Ale 2008.30th Anniversary pours an opaque black—there are few red highlights in the corners of the glass, but not much light is making it through this one. The head is a thick tan, and the nose is a roasty rich malt with chocolate. The beer begins with a rich chocolate and light coffee flavor, moving into dry and roasty malt flavors in the middle, and finishing with light alkaline chalkiness accompanied by a bit of lingering alcohol and warmth at the end. Creamy, soft, and chewy on the mouth; the carbonation is medium, and helps build the soft and chewy mouthfeel. The beer does taste a bit young, which is not too surprising; the alcohol warmth and flavor at the end would most certainly be smoothed out after a year or two, and the chocolate in the front would probably also dry out a bit. Nonetheless, an interesting and delicious beer—it’s too bad we
only could get our hands on one bottle of this, as we’d love to see how it tastes in about another year. [Note: second bottle scored and stored. Check back with us later.]From the Sierra Nevada website: “Fritz Maytag. Owner of San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing Company, is regarded as the founding father of the craft brewing movement. Fritz agreed to guest brew this very special ale in honor of our 30th anniversary. As a nod to the dark ales and stouts that seduced both Fritz and Ken in the early years, we bring you this pioneering stout, a rich roasted ale, perfect for aging, and worthy of your finest snifter. Enjoy!”
ABV: 9.2%
(4/21/2010)
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