Sierra Nevada Harvest Single Hop IPA- Variety 291

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We now return you to your regularly schedule beer reviews. Yes, we've been bad on the reviews as of late, but life happens. Don't worry, loyal readers, we haven't given up drinking. I think I'd rather cut off both big toes than give up beer.

We ran into this at one of our favorite beer stores and became intrigued. Yakima #291 hops used. WHA?? It doesn't have a name yet? Ok, let's try it.

Sierra Nevada has a history of making good IPAs, so let's see how this rates up with them. So what little I can find about Yakima #291 is that it's the love child of 4 years of cross breeding a multitude of different varieties of the reason I wake up. So let's give it a go.

This poured a straw color with a fluffy white head that lingered. The head has dissipated as I've done the research (aka, putting links up and queued music up). The aroma on this is interesting. Faint citrus, berries, earthiness and spice. Huh. First sip is pleasant. Nice faint citrus blast with hints of blackberries fading in before giving way to a green tea-esque flavor and mouth feel. Slightly bitter at first which fades into a harmonious marriage of awesome that dances on the taste buds, bringing you closer to where you want to take your taste buds dancing. Not really what I would consider an IPA, as it's not hoppy enough, in my opinion to be classified as such. More like an awesome Pale Ale.  This drinks smooth with a nice slightly stickiness to it, from the hop oils, but not stripping the enamel off the teeth.

4.6/5 caps

-Nathan-

Not gonna lie, I'm so intrigued by the aroma on this I'm just going to cut to the chase. While Nathan wrote his portion, I somehow still have some fluffy head sitting atop my beer glass. I suppose that's not too surprising, considering this weighs in at a moderate 6.5% ABV.

I am seeing more medium golden amber or orange than straw on this. The head is fluffy and white, and I'll give Sierra Nevada massive props for the head retention on this. I think Nathan nailed the aroma, so I'm ready to swan dive into this. I am picking up caramel and orange up front that quickly fades into a grassy note, which then dries out to a bit of spice and black peppercorn note. The berry notes are noticeable on the back end of this, mostly blueberry and yes, even some blackberry. This is good. It's not going to strip the enamels off your teeth, but it's going to cut through any random flavors remaining in your mouth.

One thing I find intriguing is that IBUs don't always indicate the bitterness of the beer; that's ideally what the definition of IBU calculations are, but when a brewer balances out the beer with sweeter malt characteristics and yet manages to stay within the style guidelines, not all IPAs are going to be enamel-stripping. Contrarily, that's also the beauty of brewing: you can also take many liberties within each style and scoff at the stuffy people who make up the guidelines.

This is the first of five beers in the Harvest series from Sierra Nevada due out this year. They are going to feature the single hop (this beer), a fresh hop, a wet hop, and a wild hop, as well. Apparently they're going to double up on one of the hop methods, because I only count four different ones... ah, I suppose we'll just have to wait and see, right? That being said, I'm very much looking forward to each of them. As a hophead and a homebrewer, I enjoy experimenting with hop methods. I've really enjoyed the single hop series we've had from various brewers (we have at least one more in our stash to review to you), as I thoroughly enjoy a solid showcase of each variety.

4.75/5 caps

-Jennie

Music pairing: The Twilight Singers, Blackberry Belle (yes, the entire album)
Cheese pairing: Double Gloucester
Food pairing: Homemade blueberry pie or blackberry cobbler

Sierra Nevada Blood Shot (Beer Camp #95)

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It's certainly been an eventful day here, what with being snowed in and following Hopslamgate 2014. For those who are unaware, a certain Columbus craft beer retailer has been accused of illegally buying the entire stock of Hopslam from a nearby grocery store. We're not going to get in the middle of the debate, as we're friends with both the craft beer retailer and the brewery who made it common knowledge among the Columbus craft beer scene. We didn't witness the transaction, so it's not up to us to decide whether a major transgression was committed. But the seamier side of me has enjoyed watching the fur fly in this debate. And you know what makes the unfolding drama even better? A craft beer from another brewery that isn't affiliated with the local kerfuffle. We're also watching the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets as they climb the standings in the Metropolitan Division. Beer and hockey is a fabulous combination, in case you were unaware.

Let's discuss the Beer Camp series from Sierra Nevada. Every summer, Sierra Nevada hosts "beer camp", where every day normal people come together (by invitation... you can apply here) and learn how to brew beer. They brew several varieties, and release their favorite styles. This one, #95, is an imperial red ale that was brewed during the 2013 session.

As promised, this pours a lovely garnet color with a khaki-colored head that dissipated quickly, leaving a ring of lacing at the edge of my glass. The nose on this is precisely what I would expect from a red ale: caramel, bread, and a faint tinge of pine and grapefruit from the West Coast hop varieties used in this. Let's take a sip. There's some brown sugar and caramel sweetness up front, which fades quickly into the notes of pine, grapefruit, and an earthy note that come in toward the end. There is a faint sting from a boozy note, but it's not overwhelming (and at 8.5% ABV, it shouldn't be). It finishes bitter and dry, and there's almost a metallic note toward the middle and end. It's a little sticky sweet up front, which fades about halfway through the taste.

Overall, it's a solid beer. Unfortunately, my benchmark for all imperial red ales was set by McCarthy's Bane, and this one doesn't quite equal that. At the same time, it's certainly not a bad beer. I saw some Beer Camp 2013 on the shelf at a favorite local retailer this week (actually, where we obtained this), if you're interested in buying some.

4/5 caps

-Jennie

Well, Jackets lost, damn it. Thanks for cursing us, Jennie. But, it's been an interesting day. Hopslamgate has been an interesting read, especially with people coming out of the woodwork to give their take on it. As a neutral 3rd party, I will base my opinion when there are actual facts given by Premium and Bell's on this matter.

With that out of the way, I continue on this beer trek that is Sierra Nevada. An 8.5%, 95 IBU brew from a beer camp, yes please. We had one of their beer camp series a few years back, when one of the bartenders from Bob's Bar made a brew with Sierra. It was fantastic, so I'm hoping this is as good.

This pours a nice dark garnet color, with khaki colored head. The head on mine has lingered, surprisingly, as Jennie did her portion of the review. The nose on this is fantastic. Caramel, bread, citrus with a tinge of pines. The flavor on this, at this point is, hop heavy all the way around. There are earthy, pine, and citrus flavors up front with a twist of caramel malts balancing in the middle. The ending is a West Coast Hop blast. A nice herbal tea like flavor is faint in the aftertaste. This is smooth drinking, with a slightly resiny stickiness on the tongue. The 8.5%, at this point is not noticed while drinking, but is noticed after 6 ounces of goodness are sitting happily in the stomach. I just realized I was zoning off for about 10 minutes thinking about a concert I went to 10 years ago. Ambulance LTD. They were opening for the Killers at the Newport Music Hall. Ambulance stole the show, in my opinion, to where after the show, I got their autographs on the concert ticket. I wasn't interested in meeting the Killers (who were just up and coming with the release of Hot Fuss). If you haven't heard them, youtube them. And while you're on youtube, look up our video from our trip to Elevator. With that being said, I end this in order to get to the next beer, and later, to the neighbors for some drunken cards.

4.3/5 caps

-Nathan-

Cheese Pairing: Brie, Camembert
Music Pairing: Ambulance LTD "Heavy Lifting"