Sierra Nevada Sidecar Orange Pale Ale? Wait what’s that? Sierra Nevada already has a “Sidecar” beer, Sidecar Amber Ale, which is a local only beer distributed only within a small radius of the Chico brewery. Maybe the Mills River brewery too; I don’t know. I did buy a six-pack of Old Chico Pale Bock at the Mills River brewery a few years ago. Same idea, only available within a small area around the brewery.

Sidecar Amber Ale, like Sidecar Orange Pale Ale, is made with orange peel, according to the reports I’ve found on it. Or maybe folks were just tasting the Sidecar Orange Pale Ale and confusing the two. There is no mention of orange on the label. Without further ado, though, here is what Sierra Nevada says about Sidecar Orange Pale Ale on their website.

We love hops with a bright, citrus-heavy character. We always wondered what it would be like to punch up the citrus while maintaining a crisp hop bite and balance. The result is this new take on the hoppy pale ale brewed with Cascade, Equinox, and Mandarina hops with a hint of orange peel from additions in both the brew kettle and the fermenter that tweak the classic hop profile and add a zesty pop of bright orange flavor.

Ingredients from the website:

Yeast Ale yeast

Bittering Hops Magnum

Finishing Hops Cascade, Equinox, Mandarina

Malts Two-row Pale, Honey malt, Munich

Other Orange

Sierra Nevada Sidecar Orange Pale Ale has an alcohol content of 5.3% by volume with 35 IBUs. I paid $5.50 for a 23-ounce mug at Taco Mac and it runs $8.99 a six-pack in bottles. This is a tear round release.

My mug of Sierra Nevada Sidecar Pale Ale arrived a bright orange color with a thick creamy head and zesty orange peel in the nose. Taking a sip, there’s light caramel malt, juicy but soft citrusy orange with a restrained bitterness from the peel and the hop in the finish.

Sidecar Orange Pale Ale was not as zesty with orange flavor as I expected, but it was a tasty little treat all the same. Oh so refreshing, it’s a perfect warm weather beer and the citrus fruit naturally pairs well with the hops. Beers like this can be pegged a few ways (is it a pale or a fruit beer?), but I think it has more of pale ale than fruit beer to it. So pale ale it is.

Try it, I think you’ll like it. Now, orange you glad I reviewed this beer?

Home