As a general fan of most things made by Sierra Nevada I noticed the new Sierra Nevada Estate Ale on tap locally this weekend and then in bottles in a local store. I only remembered to take a picture once half of it was gone. It has quite a bit of hop bitterness – a fair amount more than Sierra’s Pale Ale. I started to warm to it toward the end of the glass once I got accustomed to the amount of bitterness. Sierra says all the barley and hops are grown at the brewery, thus making it one of the world’s only estate-made beers.

Name: Sierra Nevada Estate Ale
Brewery: Sierra Nevada, Chico, CA.
Style: Pale Ale.
Color: Amberish.
Packaging: draft; 24 oz. bottle.
Stats: ?% abv, ? IBU.
Bought: The Rhino, Missoula.
Ruling: Three out of Five Hops. Hops are the feature – flavor, aroma and bitterness.