Founders Harvest Ale

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Bottle. Poured a cloudy gold color with a huge white head. Aroma of citrus and a bit of malt. Flavor was fairly balanced with a good malt backing. Finish was a bitter grassy flavor. Medium body with strong carbonation and a crisp mouthfeel.

Bottle. Pours copper with a one finger white head. Aroma is very floral with a lot of citrus. Taste is medium bitter with a strong balance of malt balance. Tasty.

Orange body with a thin white head that slowly fades away into a faint ring. Earthy, grapefruit/piney hops dominate the aroma. Some caramel/citrusy sweetness. Caramel malts and spicy hop flavor both well balanced. Very nice IPA.

From notes. First reviewed 11/19/2011. Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass. Harvest Ale pours a hazy golden straw color with a mellow off-white head that exhibits decent retention. No real lace down the side of the glass. In the aroma, there is a light biscuit malt to go along with a pleasantly strong hop bitterness. Mostly a general bitterness, there are notes of grapefruit, mango, and a bit of pine. The flavor is a pretty straight forward IPA. Softly sweet pale malts up front, followed by a very full and robust bitterness. Some grapefruit and mango go along with a good amount of pine. Overall, though, the bitterness is very full and deep, and it lingers into the aftertaste. The body is a little bit lighter than medium, with a fuller than medium smooth and creamy carbonation. It is a little grainy, with a little bit of hop residue left on my tongue after each sip. I thought everything about this was good, but no aspect truly overwhelmed me. It has been a few weeks since the release, so maybe it is a touch better fresh. Still very good, but the flavor was more of a flat bitterness than a strongly flavorful hoppiness.

bottle poured into a pint glass a: light golden/copper color, white head with slight retention. Little to no lacing s: citrus and pine t: citrus and pine hop dominate. light malt round out the taste. not nessicarily bitter, well balanced beer with big hop flavor m&d: slightly slick and oily. light to medium bodied. Plenty of carbonation. Finishes dry. Very drinkable ABV, may not really be a session beer due to the dryness

Bottle pours deep gold with an off-white head. Aroma shows notes of caramel, peach, orange, pine, and florals. Flavor shows the same with additional notes of grass and lemon zest. Overall body is moderate and the finish is moderately bitter.

Nice example of an IPA. Good head retention. Very nice aroma. suffers a bit from chill haze, but this should be served warm enough that you don’t see it. One of my top 10 fav commercial IPA’s.

Alright I’ll try to focus on the Harvest Ale without just advertising for Founders in general, cause it’s easy to do. First off, I purchased the single 12oz bottle that I was allowed at Zipp’s in Minneapolis for two bucks. The bottling date was 9/22/11 and the date I bought and drank it? 9/27/11. That’s about as fresh as you could possibly ask for, which is how this beer ought to be experienced. Appearance - seems excited to get into the glass, bubbling head that doesn’t last too long. Smell - outsanding, hops like you’ve never experienced, very floral and very fresh. Taste - just as expected, all hops - but not overly bitter, just damn fresh. Very well balanced hop usage. Mouthfeel - a little too sparkly for me. Overall - look out for this one next year and snag one ASAP

Harvest Ale pours a nice clear golden color. Tons of bubbles shoot from the bottom to the top of the glass. A thin layer of head is poured. The smell on this beer is awesome. Fresh and I mean fresh pine and citrus backed by a small amount of caramel malt. Just a fantastic fresh smell. OK I think I mentioned it was fresh enough. The taste on this beer matches the smell. I could easily drink this stuff all night long and if this wasn’t a seasonal beer this would be in my fridge at all times. When you find this beer, make sure to drink it as soon as possible. Fresher the better when it comes to this brew. The taste is full of citrus and a small amount of grapefruit. Piney with a nice earthy malt background. Bitter, clear, dry from start to finish. Crisp with perfect carbonation.

Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass. Appearance is hazy gold to copper with a thick head of white foam. Good head retention leaving some splotchy lacing. Aroma is spicy, citrus, and resinous. Taste is not overly great, but it is better than most I’ve come across.

UPDATED: FEB 25, 2012 Bottle pours golden with off white head. The aroma is fruity, lemony grapefruit and peach with a must. The taste is awesome, kinda reminds me of bells hopslam with out the honey and not a alcoholic. It is big, oily and hoppy with various bitter citrus flavors mostly orange, some solid barley behind it and a little pine in the end. It isn?t much on sweetness but has a grainy fullness. Well carbonated, it his the spot.