Way back in 1980, before we Americans could enjoy the plethora of microbrews we have available to us now, Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi started what we know as the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. This brewery truly enjoys their hops and they use nothing but whole cone hops. In fact, Sierra Nevada uses more whole cone hops than any other brewer in the world.Their latest venture with the hop includes a trio of beers... the Harvest Ales. The three beers showcase hops from around the world. The Southern Hemisphere Fresh Hop Ale, as the name implies, uses hops from the southern hemisphere... all from New Zealand. The three hops this beer showcases are Pacific Hallertau, New Zealand Motueka, and New Zealand Southern Cross hops. This is the only brewery I know of that uses fresh hops from New Zealand, and I am not familiar with the last two styles of hops used.
The beer pour a lovely deep copper color, with a moderate, off-white head and nice lacing. The aroma is a wonderful bouquet of fresh, floral hops with a slight bit of caramel malt. The flavor is very fleetingly sweet followed by a grape fruity and slightly piney bitterness with fairly light body and a nice crisp, bitter, lingering finish.
I'm not so sure the hops add too much uniqueness to this IPA, but it is certainly a wonderful beer to drink and very well balanced... and at $5.99 for a 24 oz, it's not too bad of a buy either.
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