QUICK REVIEW #3: Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest 2012

I've had precious little time this fall for anything but work, but things are starting to ease up. Amanda and I will be off to Dublin and London in less than two weeks for a much needed vacation and I'm really looking forward to that trip both culturally and zymologically. This will be our first trip together in nearly two years, and it just so happens to be our fifth wedding anniversary and the celebration of a full decade together.

My schedule, the way it is, and the planning for this trip have left me finding the moments in between to sample new beers. I've also been pretty well stocked for homebrew, so I haven't really seen the need to overstock the fridge with new finds.

So here I find myself with five dollars in my pocket, a well-rested palate and a hankering to give something new a try. And to top that all off, I'm mustering the will to review it, with words, on my blog!

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Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest 2012 - Wet Hop Ale

24 Ounce Bottle into Tulip Pint

The beer pours with a deep auburn body with enough fluffy off-white foam to nearly overtake the rim of the glass.  A quick sip takes care that none of the sticky head pours out onto the countertop and allows a cursory evaluation of the flavor and aroma. Excellent lacing with a steady cap of foam rising from the lazer-etched hop cone emblazoned at the bottom of the glass, an appropriate emblem to say the least.

The aroma is pine-like with a deep earthiness, almost pitch-like. Citrus fruit rind, grapefruit with just a hint of spruce.  The malt is also present with a mild caramel malt sweetness, that helps to balance the aroma without detracting from the main event.

The layering of flavors is extraordinary, starting with grapefruit pith, fresh grass and evergreen with that same earthiness in the finish and finally a lingering resinous sap-like quality. Again, in the flavor, the malt doesn't exactly take a backseat, present in just a hint of grain and balancing sweetness, yet it never overpowers, it carries the hops along in a wash of bitterness that lasts from beginning to end.

Just the hop kick I needed.

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It's been some time since I formally reviewed a beer like this...it feels good. I'll have to remind myself to do it more often.

QUICK REVIEW #2: New England Brewing 668 - Neighbor of the Beast

When I started drinking good beer, I would go to the local bottle shop and mix myself a six-pack of random bottles. I sort of fell out of that habit while I focused on trying the classic beers, the expensive larger format bottles, imported rarities, obscure styles and the like, but I recently started “sampling” again.

As I strolled into my favorite neighborhood beer shop I joyfully snagged an empty six-pack holder and began to fill it with this beer and that. One of the beers that I had in my sampler was New England Brewing Company’s 668 – Neighbor of the Beast.

The beer poured a slightly hazy, golden-yellow.  The large white head rose above the rim of the glass and settled into a craggy cap leaving plenty of sticky lacing as it fell.  The aroma reminded me of Delirium Tremens with sweet hints of tropical fruits, candi sugar and mild pepper and coriander-like spice notes. Unlike Delirium, however, the hops are much more aggressive with citrusy, pine-like aromas and flavors and a gentle earthiness through the finish.

I’m sad to see New England Brewing Company pulling out of Massachusetts, especially with beers like this in the market. I often have a hard time picking up beers from out of state on a regular basis. To be perfectly honest, I’d much rather drink a Mayflower IPA than Stone, and as a native New Englander, I don’t have a problem calling Connecticut “local.” I look forward to the return of NEBCO, I just hope it isn’t too long a wait.

QUICK REVIEW #1: Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat

About a year or so ago, Boulevard Brewing Company began distributing their Smokestack Series of beers in Massachusetts, much to my delight. Up until then, I hadn’t tried any of their highly acclaimed beers.  I think my first was Saison Brett, followed by Tank 7, Sixth Glass, Nommo Dubbel and my favorite Long Strange Tripel. I remember drinking Long Strange Tripel, turning to Amanda and saying something with a number of long pauses along the lines of, “this…might…be…one…of…the…best…beers…I’ve…ever…had.” For sure, they make some of the best domestic Belgian style beers I’ve tried. Long Strange Tripel might not be the best beer I’ve ever had, but it certainly ranks in the top 10.

Anyway, just this week, Boulevard started sending some of their year-round beers to the area and I, of course, had to give them a try.

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Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat

Their website claims this is the most popular beer in the Midwest, I can see why.  It isn’t a blueberry wheat or an apricot wheat or even a wheat spiced with lemon and grains of paradise, no, it’s simply an American Pale Wheat Ale.  Those amber waves of grain? That’s what’s in this beer. Nothing too complicated and certainly a great brew.

It pours a light, hazy, golden-yellow with a lively white head. The aroma is incredibly bready with hints of citrus and a very mild tartness. Flavor is also bready, but less so, with a very mild hop contribution.  The finish is yeasty and bready and quite refreshing.

I picked up the other year-round beer from Boulevard: Single Wide IPA. It awaits my review, but if it’s anything like the other beers from Boulevard it should be nothing short of delightful.  Keep them coming!