Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Lots of Love from Down Undah!

Hey Hay Beer Lovers!

Wanted to give you a quick lead on a great beer. It's a limited time offering so I wanted to make sure that you got your hands on it!

Sierra Nevada's Southern Western Hemisphere Harvest is self defined as a "Fresh Hop Ale" which I'm to assume by the nature and flavor of the beer that it's not quite hoppy enough to be an IPA but hoppier than a regular beer. The "Fresh" comes from the fact that the hops were picked, dried, packed and shipped to the brewery in a matter of days FROM NEW ZEALAND! I'm certain that the terroir, as it usually pertains to grape varietal growing regions, has an affect on the taste of the hops. This is particularly the case here as the taste is like nothing I've ever tasted.

As usual, Sierra gives us a product that is of the highest quality and packs extraordinary flavor. The SWHH has very little in the way of malt flavor, not to say that none exists, but that it is not the predominant note. Light mouth feel and sharp notes of floral and citrus are however at the forefront. This beer differs in the fact that unlike some IPAs that try to pack in (and sometimes I feel over pack) hops into the beer, this harvest beer has a healthy hop flavor with a sweetness that other beers made in a similar fashion are missing. While I would hesitate to call this a balanced beer, it certainly is flavorful and quite tasty. This bottle rings in around $5 so definitely pick it up!

Cheers!

Rob