Big Al Fresh Hop Harvest Ale

Brewed by Big Al Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Seattle, Washington USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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9/21/09 On draft at the brewery taproom. Aroma is all sweet/sour (not from malt) hop flora forward with a black pepper background. Appearance is hazy reddish orange with a well maintained cream colored head. Flavor is slightly less hop dominant, with sweet malt to balance medium bittering that is more earthy than the aroma suggests. Mouthfeel is medium-full bodied with a medium carb feel and only slightly starchy finish. Overall, a ton of flavor,but not your typical hop bomb fresh-hop brew. There’s a solid enough blend of strong and subtle flavors to respect this as even an everyday drinker.

Cloudy amber. Thin head. Blandish slightly caramel nose. Quite bland taste, not much to talk about. Vaguely malty and not much sign of the sorachi ace.

Hazy amber,small beige head.Neutral nose.Balanced profile, malt start, medium hop finish. Lacks proper carbonation

Tap. Dark amber. Roasted malt note blends well with the woody hops. Hop flavor lingers through a long aftertaste.

Draft. A darker copper in the glass with an off-white head that left a thin layer lasting and good lace. Slight subdued aroma of a hop/malt mix. The flavor found caramel and toasted malt with a citrus background. Medium body with a light hop aftertaste.

On tap during fresh hop beer week at Brave Horse Tavern. Poured very cloudy and muddy, definitely like muddy water with zero head and minimal carbonation. Aroma was of fruity esters, some citrus and dank wet leaf. No particular hop variety is presented well. Medium caramel dominates flavor, a touch of roast, moderate bitterness which comes across as very restrained, fruity finish. No real evidence of fresh hops, missing green and leafy flavors that are expected in this style. Yeast dominates which is unfortunate for a fresh hop ale.

Headless pour at Fiddler’s Inn (Seattle). Citrusy aroma like a wit, but flavor is much closer to an IPA.

big al brewing company--Seattle, WA--Fresh Hopped Harvest Ale 4.50% ABV. 50 IBU’s? 180 lbs. of Wet Hops. Mild lace head. Clear pretty bright gold color. Rich floral fresh hop front. Sweet citrus mildly fruity crisp tangy flavorful golden ale body. Clean crisp hop spice end. (4.5 / 5.0) 5 oz. Taster @ Fremont Oktoberfest 9/24/2010.

Tap at Fiddler’s Inn. Pours dark red-brown; malty with hints of smoke atop the piney hops. Earthy and Octobery and certainly far from your everyday PacNW IPA. Yet it comes off as a bit thin and unfocused (when I drink it side by side against an admittedly high-end version of the style.) Little of the leafy hop goodness that I associate with the local harvest ales. Still good and plenty drinkable; not exceptional though.

draft at naked city. pours a hazy, rubied, coppery dark amber. loose, sudsy white head. head could really look snazzier, but, then, this IS a highly oily and acidic fresh hop ale. so let that slide. sweet grapefruit and caramel nose. and that means about 96% grapefruit. creamy medium body showing mild carb and plenty of hop acids and oils. nice rich grapefruit and pine mid palate, sweet and tingly in its acidity. long sweet brightly acidic and somewhat bitter finish.

Tap at Dray. Aroma is nice and leafy with hints of grapefruit and floral hops as well. Pours a nice copper color with great fluffy head and lace. Fresh and hoppy, very earthy and leafy with solid bitterness, and underlying fruity profile as well. Some nice malty caramel/toast as well. Good lingering fresh bitterness. Drinkability is high.