Sierra Nevada Harvest

This is a beer where favorable first impressions never last. I was initially caught by the lumpy and frumpy foam, with heavy curves like a furrowing brow plows 2 inches deep into the glass. The piercing clarity of the body, itself an oak wood color and practically a crimson red, gave me the added hint that this was a enigmatic brew. The aroma is considerably more cheerful in character, though. Fresh and hoppy, it alights from the grass like a doe in the field, with a creamy smell that makes think of springtime days. The fresh sweetness of lemonade, the pinching bitterness of grapejuice and a tinge of chlorine combine idyllic scenes of spring days with the more realistic saburban day spent at the public pool - both fond images. And like spring days, what is often a Wordsworthian romp in comfortable temperatures can turn into an unpleasant gale. That’s the Sierra Nevada’s Harvest Fresh taste. A thin watery palate, rough and tingling, a haunting aftertaste and one overpowering flavor of wood and furniture varnish. And I was having such fun, too.

A great IPA that pours a thick cloudy orange and leaves nice lacing along the glass. This one would have gotten a world class rating from me if the hops had one dominant flavor among them--citrusy, piney, or floral, but I think the "green hopping" style of this beer defied classification, and it drove me NUTS drinking this and trying to put my tongue on a particular flavor. Without one sticking out like in most IPA’s the flavor never really smacked my tongue with any force, but this beer is still very good and unfortunate that they don’t sell it in 6ers. At $6 it’s far too expensive to warrant purchasing often.

Poured with a nice floral head. Tasted hoppy with a nice citrus spicy crisp flavor. An enjoyable beer.

Bottle at Bishops Arms, Järntorget, Gothenburg. Dark orange color with an off-white head. Nice hoppy aroma with notes of toasted malt, caramel, citrus and sweet fruit. Hoppy, but very balanced and fresh taste, notes of toasted malt, caramel, chocolate/marzipan?, citrus, oranges and sweet fruitiness. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Great!

Bottle from BevMo in Fairfield, CA. One of the better brews from Sierra Nevada. The use of hops were very controlled in this brew. Good beer.

From the new BevMo in Fairfield, CA. Hands down, this is the best beer I’ve had from Sierra. I’m guessing because it was fresh-hopped they age their hops before making their pales. Not a fan of the latter...

Bottle. We just got this beer in Georgia, but I had it on tap in Denver last Winter and was so excited when I saw it bottled! I drank this beer at Falling Rock Taphouse with snow on the ground outside. Pretty romantic beer scene for a South Georgia boy. Let’s see how it compares to draft... Beautiful true amber color with a medium-thick, foamy off-white head. Bright hop aromas and almost a Dawn dish detergent aroma in the background (did I rinse my glass?) Bright citrus, too. This beer smells like it has more than 6.7% EtOH. Milder taste than I remember. Good IPA, but this beer is missing depth. Nevertheless, I enjoy the smooth malt and black pepper that hide behind the long, bitter finish. Good IPA, but not quite what I remember.

Bottle treat from Mes. I did really like this as I do with quite a few Sierra Nevada beers. Fresh and light on the palate, hoppy, right amount of bitterness, spruce aroma. Dark amber with a ncie head. Would love to have again.