Sierra Nevada Beer Camp

[pras]

I have been drinking my way through my Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 12 pack, and finally made it to the Sierra/Ninkasi Double Latte Stout.  Classified as a sweet stout, this beer is made with dark roasted malts, cold pressed coffee, and lactose.  It pours pitch black, with aromas of roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, and toffee.  The flavor is much of the same in the aroma.  Mouthfeel is silky (I attribute this to the lactose).  The beer is 7.6% abv, so not very high for the style, but still warming.  Glad I have 2 more bottles.  If you can somehow still find a beer camp sampler, get it, and savor this bottle.  One of the best beers I have had in a very long time.

[DrXmus]

I have been drinking my way through my Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 12 pack, and finally made it to the Sierra/Ninkasi Double Latte Stout.  [snip] One of the best beers I have had in a very long time.

I heard complaints that because of the way production was timed for these various beers in the Beer Camp pack, some were old, stale and unappealing. Did you get that sense from the other beers you tried?

[pras]

To be honest, much of it was not that impressive.  I have seen some ratings which suggest bad bottles, but nothing was outright bad, just not that interesting.

[treznor]

I'd agree that most of the sampler just wasn't that great. Awesome breweries included, but the styles they were brewing were either styles tough to differentiate yourself in, or styles that brewery doesn't typically brew. Russian River - Belgian Golden, Cigar City - Helles Bock, New Glarus - English Bitter. I mean, really? The Ninkasa has been by far the standout for me (I think I only have one of the sampler left, can't remember which one). Some of the others were fine for their style, and a couple were just... meh.

I give Sierra Nevada props for putting it together as brewing and packaging 12 collaborations into one sampler I'm sure was a complete logistical nightmare. I'm just not sure it was a great idea

[ad.mich]

I got more guava from the Cigar City bock than anything.  That was my 2nd favorite in the pack behind the Double Latte but I know that was one that not everyone was into.

[pras]

I had the last one the other night--the offering from Bells.  I thought it was very good, probably my second favorite behind the Ninkasi, but a close second at that.