Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz & Ken's Ale
First of series. Fritz Maytag, owner of San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing Company, is regarded as the founding father of the craft brewing movement. Frtiz agreed to guest brew this very special ale with us 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 and roasted ale, perfect for aging, and worthy of your finest snifter. Enjoy!
4
729 reviews
Chico, United States
Community reviews
Bottle from The NC brewery - love the slow settling, like a Guinness, as it is first poured. This one has lovey sweet tobacco notes, like an old ale stout. Very nice!!
Bottle from Sierra Nevada Mills River. Pours black with a massive khaki head. Leaves a lot of lacing in the glass. Massive chocolatly malt notes on the nose along with a bit of sweetness. Huge chocolate on the tongue
Along with a fair amount of bitterness on the finish. Hides it's booze well. It's aged nicely. Definitely worth the money.
December 26, 2015. Bottle,
Black with a minimal brown head. Aroma is roasted malts, dark chocolate, licorice, some earthy leather notes, ink, dark berries, dried fruits and a smokey touch. Taste is medium sweet, soft bitter. Finish is smooth bitter with dark chocolate, some earthy tar notes, sweet licorice, dark berries and malty notes. Medium bodied, creamy texture, soft small bubble carbonation.
Held up well, tasty and quite easy drinkable for the style.
Leicht trübes dunkel orange braunes Bier mit einer mittelgroßen beigen Schaumkrone. Geruch sehr malzig, harzig, citrusfrüchte, leicht holzig. Geschmack sehr malzig, harzig, reife Früchte, leicht holzig.
Malzig würziger, mild getreidiger Antrunk. Noten von Bourbon, leicht holzig, trocken werdend. Weich, süffig, der Alkohol ist wenig erkennbar. Nicht übermäßig besonders. 10/9/9/8/9/9
Bottle shared by Joes & Judyvv @ "Zunt Om Nog Langer Te Bewaren" tasting (ZONLTB). Opaque pitch black color, hazelnut brown colored head that lasts for quite a while. Aroma is malts, roast, liquor. Taste malts, roasted malts, lightly roasty, liquor, nicely bitter. Medium body and suitabke carbonation. Good one!
Bottle @ SONLTB tasting. Pitch black with a small beige to light brown head. Smells roasty, sweet, coffee, some alcohol. Tastes salmiak, salty liquorice, sweet, some alcohol, roasty, coffee. Full body, nice carbo.
Draft at TBBT for their anniversary party. Pitch black, minimal head. Served a little cold. Difficult to discern much past a deep roast coffee. Taste is coffee and chocolate. Not much bitterness and a tad sweet but not too sweet or cloying or anything. No sign of the alcohol. Stops short of any oxidation too. This held up really well.
Pours black with a tan head. Rich chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, coffee, soy sauce and hop aroma. Rich chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, caramel, hop, soy sauce, smoke and anise flavors. Full body and average carbonation. Mild oxidation. Chocolate, roasted malt and soy sauce finish. 2010.
[From nots.] This black stout’s opaque body supports a nice tan head.
Aroma: Dark roasted and near butnt malts with hints of coffee and molasses.
Taste: Rich and moderately complex flavor. Primary flavor is certainly from the dark roasted malts, which bring more smokiness and less coffee that expected based on the aroma. A nice contribution of hops adds complexity and bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Full-bodied. Light carbonation. Very smooth mouthfeel is not as creamy as ideal, but that might require nitro.
O: A high quality imperial stout, no doubt. While not strongly smoky, I don’t care for smokiness in most beers and enjoyed this one a little less because of it. Pushs the border on dark roasting without actually crossing over into the burnt range.
Bottle thanks to Stawn! Pours inky black, medium super creamy brown head, lasts a long time and laces well. Aroma is roasty with notes of chocolate, anise, and a bit of smokiness. Flavor follows, lots of anise and chocolate in the body, dark roasted malts lend a smoky flavor as well. Light plus sweet, medium bitter. Full body, creamy mouthfeel. This is an interesting take on the style and a really nice beer.
Large sample pour, fairly black, with almost no head. Nose is fully roasted and dark, some burnt coffee notes. Flavor is similar, fairly roasted throughout, not quite burnt. Dark coffee again. Not bad for four years old. Not overly oxidized.
Bold coffee notes with a little bit of chocolate and a funky backend that I can not put my finger on. Seems that with time the coffee notes really shine through.
Backlog rating. Keg at CBC Islington tap takeover, London. It pours a deep black color with a small beige head. Aroma is bold with roasted malts, cocoa powder, vanilla bean, leather and wood. Taste is quite sweet with dark chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, wood, roasted malts and slight alcohol kick. Overall, top notch impy
750 ml bottle shared with drsordr. Pours dark brown to black in color with a medium sized tan head. The aroma and flavor have roasted malt, dark chocolate, coffee blends well with everything, medium plus body, solid drinking straight forward stout.
Bottle shared by alexsdad06 pours opaque black with thick tan head. Nose light roast, milk chocolate, faint mineral, molasses. Taste slight muted but similar to nose. More bakers chocolate in flavor. Late palate mild bitter. Chocolate on the finish. Nice mouth feel.
Black in colour, thin beige head, light lacing.
Aroma is roasty, some burnt malts, some sweetness, dark chocolate.
Flavour is of chocolate, light caramel, some hops, roasted malts.
Roasty mouthfeel, medium body, moderate carbonation.
Finishes sweet, roasty, long.
Nice stout, good roast.
Bottle shared with the crazy bunch a: dark chocolate, roasty, caramel app: pitch black beige head t/p: full body with long bitter finish. O: excellent. Like the maltiness and nice chocolatiness. Well brewed and highly recommend
Bottle from Tristan. Aroma: chocolate, coffee bourbon. App: dark brown, some lacing,. Taste and palate: creamy, full body, a tad bitter. Overall: really really good. Like the creamy taste.
600 ml bottle poured in a regular glass.
A: Beautiful black color with a big beige bubbled head which dissipates leaving many lacings around
S: Described as a "Black Barleywine Ale", I would classify this as a Traditional "American Imperial Stout": It has a a quite strong smell of roasted malts and fresh hops. Grassy, stingy and earthy hops followed by an alcoholic end
T: Follows the nose: A delicious bitter taste of roasted malts and fresh hops. Hops are citrus, grassy and earthy
M: Medium to heavy body. A bit molasses and low carbonation
D: Delicious Sierra Nevada specimen. To be appreciated
[ BA Review @ 12/14/2010 ]
had at recent bottle share. you have the kind of resources SN have, and you get great stuff like this.
"pours a viscous jet black with l. brown head. aroma at first is too much hops, but tons of roasted malt come through, as well as some chocolate and coffee. feel is awesome. creamy & oily without being overly thick. full bodied and smooth. flavor is chocolate, roasted malt (balls), licorice, molasses, lots of bitter hops in the finish and again a hint of coffee. i can’t believe i’m gonna say this, but a touch less hops (just a touch) would go a long way. still, a very very good beer."
750 ml bottle into snifter, bottled on 2/20/2010. Pours dense pitch black color with a 2 finger dense dark tan head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, toast, dark bread, tobacco, char, smoke, licorice, raisin, plum, and roasted earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of dark/roasted malt and light-moderate dark fruit notes; with great strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, toast, dark bread, tobacco, char, smoke, licorice, raisin, plum, and roasted earthiness. Good amount of roast/char bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, molasses, toast, dark bread, char, smoke, licorice, raisin, plum, and roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity and balance of big dark/roasted malt and light-moderate dark fruit flavors; with a great roasted bitterness/sweetness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and very full bodied; with a very creamy, smooth, and fairly slick/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is extremely well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an absolutely incredible imperial stout at 4.5 years old. All around fantastic complexity and balance of big dark/roasted malt and light-moderate dark fruit flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. An insanely delicious offering.
Rated on 7-14-2011 (Corked and caged bottle) When poured, this beer presents a large smooth semi-fizzy light brown head with a lengthy retention. The body is dark brown and opaque. There is suspended carbonation and one ring of lacing adorns my glass. The aroma is malt, licorice, chocolate, mildly roasted, pine and grass hops. The taste is sweet, some alcohol, malt, chocolate, mildly roasty, and pine hops. The mouthfeel is lively and this beer is medium bodied. Overall, this is a very quaffable and sipping beer. I like the way the hops play into the this beer in the aroma and flavor. Just the right amount. This beer is very worthy of trying and a beer I want to drink again.
750 ml bottle shared at the RBNG by the CT crew. The aroma is roasty, coffee, chocolate, anise, and caramel sweetness.
Flavor shows me lingering notes of dark chocolate, coffee grounds, toffee, charred malt, leafy tobacco, and Earthy English type hop variety on the finish. Great flavor and balance considering the age. Medium carbonation and very full bodied; with an extremely lush, creamy, and fairly slick mouthfeel that is very nice. Alcohol is no longer here, with tiny bit of warming noticed after the sip. This held up over time but I would say, “Drink’em if you gott’em” Not sure how much longer the flavor will keep this well. Cheers!
750ML, This was the beer that got me to join RateBeer yet at the time, I wasn’t rating beer yet. So, I drank this at a bar and never rated it. Finally doing that as my 1,999th review on RateBeer. YESH YESH YESH.
A - Almost pitch black, minor head.
S - Nose is a roasted chocolate bomb. bit of coffee at the back
T - Oh yeah, still tasting great. Bright english hop bitterness, caramel and butterscotch candies with a load of chocolate, charcoal and roasted ash
M - Nice mouthfeel, oily, thick
O - Really great. It’s not the Imperial stout I remember drinking first when I joined the site but it’s great to try this again after so many years.
Bottle pour. Cheers to Paulo! Deep brown with a tight tan head. Strong roasted malts, baked bread. Cocoa, rocky road fudge. Nice bitter/sweet balance. Chocolate syrup, burnt brown sugar. Toasty, spicy hop bitterness. Dry ashy finish. Nicely full mouthfeel. Rich and oily. Moderate carbonation. Quite enjoyable.
Bottle shared at craft Islington. It pours near black with a medium tan head. The nose is soft, roasty, liquorice, candied citrus peel, charred wood and violet. The taste is soft, roasty, liquorice, earth, charred wood, unami, decent bitterness, floral notes, spice and citrus peel with a dry, rich roast finish. Medium-full body and soft carbonation. Well rounded, balanced and very drinkable. Nice work.
Backlog. Brown sugar, coffee, caramel and chocolate with some spices and smoke.
Inky black in color with good amount of light brown head and a thick collar. Aroma is very roasty, some dark sugar, some black currant, great earthiness. Thick body, silty mouthfeel and low carbonation. Taste is charred, deep earth, great use of roasted malt like all SN stouts, some coffee and mahogany-like wood.