Sierra Nevada Harvest Fresh Hop IPA - Southern Hemisphere
This ale marks our journey to the only place on the planet where fresh hops are harvested in our spring, the Southern Hemisphere. Our task was daunting-we needed to get the hops picked, dried, flown halfway across the world and into our brew kettle in a little over a week’s time. The result is a North-by-South fusion of fresh New Zealand hops blended with the finest North American malts. Its robust hop character presents an intriguing floral-citrus aroma leading to layers of fresh-hop spiciness. Enjoy!
3.7
1523 reviews
Chico, United States
Community reviews
Lost & Found Tastenotes: 2014 version: Aroma is on the fresher side with hops, citrus and grass. The taste starts out fine, with the maltbase a bit more prominent than I expected, hints of peaches, apricots and some slight citrus break through and helps to develop the aura. But the thing is when the aftertaste sets in, it becomes "only bitter" and no freshness is there anymore?
bottle poured into a snifter..golden hue with a fluffy white head..aroma of grapefruit,orange peel,resin,pine..tastes just like it smells..medium body..good stuff.
Bottle from Safeway in Redwood City, CA. Aroma is light malts, herbal honey earth. Taste is dirty, malty and slightly bitter finish. This is a boring mess.
From QC, drank with Matt after his month away. Beautiful ruby-orange pour, off-white head, huge foamy legs. Smells of moderate to heavy malt, spicy and bready, moderate hop, bitter, wet concrete. Taste is light corn and spice, hoppy, corn, mineral. Body is slick, bitter, lighter finish. Good, not exceptional - reminds me of the Centennial IPA.
Bottle from QClub - ~110 days old, so a bit longer than ideal. Beautiful copper orange pour with big foamy head and fine carbonation. Aroma is mango/tropical fruit dank hoppiness (but not that big) and biscuity bready malt. Taste is similar to how I remember the other northern hemisphere one, and to the SN celebration ale. Spiced hops with a heavy malt backbone. A little disappointing in the taste. Something about it characteristic SN, but not that exciting. Oh well. Now I've tried both the hemispheres and they're nearly identical. Perhaps if they were fresher.
2015 version. A 22oz bomber with a packaged date of 27th April 2015 i.e. day 99 for this 100-day IPA and poured into an IPA glass. The beer poured a clear amber ice tea colour with a big three finger off white cream head that lasts a long long time and leaves lots of lacing. Aromas were all quite light as nothing stands out. Just some light caramel malts and maybe just a bit of apple, pear and pine. Tastewise. for an IPA, this was rather malt driven. Initially sweet caramel and candied sugar followed by slightly bready, buscuity malt. It finishes with some floral hop bitterness. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. I prefer SN’s other IPA offerings over this one as the malt is overpowering here. The aromas were also a little light for me.
Bottle to IPA glass. Dark amber, foamy tan head. Light fruit/grain aroma. Medium carbonation. Really nice balance of roasty malts and tangy, bitter hops. Refreshing.
Aroma: caramel, floral, citrus, herbs
Appearance: clear amber, off-white head
Taste: medium sweetness, medium bitterness,
Palate: medium body, creamy, average carbonation, long finish,
Delicious
BOTTLE. 2015 Vintage. Clear gold to amber pour (honey?) minimal white head with solid lacing.. Subtle earthy hops & generic malt on the nose, not to much going on.. Good earthy, floral hops through out finishing with a nice bitter back end that lingers.. Sourced Cellarbrations @ Capel
Pours a marmalade orange with a slight eggshell head. Aroma is weak caramel. Taste is slight caramel, hop bitter, and grapefruit.
Pours deep copper with a huge foamy head. Quite a lot of pine notes in the aroma, very fresh smelling, not as citrusy as I’d like though. Great malty taste at the start that gives way to some pine and earthy flavours and a huge kick you in the face bitterness, really fresh tasting. Fantastic.
(bottle)(2015) clear bright amber colour with a medium tall beige head; aroma of citrus; orange soda; mostly bitter flavour with a long, medium bitter flavour, nice
Amber color with a touch of copper.
Full body, assertive flavors, fizzy, rich and hot mouthfeel, lingering palate.
Intensely bitter but plenty of sweet balance,
Very hoppy, resiny, citrusy, abundant but unobtrusive malt.
Great beer.
Really tasty. Deep amber appearance with plenty of fruity hops. Is it me, or does it sort of smell like faint pineapple?The taste is very balanced with a deliciously sweet and complex malt with tons of bitter fruity hops. Finish is clean and refreshing (and bitter). Overall, great!
Bottle received in a trade. Very sweet, malty, heavily bitter, I like my IPA’s a tad more fruity/dank. This is quite one-dimensionally sweet and bitter. Not bad but not really refreshing.
Tap at Pacific Standard, Brooklyn. Pours pretty mahogany color, white head. Aroma is citrus, pineapple, orange, and a certain malt character that sets it apart from many IPAs but is hard to describe. Flavor is very malty for an IPA. Caramel notes, but prominent citrus and a slightly bitter finish. Not bad.
Appearance: pours with a large light tan head, the beer is a pretty clear nice amber color, almost ruby in color
Aroma: malty butter, some hop grass, dank
Taste: bitter, has a caramel malt sweetness to it that's backseat to the bitterness,
Palate: lively carbonation, medium mouthfeel, bitter aftertaste,
Overall: a solid ipa, could use more flavors from the hops, all I am getting is bitterness from the hops, the malt backbone is nice
Half pour at Mills River. Started with Saison Farmhouse so was hard to live up to that. Pours a clear orange, nice white head. Fresh hop notes are nice- more subdued than dried. Definite citrus but something off at the end. Slightly astringent. Seems like beer is being judged harshly for being subtle, but I think that’s the point. Fresh hops and all. Fresh tomato, sun dried tomato- different.
Draft. Copper coloring with a white head. The lacing is nice. Bitterness level is medium.
This one is a mixed bag. Clear dark amber with a thick head and lovely lace. Aroma is floral shampoo. It smells nice, but I don’t want to put it in my mouth. Flavor is dry and mild, just a little bit bitter. Medicinal aftertaste. Kinda weird, but not horrible.
Draft. Nose is moderate lemon with a light tropical note. Faint malt sweetness, honey. Very clear pale orange. Taste is moderately tropical and immediately falls flat in the malt. Almost watery. Very thin. Too the point of being detrimental to the hops. Low bitterness. Overall the aroma kills but needs a bit more in the mouthfeel and hop flavor.
Bottled. Medium to dark brown. Grassy, piny nose, earthy hops, some grapefruit. Rich malt, a touch of caramel. Interesting and very drinkable beer. Did not blow me away with the NW-like hops I expected. Instead, more balanced, earthy show. Nice.
Bottle 710ml @ Hotel room, Comfort Inn Downtown, Washington, DC
Pours hazy amber with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, caramel, citrus, pine, floral and grass. Taste is medium sweet and medium bitter with a long slightly dry, malty, caramel, citrus and floral finish. Body is medium, texture is thin to oily, carbonation is soft.
Bottle, 24oz. An unclear, amber colored beer topped by a dense, finger-thick light beige head. The aroma is grassy and quite piney. Some flower notes and resins. Not much malts, but some nutty hints are present. It’s full.bodied and with a pleasant carbonation level, quite dry the palate. There’s a decent bitterness going on, but the levels of hop flavors are in my opinion too low. A nutty, biscuity maltyness provides the backdrop. Some metallic hints in the very end. A tasteful and easy drinkable beer, but as an IPA I think it fails. 150619
Draft at the NC brewery. Pours a clear dark Amber with aromas of malt and mild floral hops. A good beer, but Southern Hemisphere hops are not my favorite. Fruity, mild with some floral spiciness in the finish. Refreshing and fresh.
Growler from local Smith’s served at room temperature. Copper pour with giant off-white head but only moderate carbonation. Hop aroma was not nearly as strong as I was expecting. Taste is standard middle of the road IPA body and bitterness - nothing special. Not bad, but I expected much more from this one.
Pours clear pale amber with three fingers of pillowy off-white head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Nose is citrus, pine, floral, caramel malt. (7/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, moderate bitter, mild peppery spice. (8/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering bitter and slightly spicy finish. (4/5)
Now that is a heckuva sessionable IPA - a decently dry finish and a well-integrated moderately strong ABV make this a beer you can quite enjoy having a couple of, while the flavours are sufficiently bright and complex to keep you interested. Both the body and the sweetness are perfectly suited to support the hop-forward character without detracting from it, making the beer a decent showcase for NZ hops. (I keep wanting to think there’s a little vinous character in there, but I can’t really pin it down. Something a little more adventurous would have been nice.) Recommended. (16/20)
Bomber bottle to shaker glass, pours hazy amber orange, two plus finger frothy off white head. Moderate lacing but awesome to the bottom of the glass retention. Aroma is floral with lemon zest and pine. Taste is moderately bitter with a touch of malt sweetness that balanced nicely. Medium body, lively carbonation, creamy mouth feel. Finishes moderately bitter. Tasting notes of wild flowers, spruce, lemon zest, plum, caramel and herbs. This IPA is complex and well done, I love it!
It’s refreshing to see a fresh hop this time of year, especially when I forget that New Zealand is in their prime hop season. I’ve loved this series for a long time, and I’m really suprised I never rated this one. Bright orange copper draft pint pour at the hop and hound. Big sticky fi head and lace. Wonderful fresh hops aroma. Flavor is mildly sweet, with a bready side, and very nice hop character. Really is an awesome IPA here. Love it.
2015 bottle poured into a shaker glass. Dark amber with a light tan head. Aroma is biscuity malt with some fresh floral and citrusy hop aroma. Flavor starts with some nice, thick, bready malt notes followed by some peppery hop flavor and some nice citrus flavors as well. Medium bodied with mild astringency. Overall a milder IPA but very nicely balanced.