Sierra Nevada Tumbler

Sierra Nevada Tumbler - Autumn Brown Ale (2011)

Autumn Seasonal (Limited Release)

12 fl. oz. /  $1.69 USD/ 5.5% ABV

About: "Sierra Nevada uses malt within days of roasting at the peak of its flavor to give Tumbler a gracefully smooth malt character. Two-row pale, crystal 40, chocolate and smoked malts give it a malty complexity. Challenger hops in the boil add balancing bitterness, while more Challengers and some Goldings give just enough hop flavor in the finish to balance all that malt."

Thoughts: Poured a dark hazy cherry red, medium brown with a light brown bubbly head and a little bit of frothiness.

Hmm. Well, it does smell like autumn, fallen leaves actually. I'm getting very light malt characteristics. Kinda chalky, but everything seems so faint.

The taste is a little more like it. It's not as good as their Pale Ale, and if it were like that brew it would be a lighter version. There's a hint of the recipe in there, but this one is more nutty and toasty. Gets a little bit sour towards the end. It's not really caramel or toffee and not coffee even... brown sugar perhaps, but very little of it. It's smokey and mild.

Seems medium but it's rather thin and very drinkable. There's not much of a tingle from anything factoring in.

It's all very mild. All of it. The smell, the taste, the feel. Until now I haven't met a Sierra Nevada that I've been particularly displeased with. It's not a horrible beer by any means, but it's not up to par with their other brews that I've gotten used to. Hopefully they'll be reworking this next year, or the year after to give it more of a lasting impression. In the end, for me, it's a bit too "gracefully smooth".