Sierra Nevada Estate Brewers Harvest Ale

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

Perhaps it’s just a welcome change from the dark, sweet doppelbock I just finished, but this one is pleasing me. A subdued hoppy aroma, a nice, crisp taste. Not bad at all, in fact it’s one of the better diversions from their classic Pale Ale that Sierra Nevada has made.

Tap at the thirsty monk... Pours a mostly transparent dark caramel amber brown with a thin just off-white head... Smooth earthy citrusy hop, light pepper... Citus and light piney hops with a semi-noticeable bitterness in the finish. Medium carbonation. Not as green or dank as I remember last year’s harvest.
Earlier Rating: 11/1/2008 Total Score: 3.4
22oz bottle. thanks to drewbeerme for sharing...pours a dark amber brown with a thin soapy white head aroma of danky, oily weeds and very resiny. quickly turns fruity.... smells similar to the first one we had... flavors are somewhat plasticy with a moderate amount of bitterness. finishes buttery and sweet. creamy mouthfeel

Bottle from BevMo in Natomas, CA. Pours lightly reddish copper with a three finger beige head. Eventually does some fair laceing. I getting floral/fruity citrus aroma. Seems smooth, lush and fresh. No harshness in the nose. Medium body with creamy/frothy carbonation. Bitter at once. Fresh. Now seems very floral. Bitter overruns the mouth. Really fresh tasting. The finish is bitter running off into floral. Did I forget to mention malt? Well, it’s definitely underpinning the hop. But this is all hop. Wonderful stuff.
Earlier Rating: 10/4/2008 Total Score: 4.2
Bottle from Nugget Market in Davis, CA. Rich coppery color with a three-finger creamy head. Lots of fruity hop aroma without bitterness. Medium body with mild, creamy carbonation. The fruit is all over this. Mostly lite stone fruit and citrus, with an underlying bitter, which suddenly erupts into strong resin. Well balanced. Back to the discussion of bitter versus astringent. Might be both. It’s really good. Doubt it cellars appropriately.

From a bottle at SB&WF. Clear copper, medium off-white head. Fresh oily hop aroma, with black currants, grassy and floral hops. Medium bodied, soft carbonation. Lingering soft bitterness.

24 oz bottle from Tiki Phill, thanks on this trip. Pours a very nice clear amber beer with an awesome head. Aroma is sweet mostly of hops and some pine. Flavor is sweet and earthy, almost like a barley wine on my taste. I like this beer a lot expecially because it was given to me. thanks phill

24oz bottle. 2009. a clear copper beer under a medium sized beige head. aroma reminds a bit of sparkling white grape juice. a bit green and musty almost. kind of fresh and gardeny. still nice, just different. flavor is bitter and green as well. lacking the full floral and citrus flavors. a buttery biscuity malt lies underneath. not really sure how to describe it....maybe unripe? nice to try it but don’t think i’ll revisit this.

Pint on tap at Rose & Crown in Palo Alto for $7, which seemed a little high but I had to try it. The rating may have been higher if I hadn’t had fresh Sculpin just prior to drinking this, but hey, I’ve got high standards (for beer at least). Pours clear amber with an off white head. Good lacing and retention. Fresh hop aroma along with some caramel malt. Flavor is malty with lots of caramel, grain, and toast, almost like a scotch ale-marzen-IPA, which is a little strange but not bad. Hops not as intense as I’d like, but still nice. Palate fairly smooth with hop bitterness lasting despite the hop flavor being only average, with medium body.

24 oz. bottle from Greens on Ponce De Leon. What a beautiful IPA. Nice fluffy head. The head is slowly fading away, but the body is lovely as well; the body has a nice dark coppery brown color. Very beautiful beer. The hops are very nice. I imagine they plucked these fuckers right when the lupulin glands were fat and happy. Nice citrus hop aroma. Hop flavor gets a little held back by a slight malt aroma. Fairly aromatic/pungent beer. Nice IPA with some great pine hop flavor(s). Not as crisp as I was hoping it would be. There is in my mind simply too much malt. The flavor is nice, but I don’t think this beer has the same characteristics as the Torpedo, which I prefer; this beer is a bit maltier which is why I get that dark brown color. Leaves some nice lacing, but too much maltiness going on in this IPA for me.