Hales OBriens Harvest Ale

Brewed by Hales Ales
Style: Amber Ale
Seattle, Washington USA

12 oz. bottle from Plaza Liquor - Pours an amber color with an average size off white head. Light spotty lacing. Has a citrus and pine aroma. Has a very notiveable grapefruit flavor. Strong bitterness up front. Medium body. Tastes more like an IPA. A very nice beer. Try it if you can find it.

Bottle courtesy of asteele8. Deep copper color. Wow, what an aroma. Heavy grapefruit. Sharp bitterness with a slight malt in the background. Very, Very hopped. Just the was it should be. Very hopped! I think harvest ales should be their own style. I really enjoy the green hop taste.

Bottle. Pours a red-brown with a slightly off-white head on top. Aroma is hoppy, citrusy, and hints of grapefruit. Flavor is full of hops. A very nice fresh hop bite from start to finish. I would classify this more as an IPA than an amber ale just off the first initial sip. A dry bitter finish at the end is very nice. A decent beer that is quite enjoyable. A nice way to celebrate the harvest season.

On Tap: Reddish brown pour with a medium off white head. Taste is a well balanced hoppinness, caramels, and toasted malts. More hops than a typical amber ale and very tasty as a result.

Tap at the Latona pub in Seattle.

Pours a clear caramel brown with red highlights and nice reddish tan head. The aroma is all herb garden - mint and thyme. The flavor follows, strong herb hops, slightly oily through a middle, hints of cleaning fluid unfortunately, powerful grapefruit rind bitterness. I get some booziness on late side along with a nice lip-drying finish. There’s not a ton of balance here and the malts are basically running for cover, but this is nonetheless among the better Hales offerings that I’ve tried.

Addendum: Upon a Mid-october revisit (two pints worth) at Atlas, this one continues to grow on me. I didn’t find the cleaning fluid this time around, just a rich herbal almost cidery harvest flavor and malts that provide enough backbone to make the whole balance out very nicely. I was additionally impressed to find this one served at close to cellar temperature with quite modest carbonation that really made this feel like a great draft harvest ale. My favorite Hale’s offering by a long margin.

A nice little fresh harvest ale, sweet citrus hop aroma clean and crisp. Very light bitterness up front with a bold bitter finish with lots of green hop taste. Mild diacetyl hits you up front, but I don’t notice it much in the bitter finish.

Draft- the Front Door, Boise, ID. Nice fresh hop bite, but the diacetyl was a little distracting. Better after about a half pint. Nice looking beer and would have been much better without the butter.

Bottle:Murky amber color with a small off-white head. The aromas are abundantly hoppy for an amber - Sweet citrus mixed with juniper shrubs mainly. The taste is hop loaded as well. It seems to me this gets pretty close to an IPA. It has a weird aftertaste thing - kind of like cardboard mixed with a hint of anise with a tin foil finish. It isn’t to overpowering, but nevertheless there. The feel is great and it is a yummy beer to have as we enter the harvest season.