After a 30-mile run, just about anything tastes good. But not this good. East Coast meets West Coast without a throwdown, getting along quite well, thank you, as Chico, Calif.'s Sierra Nevada teams up again with Milton, Del.-based Dogfish Head. I say again because this is the second incarnation of Life and Limb, which I'd long thought to be a one-off collaboration, leaving me pining away last go-around when it disappeared from the shelves here in New York. One major change is the bottling: Gone is the 24-ounce schoolyard bully bottle that Sierra Nevada packages some of its seasonals in (somehow, those bottles just seem a little pugnacious), and in steps the sleek 25-ounce caged and corked bottle used for the series of wonderful 30th-anniversary beers.
Other than the bottle conditioning, Life and Limb is the same amazing American strong ale marrying undertones of maple syrup and birch extract that give it its distinct character. And these undertones get a lot of compliments (and complements) along the way. Life and Limb may have an intimidating look with its deep moat of a color -- which could turn off those who don't like dark beer -- but like a good India Black Ale, the color here may be a bit deceiving. You won't find a lot of heavy-hitting earthy malt flavor in all that darkness. It's a smooth ride that picks up some nice peppery hop flavors, then finishes with the snap of birch. Life and Limb is world class, and here's raising my glass for this collaboration to continue.
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