Tag: Harvest Ale

Boulevard 21st Anniversary Ale

~ Ken Valley ~ Leave a comment
Boulevard 21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Ale
Boulevard 21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Ale

Boulevard Brewing recently celebrated their 21st anniversary, and to celebrate, the brewery created a fresh hop pale ale.  Last week, I had a chance to grab a bottle.

First off, it poured a bit darker than I expected.  It looked more in the range of an IPA color (more of a caramel color) than a pale ale color.  The first sniff gives a bit of citrus on the nose, with a hint of grassy from the fresh hops.

The taste was very similar to a pale ale, with a hop forward flavor, giving way to the malt backbone.  This was different than other fresh hop ales I have had because this beer had more of a peach flavor, with just a hint of citrus flavor.

It was a good beer that makes me want another, just to try and break down the complexity of it.

Have you tried the 21st Anniversary Ale from Boulevard?  What was your take on it?

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale 2010

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Sierra Nevada 2010 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale
Sierra Nevada 2010 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale

I got a chance to have some of the Sierra Nevada 2010 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale.  It uses hops from New Zealand that are picked then immediately shipped to brewery before drying, to be put into the brew.

The beer smells like a pine-like hop aroma with a hint of a fruity scent.

It tastes almost like it smells, with a pine-like citrus hop flavor, and finishes hoppy on back of your tongue.  The aftertaste is hop-filled with lingering bitterness.

Have you tried the Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale?  What did you think?

What Are Harvest Ales?

~ Ken Valley ~ 2 Comments
Freshly Picked Hops Go Into a Harvest Ale
Freshly Picked Hops Go Into a Harvest Ale

Sierra Nevada just released their Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale 2010, but what are harvest ales?

Simply put, when the hop cones are ready to be picked, normal procedure is to dry the hop so it has less than 10% moisture, and then the hops are stored in vacuum sealed or nitrogen-packed bags to prevent oxygen from getting to them.  With a harvest ale, the fresh hops are picked off the vine, and then added to the boiling wort right away without drying them, so instead of ounces there are pounds because of the extra water weight.  With a harvest ale, you still get the standard flavor you would expect from the hops, but you also get an overwhelming “grassy” hop flavor, because the hops were newly picked live plants.  Talk about fresh!

Most times, the harvest ales are done in the fall, when it is harvest time in the northern hemisphere, but Sierra Nevada has agreements with hop farmers in New Zealand that allows them to have the freshly picked hops delivered to them within 12 hours, and they are placed right into the brew pot.

If you like pale ales, be sure to try one of the harvest ales because I’m sure you’d like it.  If you’ve had a harvest ale, how did you think it compared to your normal pale ale or IPA?