Russian River Hoptime Harvest Ale

Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Santa Rosa, California USA

Man o’ man this stuff good! Clear light amber-golden body. Massive hop aroma, pine, citurs you name it. Some very lucious. And the flavor is stunning, mix of pine and grapefruit with a good backing of sweet malt. It just dances around the mouth exploding with flavor. The palate is perfect for the style, full dry but somehow slightly sticky, tingling, with a crisp clean finsih. Find it try it love it!

Gorgeous golden hue crowned with lasting dense foam. Wonderfully juicy aromatic hop bud aroma with touches of cereal and tender leafy shoots along with the essence of grapefruit pith. Full, hoppy, crisp, succulent nose. The most amazing aspect of this sensational beer is the finish ~ full, sweet and the right touch of bitter pine...for a full 5 minutes after you’ve swallowed.

(11/7/05) Crystal clear golden body with fantastically dense lacing. Aroma is medium sweet, pine, light grapefruit. Taste is medium sweet, pine, grapefruit, some caramel. Creamy medium body, some resin, low carbonation. (7/5/9/5/18)

(11/11/04) Clear golden body with beige head. Aroma is medium sweet, grapefruit. Taste is medium sweet, grapefruit, some berry, bitter but not overwhelming. Clean, medium body. I know the description does not sound like much, but this beer is great. (7/4/9/5/17)

(Cask Draft: O’Brien’s in San Diego, CA) Wow, what an aroma! Massive hops smells like fresh, tart passion fruit, and I love passion fruit, so 10 on aroma! And man, this goes down easy. Starts off fruity and hoppy, nicely balanced, then ends in strong grapefruit. Very smooth on the palate, and medium bodied. Golden in color and fairly cloudy. Off-white head is large and puffy. Excellent retention. Lots of random lacing. (27-Sep-04)

(Draft: Wet Hop Beer Festival, O’Brien’s in San Diego, CA) My first rating for this beer was on cask, but this was on regular draft, and it’s not as good, though still one of the best beers in this Wet Hop Festival. The flavor is strong, fresh hops that impart a moderate bitterness with lots of grapefruit. It’s also subtly malty and mildly sweet, but the malt provides a solid base for the hops. Strong hops nose is very fresh and somewhat sweet. Medium bodied, very clean, crisp and refreshing on the palate. Light gold color. Off-white head is smallish and bubbly, leaving a fairly dense blanket of lace. Ratings are for when I had this beer on cask. (20-Nov-04)

On Tap at the brew pub. Light orange color with a white head. Big hop aromas as you might imagine. Tons of grapefruit, oranges and pine. Just a bit of grassiness but not too much. Thin on the malt side but I think it suits this beer well. Afterall, it’s about the hops right? Call me crazy but I really buy into the fresh hops idea; the beer has very ‘fresh’ flavors to it, it’s very clean and easily grasped despite being so hop focused. Fruity aftertaste.

Growler pours a hazed amber body topped by a small, but sturdy, head. Aroma of pink grapefruit and pine resin complimented by other citrusy esters like tangerine. Palate is excellent, with chewy, sticky, and resinous hops. Body is medium full. Restrained bitterness to taste, pink grapefruit and tangerine accented by citrus peel. A fresh vegetal note that seems like catnip or cannabis. Very dry, bitter, clean, and hoppy. A unique experience!

Tasted at the 2004 Bistro Hop Fest. Light orange gold color. Medium white foamy head. Aroma is floral, a touch citrusy and orange. A medium bodied IPA, Malts are fruity and sweet. Hops are floral, and citrusy. Medium bitterness. Fresh and clean. Crisp, light and refreshing. Nice dry finish. Nice beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is dry, clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Clear gold. Nose hoppy and a bit fruity. Burst of hops upfront, tart and citric, plenty of grapefruit. Good malt backbone as well. Full palate, coating and sticky. Quite nice.