Red Hill Hop Harvest Ale

Brewed by Red Hill Brewery
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Red Hill, VIC, Australia

Bottle. Pours clear, dark amber with a large, creamy white head that lasts ages. Aroma has notes of malt, toffee, pine and some tropical fruit. Flavour mirrors the aroma and has a nice balance between the malt sweetness and hop bitterness. Smooth mouthfeel and a longish dry finish. A very nice beer overall but the name led me to expect a hoppier brew. Not that the hops are lacking, but this isn’t exactly the hop bomb that it sounds like.

This has that malty taste that I have noticed in quite a few aussie beers that just doesn’t really agree with me. Crystal malt maybe? Anyway this is quite a full heavy beer. Big biscuit and caramel mouth full. Hops are not upfront and serve more as a balance to the body. Not really what I was expecting. Solid ESB, but not a particularly good showcase for the hops.

Bottle. Pours hazy amber with a creamy white head. Instantly upon pour the sweet malty tones hits the nose, plenty of caramel malt, toffee and fruit. The flavour follows the same, with a smooth bitter mouthfeel balancing this one out nicely. Good carbonation in the bottle and finishes sweet malty. A tasty ESB.

Tasted 15/09/2009. 330ml bottle. Interesting ale. Oxidised and thinning out with high carbonation is has lost most, if not all, of it’s "hop harvest" vitality - assuming it once had some - but it still stands up well as a very drinkable and interesting ale. Deep rose gold with a slightly musky perfume in the aroma. Muted tropical fruit and oxidised caramel malt to the fore, with some peppery hop flavour left, carbonic edge and subtle bitterness cleaning out the finish. Certainly more English than most new world hoppy ales tend to be. Worth further investigation, to be sure.

From the bottle, dark copper with off white head that lasts really well. Sweet fruity aromas, with hop residue or pine needles. Flavour is fruit and sweet malt blending together nicely. Well carbonated. medium bodied. Slight astringent sour aftertaste the only let down.

Pour quite a dark amber/earthy copper, with a big, long-lasting head. Aroma contain lots of fruity hops (classic citrus notes with some tropical hints) and a fair bit of resin and pine. Lots of clean sweet malt underneath and a hint of diacetyl brings you back to English territory. Flavours are a mix of sweet caramel malt, earthy and spicy hops and a mild hoppy bitterness that lingers all around the mouth. Slightly too much carbonation. Great aroma, but there’s some off-putting characteristic in the lingering bitterness that detracts from the overall experience.

Misty dark amber to copper pour,good frothy head,with decent carbonation.Strong malt aroma,plenty of hoppiness,honey note,biscuit,toffee,.flavour good malt,tangy,hop bitterness is good,hops have gret flavour,slight creaminess with the malt.Citrus taste verynice,just right,hop and malt really good with a bitterness on the tongue at the finish,very good ,slightly dry.