Sierra Nevada: Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale - Review

There are more and more great beers from the USA working their way over to our shores (look out for a post on this blog in the near future focusing on the American mini-invasion). To date, the guys at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (SNBC) have impressed me a lot.

Their most recent brew to tickle my taste buds is the Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale (2012).

This is the 5th SNBC beer that I've managed to lay my hands lips on. They are (in chronological order) the Pale Ale (5.6% abv), Ruthless Rye IPA (6.6% abv), Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale (5.5% abv) and Torpedo Extra IPA (7.2% abv).

The review:

As much as I have enjoyed all of the above 4 SNBC beers, the Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale (6.7% abv) is my favourite by quite a stretch. A real hoppy taste left me wanting more.

SNBC claim to be the first brewery in the United States to use fresh hops from as far afield as New Zealand. 3 kinds of hops in fact - Pacific Hallertau, Motueka and Southern Cross.

As you can see above, it pours a beautiful, deep amber colour with a full, fluffy-but-strong head which retained it's character throughout - which wasn't long to be honest but only because I drank it quite quickly. 

I savoured every citrussy sip.

At the time of writing, there is only a handful of retailers in Brisbane (that I'm aware of) that has these available. At AU$10 per bottle, you might think it's a little bit pricey. It is worth every cent and I will go back for more.