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(Courtesy Sierra Nevada)
Launched in 1979 by homebrewers Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi Sierra Nevada Brewing is a craft beer powerhouse. With its home base in Chico, California and an a second brewery in Mills River, North Carolina, Sierra Nevada is the third biggest craft brewery in the US and the tenth biggest brewer overall operating in the states.
Buffalo Trace Distillery is a distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky that holds the title as the oldest continuously operating distillery in the US. The distillery is renowned for its namesake Buffalo Trace straight bourbon as well as for its Colonel E.H. Taylor brand, a small batch, single-barrel, and barrel proof straight bourbon and rye spirit.
And now both ‘forces of nature’ have partnered up and delivered something serious that starts with Sierra Nevada’s already boozy Bigfoot Ale and turns things up to eleven.
Colonel E.H. Taylor Bourbon Barrel-Aged Bigfoot is a 15% ABV sipper, which spent six years aging in specially curated bourbon barrels before being transferred for a final year of maturation into barrels previously used to age a small batch of E.H. Taylor, Jr. bourbon.
(Courtesy Sierra Nevada)
The end result, is a complex take on Sierra Nevada’s legendary Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale which is already packed with rich bittersweet malts and aggressive whole-cone Pacific Northwest hops. And not surprisingly the seven-year soak in a smart mix of barrels introduces the distinctive flavor of Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Small Batch Bourbon into the mix.
“The time in the barrels has changed the beer and made it so complex,” said Sierra Nevada Product Manager Terence Sullivan. “We love collaborations. But something of this magnitude—some of the finest beer and some of the finest bourbon in the world—it’s really something special.”
“Both Sierra Nevada and Buffalo Trace Distillery are pioneers in innovation amongst their categories,” said Buffalo Trace Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley. “Collaborating on a project like this is quite special. Both companies have made a massive impact on pushing the boundaries of craft beer and American whiskey.”
Unfortunately Colonel E.H. Taylor Bourbon Barrel-Aged Bigfoot, which comes in an eye-catching designer beer bottles and sexy canister packaging, will only be available in select markets as well as in limited quantities through Sierra Nevada’s online shop.
Bourbon barrel-aging a Barleywine is reckless to begin with, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun, so you’ve been warned. And we promise you that this special collaboration will fast become uber-collectable, so you know what to do!
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