Beer Review – Sierra Nevada Summerfest

• Name: Summerfest
• Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
• Style: Pilsner
• Origin: California
• ABV: 5.0%

While Sierra Nevada is a world-renowned craft brewery, particularly due to its annual Beer Camp release, I had never tried one of their beers before. I picked this one up as something to consider in my Battle of the Beers – Summer Brews article. In this review, I welcome myself to the world of Sierra Nevada with their 2017 Summerfest Pilsner.

Summerfest has a straw colored, transparent appearance, typical of a summer style lager. It has a low-to-medium carbonation, and it built a reasonable head.

As one might expect of a beer in this style, its aroma was primarily bready. That said, it was hoppier and sweeter smelling than a number of similar beers such as the Saint Arnold 5 O’Clock Pils.

Summerfest had a thicker body than many of its peers. While it was still light and crisp, as one would expect of a pilsner, it was noticeably heavier than the other summer brews sampled such as JosephsBrau Summer Brew.

Taste wise, the typical pilsner profile was punctuated by a sweet and slightly bitter flavor profile. It was surprisingly deep for a beer as lightly colored as this. I expected more of a watered down, clean experience. In the aftertaste, Summerfest retains a fair amount of sweetness and the bready malts also linger. The sweetness doesn’t build from mouthful to mouthful, ensuring that each gulp is as refreshing as the last.

My first foray into Sierra Nevada was a good one. It’s easy to see how the brewery has developed the reputation it enjoys. I look forward to trying more of Sierra Nevada’s offerings in the near future.

TL;DR

Sierra Nevada’s Summerfest retains many qualities one would expect from a summer-style pilsner. That said, it is noticeably thicker and has deeper, more complex flavors than most. I thoroughly enjoyed this beer and would highly recommend others try it.

Rating: 8/10

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Learn more about Summerfest on Sierra Nevada’s website, Untappd and Beer Advocate.

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