 drywall_man (197), Lake in the Hills, Illinois, USA
Nov 5, 2007
Opaque dark ambere brew, with a nice white head that lasts a while as well as the lacing through the whole drink. Initial aroma and slight taste of grape, date, fig, etc., followed by a strong, clean almost cutting (but not quite) hop flavor. About right for an ESB.
WabashMan (739), Noblesville, Indiana, USA
Sep 6, 2008 A beer that I somehow missed in previous years, so I was glad to see this one on the shelf. It’s odd that GI would put out their harvest beer at the end of summer, rather than at the first hops harvest as most do, but the colors of the label and the first (American) football on the TV coincide to please me very much. The beer inside, sadly, doesn’t quite live up. Aroma is fairly weak --- too weak, really --- and what little there is is dominated by the fresh hops. Appearance is lovely, however, with a nice, dark copper color and a creamy, off white head. Flavors are also dominated by the fresh hops, a little grassy along with the bitter, with a little sweetness from the malt. Finish is on the shorter end of medium. All in all, not a bad brew, but not exceptional in any way. Had it lived up to the appearance (which really had my mouth watering), I’d have been extremely pleased.
Vav (13), Chicago, Illinois, USA
Sep 3, 2008 Much better than last year’s batch. 12oz bottle, poured into pint glass. Excellent burnt orange color with a creamy head. Aroma of Cascades hits first, with a sweet toffee-ish note on the second sniff. Smooth mouthfeel, excellent hop flavor and bitterness, with the malt not as up front as an ESB should be. Loses points for that, no distinct grainy-ness..more of your typical american malts for an english style. Overall, it’s tasty, but it’s not exemplary.
sersdf (861), chicago, Illinois, USA
Sep 2, 2008 this beer is irritating because ’harvest ale’ should mean wet hops, and this is anything but. it’s malt dominated, but metallic. not much hops, actually reasonably close to other ESB’s i’ve had, but less sweet and less smooth. i think it’s a pretty poor offering.
Trev (504), Lakeville, Minnesota, USA
Aug 31, 2008 Pours a nice copper with a medium white frothy head.
Aroma is very nice floral and grassy hop. Flavour is again medium floral hop tones backed by a strong caramel malt backbone.
A very nice change from the octoberfests I’ve been indulging in.
mcjay (31), Neenah, Wisconsin, USA
Aug 31, 2008 Deep copper color with a strong cascade hops aroma. Has a nice, long lasting tan head. Dry, grainy flavor. Great brew that stands out from the other fall seasonal beers.
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