Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Grand Cru

Sierra Nevada has been around for 30 years. That's pretty cool. They are like pretty old and stuff. Okay, okay. Trying to watch Beavis and Butt-head and write a beer review is really hard. Huh huh huh, I just said hard. We've got to sit down and do this. Alright... episode is over so time to get productive. Grand Cru is Sierra Nevada's fourth and final beer in their 30th Anniversary series. The three previous brew have been collaborative beers with legendary brewers. However, Grand Cru is a collaborative beer of its own- a combination of three of their most esteemed ales. It is an unfiltered 9.2% ABV mixture of Pale Ale, Celebration Ale and Oak-aged Bigfoot.

Grand Cru pours a dark amber color with a thick laced tan head. The ale smells of citrusy hops with a dark malt overtones. When the beer hits the tongue you immediately taste the piney west coast hops right away. It is definitely full bodied and all three beers are tasted and make their presence known at the right time. The hops from the Pale ale kick in at the beginning and the fullness of the Bigfoot comes in during the middle as you are left with the Celebration Ale-like finish with a wood (huh huh huh, I said wood) flavor lingering at the end. The warmer the beer gets, the more complex flavors come out.

This beer is what an anniversary ale should be- a look at the past but making a step forward. It takes three of their classic and best brews and combines them into beautiful harmony. The alcohol presence is known on the tongue on the back end so when splitting a bomber, it starts getting to your head (huh huh huh, I said head.) This is a beer that would satisfy the great Cornholio and it is the TP for our bungholes.

Oz Scale: 8.9

Mike Scale: 8.8

Great Divide Expresso Oak Aged Yeti

Colorado's Great Divide is working their to our hearts. The saying goes "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" and they are doing a good job at it. We have had some delectable beverages in the recent months and given an opportunity to try a variation at their most popular beer, Yeti, we took couldn't leave the 9.5% ABV Expresso Oak Aged Yeti on the shelf any longer.

EOAY pours jet black and thick with a foamy carmel head. Roasted malts, chocolate and hint of coffee overtake the nose as you smell. First impressions become reality as it tastes almost exactly as it smells yet it is exceptionally smooth given the ABV. As the brew leaves the tongue you are left with chocolate dancing on the tongue with a tinge of alcohol to remind you that you are drinking a brew, not a dessert. As the beer warms in it's glass, the taste shifts and the oak becomes noticable on the back end of the flavor.

This is an incredibly solid brew from a company that we are becoming more familiar with. However, there is nothing unique to this brew and the word "expresso" should be removed from the label. While there are differences to this and the other Yeti brews (which are all delicious- by the way) there is nothing that sets this one apart from its siblings. Kind of like one of the Osmonds that isn't Donny or Marie.

Oz Scale: 7.9

Mike Scale: 8.0