Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest

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

bottle. Pours a crystal clear burnished copper color, big inch and a half pillow of light tan foamy head. Aroma on the muted side, but what’s there is nice- smooth grassy floral hop notes, some light lemon citrus, some light and smooth toasted caramel in the background. Flavor takes an interesting turn towards some light spiciness, fresh cut grass, and some faint citrus notes; even bitterness with a slight ashy acrid note that works well. Nothing much in the way of sweetness shows up in the flavor- some light bready malt notes that stay in the background. The spiciness really shows up in the flavor. Flavor shows more in terms of "interesting" than altogether enjoyable. Palate is even and smooth, with the sharp spice really making an impact on the mouthfeel. Overall, very interesting, but not a "good" as interesting.

Reviewed 5/11/2009 (bottle 2009): Pours a somewhat non-transparent amber orange colored body, with a big foamy off-white head, with good lacing. Very fresh hop aroma, green smelling almost. Some citrus, and some dryness. Cirtus, maybe columbus. Some slight bitterness. Bitter taste, some citrus and lots of nuttiness, maltiness. Bitter, grapefruity taste. Drying.

2nd Release, 24 oz. bottle. Poured orange amber with huge hop aroma mixed with malt and citrus and a hint of pine. Large of white foamy head. Tasted similar to the aroma with a nice dry finish and clean aftertaste. Very Good.

One of the many beers I tried at Beerfest yesterday. If I remember correctly, I think I liked this one.

24 oz. bottle from Grape & Gourmet. Dark orange pour with a huge off-white head. Aroma of pine, grass, and roses. Flavor is good, and the hop taste is fresh, but I just can’t get past the floral taste. Still a very good IPA but I do like the 1st in the Harvest series the best.

Bomber. Pours amber and clear. Aroma is a pungent blend of hops: pine, flowers, citrus. A bit sugary sweet, somehow. Flavor favors fruit sweetness upfront, with present maltiness as well. Mid-palate sticks with fruit theme, thought the blend begins to border on “muddy.” Mouthfeel is decidedly medium bodied. Finishes with clean bitterness, quite flowery overall. OK, a fun release, but not the once-a-year treat I had hoped for.

2nd release, poured from the bottle into a fancy IPA glass. aroma: wildflowers, sour apple, grass, herbs. appearance: clear gold, frothy head. flavor: sharp-bitter fading to smooth-sweet, with more bitter emerging in the aftertaste. lime, arugula, honey, and a vague hint of corn (in a good way). I like to imagine those brave, adventurous brewers who flew down to N.Z. (dressed in hops-green camouflage) and seized the precious harvest, fighting off angry natives and wild animals to bring these fresh nuggets back to Cali -- just in time to throw them into the kettle! Wow, if they ever made an action movie about a beer, this would be a great subject.

Amber color with a moderate white head. floral and hoppy aroma. Nice hop bite and dry. Finish is dry and crisp. Solid IPA.