Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale
The 2007 Anniversary Ale features prominent usage of Cascade hops– the signature hop used in Sierra Nevada’s most popular product, Pale Ale. It is an American Style IPA with a big, fragrant pine and citrus hop aroma balanced by the sweetness of two-row pale and caramel malt. It finishes with an additional Cascade dry-hopping creating a big hop aroma Sierra Nevada fans will look forward to. 2007-2009, discontinued 2010.
3.6
1106 reviews
Chico, United States
Community reviews
355 ml bottle.
Originally rated on 20091017.
Pours copper color with a small head. Aroma of hops, fruits, grass and caramel. Flavor of fruits, hops, hay, caramel and some mild pale malts. Nice an hoppy.
35,5 cl bottle @ Kahdet Kasvot. Rated on 16.10.2009
Aroma has hops, some caramel, gooseberry bush and biscuits. Flavour has gooseberry bush, nettles, some biscuits, caramel and hints of resin. Good, but there’s something about the hop profile I do not like. The same thing occurred with Southern Hemisphere Harvest.
Pours an opaque dark brown with very fine bubbles and no head but slight lace. Slight raisiny aroma. Medium body and dense mouth-feel. Even dark malt flavor balance and dry finish. No hops flavors or bitterness stand out. slight molasses character but not sweet. Interesting but not very appealing on a 95-degree F day in Albuquerque.
Bottled. A clear orange beer with a large white creamy head. Aroma is malty and heavy hoppy, caramel, grassy, pine. Taste is malty and sweet, caramel, toffee and hoppy. Dry finish. Very solid beer
2009 vintage // thought this was a barley wine when got it but thurns out this is one old IPA cool // 33 cl. bottle @ Delirium Hoppy Loft // lightly hazy amber with a small off-white lacing head // smell is mellowed down hops, touch honey, caramel underside, flowers, tad grass and sweet grains // taste is bitter kiwi, lemon, light grass, lots of caramel, toffee, lightly bitter finish, touch malt, near pilsner malt. soft white grape drink // medium to touch lighter body // nice than I imagined, not too bad even if defiantly not what it was meant to be
had a sip of 77ship’s at delirium hoppy loft.
glad i onley had a sip, this might have been a good one, but it aint anymore... it just smeels ( and tastes) old. thats all that came to my mind. so yeah america, you prob are right.. drink ipa’s fresh, i guess..
Bottle @ Delirium Hoppy Loft. 2009 version. Hazy orange with a lasting off-white head. Aroma is sweet, malty, caramel and moderate hoppy - wet hops. Flavor is medium sweet and moderate bitter. Dry and moderate bitter finish. 190712
A nice beer but unremarkable for a sierra Nevada. A good start to spring beer.
Originally reviewed: 10/14/08. Had this on tap at First Street Draught House here in Winston.
Came out a nice deep orange with a decent amount of head resting comfortably on top. This dissipated to a thin sheet, but the brew left excellent lacing rings after each sip. Beautiful.
Smell was strong floral hops and definitive citrus.
Taste mirrored the scent as I’m getting a large smack of grapefruit. Wonderful amount of hop bitterness that isn’t grating as it is balanced out by the malt sweetness. Beautiful combination.
This is a great fall brew! Smooth, balanced, tasty. I will seek this out again for sure.
Bold cascade hops nose and flavors. Lighter malt profile, but enough to serve as the hop delivery vehicle. End is bitter and dry with orange zest astringency. (2008)
Really solid Ipa with strong floral hop / pine and caramel malt.
Thanks SJ
A: Dark orange-amber body. Massive off-white cap. Good retention before subsiding to a nice skim. Sheet like lacing.
S: Assertive citrus and pine notes. Grapefruit is the prevalent fruit I was picking up.
T: A bit disappointing. The flavors are muted and somewhat muddled. The sweet malts drown out the lovely citrus hops that were present in the nose. Improved somewhat as the beer warmed.
M: Somewhat astringent. Light-medium body. A tad thin at times. Somewhat rounded finish.
O: All in all this was enjoyable. Worth checking out, not as good as last year’s (2008) rendition.
355mL bottle poured a golden color with some orange hues. There is a modest white head which leaves some lacing behind. Aroma of citrus and pine. Taste is a pleasing hoppy bitterness with some malty sweetness. This is a very nice IPA that I had the pleasure to enjoy.
From notes: 12oz bottle from Pick’s poured into a shaker. Pours an off-orange with a small bit of white head. Strong aroma of citrus hops. Taste is medium bitter and much like grapefruit. Medium bodied with an oily texture. Overall, it’s very good. I wish they were still producing this one.
Något fylligare än deras pale ale och en verklig humlebomb. Men för mycket kådasmakande beska för min smak.
Rating based off the 2008 brew. Proud golden copper color. Big resiny and pine filled nose. Flavor is gentle up front with some caramel malt action, mixed perfectly with a polite load of Cascade hop presence. Citrus, and pine bitterness coat the palate. Nice and balanced. Really enjoyed this while they made it!
Starker Hopfengeruch mit Aprikosennuancen. Hopfiger Antrunk, komplx hopfig, leicht süß, der Cascade Hopfen ist gut erkennbar. Sehr leicht fruchtig im Mittelteil, trocken werdend. Etwas grasig, der Hopfen breitet sich aus, im Hintergrund ist es aber durchaus mild. Vollmundig ist der Hopfen auch im Abgang, hier aber gepaart mit herben und bitteren Tönen. Im Nachgeschmack grasig-herb.
Test vom 12.10.2008, Gebinde: Glasflasche Noten: 11,12,12,13,13,13 - 12,50
Disappointing IPA from the usually solid Chico brewery. Lacking both in fresh, piney goodness and a solid malt backbone, this beer is far, far behind the superior Celebration Ale, which will be out plenty soon enough to skip over Anniversary. All the Cascade hops they toss at this beer fail to register much beyond an aspirin-like astringency, and, when coupled with very bland malts, leads to a dry, dull India Pale Ale. (9/08)
Reviewed from notes.
Pours a moderate golden color with a white head and a bit of haze. Good retention and lacing. Nose brigs some spicy yeast and earthy hops with light malt in the background. The taste infuses a bit if booze with the alice and some sweet malt. Feel is a bit thin and boozy. Drinks well overall, and was a nice change of pace.
Serving type: on-tap
Reviewed on: 10-25-2010
A: The beer pours amber in color with brilliant clarity and a finger of white head and lots of sticky lacing.
S: A surprising amount of hoppiness with lots of citrus notes, particularly in terms of grapefruit. An underlying floral hop quality and a crisp malt profile consisting primarily of bread. Just a touch of pine and toast.
T: Still quite bitter with a good floral and pine hop flavor. Grapefruit peel is the primary source of citrus flavor, but overall it’s fairly grassy. Toaste bread is the bulk of the malt flavor here, but surprisingly, the hops are still the dominant flavor.
M: Medium in body with a crisp and lively carbonation and a dry finish.
O: Amazing how well this has held up. Obviously it was better fresh, but still good.
A backlog entry
In short: A piney/coniferous American IPA with a nice dryness. Great session IPA.
How: Bottle 12oz. Many times. Always fresh
The look: Cloudy amber topped by a medium off-white head
In long: Here is a rating I am sad to enter. For a few years I have stopped typing ratings of classic beers I love and know I will drink again. There is special section in my bookshelf where I pile up those notepad sheets. It is with great sadness that I’m typing this rating for the now retired underrated Sierra Nevada Anniversary. This rating for a fresh 2009 bottle consumed in a rented flat in New-York. Nose is coniferous with oranges notes. Taste has crisp crunchy caramelized malts, dried orange cubes, coniferous tree. Bitterness level is medium and the beer is overall rather dry. It’s dryness makes it (made it) an ideal session IPA. I enjoyed many releases of that once-a-year beer. It was never quite as anticipated as let’s say the Hopslam release, but it was nonetheless one that I tried to drink every year. Oh well, this is a post-mortem rating for the old times sake. As I often say: better late than... not totally satisfied with my hair. Yep, that’s the type of superficial person I am.
Super dry and spicy hoppiness. Great seasonal beer, one to definitely savor.
Pours hazy orange with white head. Aroma is big notes of citrus, pine, and a touch of caramel. Taste is nice pine, citrus, caramel balance, touch of pine bitterness at the end. Well balanced IPA, nice assertive hop character with a balanced sweetness.
2008 vintage sampled 8/24/2008
Pours a clear deep golden/amber with a bubbly white head that shows instant sticking powers. Aroma is dominated by intense piny resinous citrus hops. If I strain I can pickup the faintest of caramel malts hiding deep underneath. Taste is very hoppy as you’d expect, but I also pick up some faint orange flavors. If there’s malt in there I can’t find it this one is all hops. Body is a little thin this beer leaves your mouth a bit dry. It hits you with pine, sours your taste buds, then it leaves. Ample carbonation. Descent brew, but a little thin in the body. I remember last years being a bit better.
Sierra Nevada must be the best brewery in America, especially if you take into account general availability and price. I bought a 12 oz bottle of this for $1.89. Amazing.
It’s maybe my favorite of all the SN beers, with a citrusey aroma and a piney-citrusey flavor. Plenty of bitterness, but it’s not a palate destroyer. In my opinion, it’s just perfect. This is a top notch brew for my tastes.
Bottle. Pours a golden/amber color with a small beigh head. Piney hoppy aroma with soft citrus, grapefruit and a hint of caramel. Flavor was quite hoppy and had a light bitterness with piney resin, citrus, grapefruit and mild caramel with a dry and bitter finish.
(12oz bottle thanks to Mora2000) rich copper color, slightly hazy with a film of amber bubbles. Nose of honey, citrus, light earth, sweet, smells awesome. Taste of pine, honey, orange, grapefruit, oily body. Still hoppy!
bottle, 2009 edition!
The beer in glass is reddish orange-brown with creamy and delicate, long-lasting head. Smells intensely spicy and citrus-bitterhoppy, with decent hints of caramel. Starts citrus bitter, then the hop bomb explodes! The aftertaste is spicy, herbaceous, citrusy and delicious bitterhoppy. The further course is somewhat milder, the hop bomb evaporates now slowly, hehe. Overall, an intensive IPA, but very delicious and intense flavors.
Taste like sierra nevada pale ale only with a maltier backbone. I liked it quite a bit.
Bomber bottle, 2009 ed. Pours is medium amber, mostly clear, lots of white head. Aroma is citrus, pine, backed by caramel malt. Flavor is caramel malt sweetness, grapefruit, and grassy hops with a good amount of bitterness that lingers for quite a while.