I just got this vertical 12 pack of Bigfoot. I’m very excited to taste these because I will have to admit…I’m a Barleywine geek. Plus, I can use this box to send in my entries for NHC.
That is a great box! I’d say 2016 will be drinking perfection!
I age Bigfoot and believe it is the best aging non-sour beer available. For me it is at its peak from year 3-5. Above is a 2010 & 2018 I did side by side of recently.
My wife and I sampled the 2011, 2014, and 2016. The 2011 seemed the most hoppy and with the thinnest mouthfeel. Not sure if that is from the oxidation. The 2014 and 2016 were the most enjoyable with a wonderful dark fruit flavor. The packaging is top notch from Sierra Nevada because oxidation was not significant at all even with the 2011 that was not overbearing.
I once got in on a 12 year vertical tasting. IIRC, mid 80s to late 90s. We found them remarkably consistent, despite the age.
My problem with Bigfoot is that it does not last. It tastes amazing on the first year.
Yep. There are several years of gaps in my collection due to this conundrum.
I have to agree with beerphilmcd that around the 5 year mark they are wonderful.
I had a 2009 last month and it was still very good. A little oxidation, but not too bad. I think 3-5 years is the sweet spot, but I’ve been impressed with how it holds up.
I couldn’t get 2020 because 2020 happened, so I feel sad to have a gap in my cellar. I think there’s still at least one for every year since 2009.
I just picked up a six pack of 2021 yesterday and it also drinks wonderfully. The hop presence is obviously stronger, but I love hops supported with a big malt backbone.
This is the only Big Foot I could find.
Will try with St Patrick’s Day dinner.
I’m a huge fan of the Bigfoot! Got one bottle each of 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021. Also like to make my own barleywine every few years to bottle and age. Kernal Barleywine is now around 6 years old and Big Nugget is probably 4. Every few months I have a bottle of one of them
Which one did you like best, the 2010 or the 2018? Was it worth the effort to hold on to the 2010 for so long?
I was excited to get a vertical 12 pack that I ordered from Sierra Nevada. I have never found it in Western Kentucky 
whining alert:
the only sierra nevada product i’ve ever seen in canada is the pale ale. this is the third largest craft brewery in america basically being ignored by one of the largest single alcohol purchasing entities in the world (the LCBO had sole distribution for 14 million people for decades).
this goes for any other american craft brewery, whenever i went to the states i always went nuts trying to get the beers i missed. usually would try to make a list.
it’s such a joke here