Sierra Nevada Estate Brewers Harvest Ale

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

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...

This is a beautiful IPA. Deep amber, almost chestnut, with big frothy head. Lots of sticky lacing. Pine, tropical fruit, caramel malt, spice, fresh ground black pepper, citrus, and some sweet floral notes. Tasty! Easily drinkable and not to strong.
Earlier Rating: 11/29/2008 Total Score: 3.6
Pours a clear gold/amber with medium white head. Fresh piney hops, citrus, grapfruit, hints of malt and grain, and a little bit of pepper. The beer is dry and clean, with a medium mouthfeel. It’s definitly worth a try.

Odd shaped bottle courtesy of wavers1. Pours copper with a lasting tan head. Smells of perfume, spicy, some caramel, touches of citrus. Tastes of spice, bitter, resiny, caramel, sweet citrus. Some astringency is present that is a bit off putting, but otherwise solid.
Earlier Rating: 3/24/2009 Total Score: 3.4
Pours amber with a thin white head. Smells of resin and spicy. Tastes spicy and bitter with a signature Sierra Nevada malt backbone.

Pours a clean translucent orange amber with a two finger cream egghshell head. Very nice appearance. Nose is resinous and citrusy, pink grapefruit juice, lite pine character, nice hop character. Flavor is citrusy, grapefruit rind, spicy, medium to high bitterness, bit of a green astringency. Palate is spicy with a prominent citrus rind bitterness.
Earlier Rating: 9/26/2008 Total Score: 3.7
Had this one very fresh. Pours a copper amber with a one or two finger creamy off yellow head. The nose is very fresh and leafy, herbal citrusy hops, Cascades and Centennial mostly, peppery and lightly spicy. Shows some sweetness in the flavor and aroma, grapefruit rind, dry, waxy bitterness.

500 mL bomber 2009 version. Pours a clear amber with fairly low but good carbonation. The three-finger beige head is fluffy, a bit rocky, and had good retention. It leaves some fair lacing. Aroma is not typical SN IPAs. Instead of lots of beta acids, this is more dried, tropical fruits (not like Simcoe hops but more like Kool-Aid burst). There are maraschino cherries, dried papaya, and pina colata notes in there too if you really take notice. Taste is big citrus rind, bitter and piney hops with refreshing, almost rye malt flavors. This is surprisingly light-bodied, drinkable, and simple.

Bottle. Another great SN IPA. Pours a nice head, golden brown with creamy head. Subdued hopiness very tart with slight roasted malt taste. Citrus, pine, I could drink this all day.

A very typical SN style IPA here. Definitely cool that they grew almost everything there, though. SN is always consistent and solid and I very much appreciate them for that. Blah Blah hops, caramel, toasted malt, honey. I’d drink this again.