You would think we're raising chickens around here at New Beer, because all we've heard in the last few weeks is ""bock-bock-bock!"" If you enjoy a good bock (and a terrible chicken joke), then Sierra Nevada's Glissade is worth a try. However, it doesn't have any real standout qualities that push it from ""good"" to ""great.""
The beer is a nice golden brown, and unlike the recent New Glarus Log Cabin Honey Bock we reviewed, Glissade's sweet taste is not present upon first smell. Once you've had a sip or so, however, the sweet wheat becomes the dominant flavor. The beer almost seems bland at first, with very little hops flavor and only a hint of malt. However, as the beer progresses, the separate ingredients become noticeable, with each representing a portion of the sip. When the beer hits the tongue the sweet wheat is most apparent, but mid-taste the malt bleeds through, before finally fading into an after-taste that finally reveals a pleasant hops aroma.
At 6.4 percent alcohol by volume, Glissade is a bit on the high side, but it doesn't show. In fact, Glissade's weakness is that it doesn't really show anything as a defining quality. The beer is perfectly fine, with no obvious flaw; but once finished, the beer is instantly forgettable. If Sierra Nevada wants the beer to find a niche, it may want to consider tweaking one of the ingredients to make it stand out among bocks.
At only $7.99 for a six-pack, Glissade is reasonably priced, and could be worth a try if you've exhausted your other new beer options. But unless trying new beers is your job—like us lucky guys—there are plenty of other new brews on the shelf that should be sampled before it.
