Sierra Nevada Harvest

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

2008 12th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale, so says the 24 oz. bottle. Pours a nice cloudy red-orange color with a big fluffy light beige head that laces the glass. Aroma is light, balanced, and understated, with notes of hops, citrus, pine, grass, tea, caramel, and bread. The flavor is more hoppy, with sweet malts, bread, straw, grass, and a general earthiness to it, and citrus, caramel, and tea notes rounding it out. Dry, sweet early and transitioning into a more bitter middle and end. I liked this one more as I got further along, but I probably should have cracked it open a lot sooner. I’ll be interested to re-rate with a fresher 2009 version because I think this one is better than what I experienced.

Vintage 2008. Serving date: 2009-02-16. Served in snifter. Presentation: 710 ml bulky and good looking bottle (looks like a regular Sierra Nevada bottle on steroids) with no freshness date to be found. A great deal of bragging about the unique brewing process on the label. A slightly reddish amber color. The liquid is clear, the 2 finger head is off-white, very creamy and sticks around for a while before settling into a decent lid of foam. A predominantly hoppy smell: Plenty of fruity aromas - citrus fruits, mostly in the form of grapefruit but also some hints of lemon peel - but also a more earthy and grassy smell of hop resins. Perhaps not the most complex smell, but still very refreshing and pleasant. A mix of delightful fruit flavors up front in the taste: Again, mostly sweet lemon and grapefruit, but I think I find some hints of peaches and strawberries here as well (I recently had the Celebration Ale from the same brewer, and I found the same taste of strawberries, but much more prominent, in that one). Then, dense earthy flavors, grass and weeds take over. The combination of fruity and earthy hop flavors in this one is really great. Perhaps some notes of tobacco are here as well. Beneath the hop aroma, a sweet taste of caramel-like malts backs things up. It finishes slightly dry with a firm, but not overpowering bitterness and long lasting hop resins. Moderate body, medium carbonation. Somehow, I get the impression that the texture has a gentle crispness to it, yet still rather smooth. A delightful beer. Although it’s definitely on the hoppy side, it still feels very balanced. It has definitely not the most complex taste out there, but still it is a really refreshing blend of tropical fruits, earthy hop resins and restrained sweet malts. And although the hops really dominates, they never get too aggressive or overpowering. It’s a laid back beer, yet it’s full of character - somehow, I can’t stop thinking of it as a Celebration Ale in harmony. Highly recommended. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

24oz - Dark copper liquid under nice off-white head. The citrus nose was nice, but the palate was a one dimensional bitterness which the ample malt did not mitigate.

22oz, 13th anniv release. Pours a clear dark reddish copper with an average beige head. Nose is subtle citrus and pine hops. Taste is caramel, lipton tea, pine, grapefruit, earthy hops. Not sure what they use, but i am guessing there are some combination of chinook, columbus and/or cascades in there. It is balanced with some semi-sweet graininess and some biscuit flavors as well. Body is medium, carbonation is medium to moderate. Not bad, but it could use some more fresh hops in the flavoring part of the boil and more dry hopping..gimme more fresh hops or gimme death!

Bouteille de 24 oz. Arômes de houblon résineux et de malt caramel. Robe rousse et claire, belle effervescence et belle mousse. En bouche, un malt caramel moyennement rond supporte une belle présence de houblon aromatique (agrumes et résine). Finale moyennement amère.

( 24oz bottle) pours orange with huge fluffy and oily head that lasts forever and great lacing. Nose of bread, pine hops, citrus, orange blossom honey, and other tropical fruits. Taste is very spicy hops, white pepper, citrus rind oils and a nice malt backbone. This is quite nice. A little less bitter and I think it would be superb. Even the oily body is just right.

Poured from the 24 ounce bottle into a shaker. Nice amber color with a nice fresh hop aroma. Nice malty taste with a hoppy aftermath. Very good IPA!

I just dont feel right adressing this as an IPA but nonetheless, it is a great brew for the times here people. The fllowing cascade of hops benefits from a superb backbone of malts. Bring it home and enjoy.