OK, wow. This is one of those beers. Just - WOW. I headed down to the local Friday afternoon at the behest of the owner as he had secured a 5 gallon keg of Sierra Nevada Estate. He decided to not put the tap handle up as he knew that he had liquid gold on his hands. He only told a handful of regulars that he had this and I'm glad I'm a regular! Very, very cool move IMO.
Beer pours a beautiful amber color. Nice sticky head that doesn't dissipate at all. The nose is perfect - citrus (leaning towards the grapefruit side), pine, resin, a hint of the balanced malt. I even detected a bit of stone fruit in the nose - couldn't nail it down so maybe my nose was off Friday. It just has a sort of snap to the nose - flawless. But the best part is the taste. It's just so well balanced - malty sweetness as the foundation with perfect hop bitterness on top. Like drinking liquid gold. Very nice medium body with nary a hint of the alcohol within. If the word "bright" were a flavor I'd use it to describe how this beer tastes. That really is the word that comes to mind immediately - bright. It's so smooth and easy to drink. Super fresh, outstanding finish with a wonderful lingering bitterness as you say "ahhhhhhh" after every sip.
I have to hand it to the brewers at Sierra Nevada. This one comes through in spades. Awesome, awesome beer that is worth finding if you can. Highly recommended.
Here's a link to the SN website with their description.
http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/estate.html