mouthfeel is warm, herbal, slightly mediciney, creamy.

This is a great beer, a little thin for a stout but definitely worth seeking out. It's very easy drinking, more than you'd expect, and its flavors of honey and dark fruits go well with the backbone of roasted malt. Another fine brew from Red Branch Brewing, the same talented folks from Rabbit's Foot Meadery. Highly recommended.

From the brewery:

"Our stout is styled after both a traditional dry stout and an Imperial Russian Stout. We have taken the liberty to add a generous amount of honey during fermentation to create another of our unique 'Braggot' style ales. Reminiscent of the 'Rosie the Riveter' posters common in America during World War II, we just put a little spin on it."