There was a time in the early days of the craft beer movement when experimentation ruled the game. The best breweries released a steady stream of new and seasonal beers year round. When I brewed at Boston Beer Works, we prided ourselves on having 12+ beers on tap - including a range of strong beers, hoppy beers, exotic styles and drinkable session beers for everyone else.
But like all businesses, economics intervened and when the craft beer market contracted in the late 1990's, the first thing breweries did was focus their brands - reducing line extensions and eliminating low sellers. With the exception of a few rare breweries like Dogfish Head, Rogue, and New Belgian Brewing, most craft breweries focused on distribution and brand building in their regional markets rather than continue experimenting.
The good news is market conditions change and no brewery has embraced experimentation and creativity in recent years as aggressively as Sierra Nevada.
In the last year, Sierra Nevada has made some drastic changes to its roster of beers - both year round and seasonal - and the results have been phenomenal. They've released Torpedo Extra Pale Ale, Kellerweis (replacing their non-descript Wheat bear) and now, in celebration of their 30th anniversary, Glissade Golden Bock, a Heller or Maibock style beer which replaces ESB in their seasonal lineup.
Hats off to the brewers - they are killing it with these new beers. Each of these new beers demonstrates a balance of creative vision and craftsmen's execution - and all of these beers rock.
It starts from the first pour. Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock may have the most perfect color I've ever seen in a beer. Its golden hue is rich and deep. The brewers are leaning heavily on a simple recipe with a predominance of two-row malt - avoiding colored malts that darken the color and complicate the clean flavor.
More importantly for this session beer, its worlds away from the faint yellow color you see in Kölsch biers or corn or rice-filled American lagers. If I were a photographer looking for a shot of the perfect beer, this is the one I would choose for its color alone.
The beers pours with a light and fluffy foam, the aroma is clean with hints of nuttiness and light sweetness. As for the flavor, the clear emphasis is on the crisp, clean malted two-row barley.
A traditional Golden Bock, the flavor is clear and uncomplicated. Malted barley flavors - a little grainy and sweet, full-bodied and rich - predominate, with just a touch of hops in the finish to finish dry and clean.
Maibock is one of my favorite styles because of the unadulterated flavors and Glissade is a great example of this style done well.
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