Sierra Nevada Estate Brewers Harvest Ale

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Chico, California USA

Bottle. A rich reddish color with an off-white head. Cereal and malty aromas with a rich earthy floral hop finish. A strong earthy malt flavor with a stiff hop profile and a long dry bitter finish. This is an assertive and intense IPA.

Bottle. Pours clear copper with a nice lasting beige head and a surprising amount of lace. Earth, tea, pine, and slight citrus show up in the taste more than the aroma. Medium bodied with an earthy pine/grapefruit finish.

2009 Bottle. Bright copper pour with a big, lasting, rocky, white head. Grassy, floral aroma with hints of citrus and very little malt presence. The flavor is quite mild for a Sierra Nevada brew. More floral and grassy hops with some wheat, and a little clover sweetness. The malt is earthy but very subtle and only comes through right at the finish. There is a lasting but gentle bitterness left in my mouth. The mouthfeel is creamy but a little on the thin side and it has very soft carbonation. Not very impressed with this. It’s a nice solid, balanced IPA but there just isn’t much going on.

Bottle from Carrboro Beverage Company. Always look forward to these releases from SN. This one, while not as enjoyable to me as some of the others, is still a solid brew. Grass and citrus dominate the aroma, wafting from a pale copper body with crisp, minimal carbonation (not much lace at all). Sweet and dry flavors to the fore, but a serious malt base shows itself fairly quickly. Light mouthfeel, the hops are understated, but it’s still an enjoyable drink.
Earlier Rating: 10/12/2008 Total Score: 3.7
Bottle from Rodman’s, D.C. Big glowing amber pour, much like some of the other enjoyable beers in this series. I’m not sure what else might be growing around SN’s estate, but there is a distinctly dank, tea-like aroma to this one. It’s quite pleasant actually, blending well with some of the other, more rich and fruity wet hop qualities. Frothy head, substantial body, and just a bit of a bitter back end to the taste. Sticky, resiny, bitter, but refreshing.

Grassy hoppy IPA. Has the malt base of Harvest, Celebration, and any of their other IPAs. The hops however, really go for the grassy nature. Pours a cloudy copper with tan head.
Earlier Rating: 10/3/2008 Total Score: 3.9
What can I say? I’m a sucker for a floral fresh hop IPA. Aroma is all grassy, piney hops - kind of like Cali’s answer to Two Hearted. Flavor is bitter and dry, just like I like it. The hop notes are chewy and resinous.

Grassy and fruity aroma with some citrus is very inviting. Beautiful golden amber in color with a mountainous rocky head. Luscious mingling of green, sticky hops, some citrus and apple and tons of malt backbone. hops are incredibly juicy. Lingering resinous bitterness invites you to take another sip immediately. Doesn’t finish quite as dry as a typical SN product. I think this is great! Bravo!

Nice effort, but this just isn’t worth $10/bottle. Bomber pours copper with a WILD bubbly white head that collapses quickly but sticks to the glass nicely. Aroma is musty and funky, with a little pepper and some hoppiness. Flavor is a bit better, and you can tell this has a little twist from the normal hop/barley farms offerrings. Freshness comes through with barley malt, piney hops. There’s a bitter dryness that pops up at the end that doesn’t seem like the usual hoppy bite. Low ABV, very little burn, but a gummy stickiness that makes the odd bitter flavor linger.

2009 Bottle - Wow, a $9 Sierra Nevada Bottle, Pours clear dk orange with a nice off white head that quickly dissipates...aroma is sticky, dank hop resin, pineapple, tropical cirtus and caramel malt...flavour is fresh floral hops, honey grain, biting astringent bitterness that comes from out of nowhere and lingers through the finish...terrific concept beer and tastes good, but the other SN harvest brews blow this one out of the water in both flavour and value...
Earlier Rating: 10/11/2008 Total Score: 3.7
2008 Bottle - Pours a light amber with a huge off-white head...aroma is huge, grapefruit, pinecones and grass, flavour is awesome...huge hop bite that lingers...decent malt balance...very good for what ales you...