Beer Review #23: Sierra Nevada Tumbler

This one is the Sierra Nevada autumn seasonal beer, a brown ale. I'm promised a maltier experience than the other Sierra Nevada offerings, and as I'm a fan of malty beers, I'm pretty curious, and more than a little excited. So far, I've been a fan of everything I've tasted from this brewery, so that too gives me high hopes. My only worry is that as we're now in April, this could very well be over six months old, and apparently with this type of beer, the fresher the better. We shall see.

Brown Ale at 5.5% ABV

L: Pours a dark amber brown colour with a three finger off-white head, retaining a film throughout and leaving good lacing. 8/10

S: Strong malt presence, toffee and caramel malt I would say, yet it still retains some of the hops you'd expect from a Sierra Nevada ale. Pine, citrus peel and citrus fruits are all hinted at in the aroma. 7/10

T: Malty, more bready than sweet, quite nice. Slight bitterness somewhere in the middle. To be completely honest, there's just not much going on - it's a bit one-dimensional. The start is full of hints of toffee and caramel and the finish is pine, citrus and peel. 6/10

M: Medium bodied and moderately carbonated, smooth and very easy to drink. 7/10

The verdict: Not bad, but not at all great. Probably the least impressive of the beers I've tried from this brewery. However, I'll definitely be trying it again in the Autumn, as fresh I can get it. Also, I'll be picking up the Summerfest lager soon. 7/10

The Drunken Destrier score: 70/100