• Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
• Country: USA
• Style: American IPA
• ABV: 6.7 %
• Size: 710 ml
• Bought from: Systembolaget, ? euro
• Beer Advocate
• RateBeer

Hops grown in the Northern Hemisphere are usually harvested during the fall, and to honor the harvest, Sierra Nevada brew a fresh hop (or wet hop) beer each year. According to Sierra Nevada’s website, the hops move from field to brewery in less than 24 hours, so they should still be full-packed with aromatic oils once they are used in the brew. The beer has a simple malt bill consisting of only 2-row and crystal malts, and has been hopped with the classic American C hops Cascade and Centennial. The beer isn’t super fresh anymore, since it was brewed in the fall of 2011, but I’m still expecting lots of hoppy goodness in both aroma and flavor. Sierra Nevada rarely disappoint, so am really looking forward to this one. Cheers!

[easyreview title=”Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours with a slightly hazy amber color, and a slight off-white head is formed, that collapses quickly leaving some oily foam islands and drapes of lacing.” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is a blend of sweet caramel and a floral, grapefruity and herbal hoppiness, lending some hints of pine resin as well. The hop aroma could be a bit stronger, but still nice.” cat2rating=”4″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavor begins with a slightly sweet and caramelly maltiness, that is joined by a soapy, citrusy, resiny and herby hoppiness. The hop flavors feel a bit unfamiliar, but work well. The flavor ends slightly dry and with a pleasant bitterness. The beer is quite well balanced, with the slightly sweet tones and hop flavors countering the earthy bitterness. I can’t decide whether to give the taste a 3.5 or a 4. Ok, a weak 4.” cat3rating=”4″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium body and carbonation level. Easily drinkable, but has a slightly oily and soapy feel.” cat4rating=”4″ summary=”Overall a great beer, with the flavor being the weakest point. The beer had a strange herby and soapy flavor that I haven’t really met in any other beers before. The flavor was still very pleasant. This is the first time I try a wet/fresh hop beer, and I thought it was a really interesting experience. I am also looking forward to trying Port Brewing’s High Tide which I have waiting in the fridge. Sierra Nevada also brew a Southern Hemisphere Harvest ale, with New Zealand hops, that would be nice to try out as well.”]

Thanks Ingo for buying me the bottle!

Here is another review on a Sierra Nevada beer (probably the last one for a while). This one is their seasonal IPA, brewed every winter with fresh Cascade, Centennial and Chinook. The beer has a bitterness of 65 IBUs.

[easyreview title=”Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a golden-amber color and is slightly hazy. The beer features a fluffy white head, that leaves some nice lacing along the glass as it quite quickly collapses.” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is filled with citrusy and piney hop aroma, combined some caramelly maltiness. Note: This beer is not super fresh (over 7 months old), so I can almost guarantee that it has lost a lot of its aroma.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The taste is hoppy from the beginning, with a spicy, citrusy and resiny hop flavour, that is quickly joined by a caramelly sweetness. The taste ends in some bitterness, but it is not as strong as I expected. As with the aroma, I really wish I could have tasted this half a year ago, since I’m certain this beer has lost much lovely hop flavour to time. ” cat3rating=”3.5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium body and carbonation level, and is quite well balanced. Nothing special here.” cat4rating=”3.5″ summary=”As with many of the other Sierra Nevada regulars, I have to say this is a good beer, but nothing spectacular or amongst my absolute favorites. It’s a shame it is almost impossible to get fresh US IPAs here in Finland.”]

This beer was one of my all time favorites a couple of years ago when I started drinking ‘good beer’ instead of the typical ‘bulk lagers’. This beer has been mentioned a couple of times in previous posts, but this time I’ll make a full review of it. The Torpedo is an American IPA made with 2-Row Pale malt and Crystal malt, and hopped with Magnum, Crystal and Citra. The beer boasts and IBU of 65. Let’s see how it scores.

[easyreview title=”Sierra Nevada Torpedo” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a, just slightly hazy, golden-amber color with a minimal cream-colored head, that leaves some lacing along the glass.” cat1rating=”3.5″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The beer has a caramelly and slightly citrusy and fruity hoppy aroma. I expected much more hop aroma. Would probably do better fresh.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The initial taste is sweet and malty with caramel tones. The flavour shifts over to slight tropical fruit and resiny hoppiness, which finishes in nice bitterness on the tongue. As with the aroma, this could you a bit more hop flavour, as the maltiness and bitterness dominated.” cat3rating=”3.5″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a medium-full body with a medium level of carbonation, and is easy to drink. The beer is quite well balanced, with nothing overpowering.” cat4rating=”4″ summary=”I’ve now given this beer 3 attempts this spring, and I must say this bottle was the best of the three. I still must say that this beer failed to impress me in the way it once had when I was a ‘bulk lager’ drinker. Still this is a good American IPA, but there are definitely better ones available on the market. Could use more hop aroma and flavour, or be a bit fresher when drunken.”]