Now it’s the turn of the USA and we have a bit of a big hitter here. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot which is a barleywine style ale. Coming in at 9.6% ABV and 90 IBU’s this is not a session beer. In fact some people recommend you age this for a year before drinking as it can be very harsh to the taste. When I started drinking craft beers, I like a lot of people got a taste for hoppy beers. In face I became a bit of a hop head. So I drank this fresh (when I say fresh, I mean as fresh as it was after it’s 5-6 week journey from California). I was going to age some but I had the last one over Christmas. I must purchase some more.

 

If your only dipping your toes into craft beer then Sierra Nevada is a great brewery to start with. A lot of their beer is readily available in Ireland and they rarely make a bad one.

 

When you are ready to purchase your first craft beer, try and buy it from an off-licence that specialises in them rather than your local supermarket. If your local off-licence sells a good range of craft beer then you can safely bet that somebody behind the counter is enthusiastic about what they sell and will only be willing to help you discuss and choose what they have.