Sierra Nevada Harvest Wet Hop Ale

Beer: Harvest Wet Hop Ale, 13th Release
Brewed by: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, CA, USA
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.7%
IBUs: 60-65
Bottle: 24 fluid oz.
Served in: Pint glass
Place of purchase: Red Carpet Wine & Spirits, Glendale, CA
Price: $5.99

We're into the second month of 2010 and our review beers are piling up (seriously, we've got five that we haven't even touched.) Due to a yet another bout with this Winter's cold/flu season, we are now quite behind on the reviews.

That being said, Jugsy and I now feel GREAT (knock on wood) and are ready to officially, DRINK BEER - on your behalf, of course. After all, we're really doing this for you.

As we browsed our beer-laden shelves looking for the right beer to review, something intriguing caught our eye.... Wet Hop Ale! Being the hop-lovers we are, we had to know more! According to Sierra Nevada's website, their 2009 Harvest Wet Hop Ale uses "Cascade and Centennial hops ... [which] are harvested and shipped as “wet” un-dried hops — the same day they are picked — to our brewery in Chico where our brewers eagerly wait to get them into the brew kettle while their oils and resins are still at their peak." Hops, oils and resins -- Oh, my!!!

In every proper review, your trusted husband & wife team of Beeraucrats will examine the Appearance, Aroma, Taste, Mouth-Feel, Drinkability and Overall Rating of the Beer and arrive at a Total Score from 1 to 10.

Harvest Wet Hop Ale

APPEARANCE:

Mugsy: Deep amber color. Turns deep golden color when held to light. Thick, creamy looking head that dissipates very quickly. Still, what's left is fairly creamy looking, for what's there - which isn't much. Some carbonation visible. Leaves some lacing on
glass.
Jugsy: Golden and murky in color with a somewhat reddish hue. Initial thick head dissipates very quickly, leaving no lacing behind. Almost no visible carbonation.

AROMA:

Mugsy: Strong smell of flowery hops is first to hit the nose. Underneath it all, sweet malt can be detected. Also, the faintest smell of slightly funky yeast. The hops take the prize on this one, though.
Jugsy: Yeast and malt aromas seem to dominate when the ale is very cold. Hop scent is faint and more of a subtle background note. Swirling the beer releases the piny hop bouquet and makes me eager to taste this ale. There's a sweet, honey aroma to the yeast that is very inviting.

TASTE:

Mugsy: Hops, hops, hops. Very slight bit of sweetness comes through also. Hints of citrus become noticeable, especially as it begins to warm. Aftertaste is slightly of pine and certainly of hops.
Jugsy: Mmmm... The instant hoppy bitterness delivers just what a name like "wet hop ale" promises. Piny hops come through first, but as the ale warms, the floral hops taste emerges, as well. I can also taste a pineapple-y yeast flavor tying it all together.

MOUTH-FEEL:

Mugsy: Extremely smooth and creamy. The bitterness stings the tongue a fair bit. Overall feel is quite enjoyable, due mostly to the creaminess.
Jugsy: This ale is a tiny bit on the watery side, but very refreshing, nevertheless. What it lacks in carbonation, it more than makes up for in bitter hop bite and flavor. Leaves a bitter hops coating on the tongue.

DRINKABILITY:

Mugsy: Goes down very easily. This could fall into the realm of the session beers for me. The 6.7% ABV might creep up on me, of course, but luckily, not too quickly.
Jugsy: The Harvest is a very drinkable ale for any "hophead." While the bitterness may be off-putting for some, to others this ale will feel like a homecoming. At 6.7% ABV and a 24 fl. oz. bottle, you might want to limit yourself to just one... or two!

OVERALL:

Mugsy: Very nice beer. Not completely balanced, however, I don't believe that's what they were going for here. The brewers are certainly presenting this as a hop-lover's beer. To quote from the bottle, this is an ale that "hop fanatics like us dream of all
year." And on that note, I've tasted several other beers also catering to lovers of the hop that were nearly one-dimensional, with almost all the focus on making sure that hops dominated everything. Not here, however. While the hops are in the extreme forefront, there are several other notes that come through - citrus, pine, etc. And that super creamy feel as it goes down is fantastic. Would certainly drink again.
Jugsy: This is one of the lightest tasting beers of its caliber that I've had. I'm not positive that I can tell the difference between wet and dry hops, but my impression is that the wet hops deliver a deeper and smoother flavor. The 13th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale is another fantastic brew from Sierra Nevada that I would happily drink anytime. I can picture this ale going well with a variety of foods; anything from a gourmet poultry dish to a guacamole and chips Super Bowl party! Hey... there's a thought!

SCORE:
Mugsy 7.90
Jugsy 7.25

Brew Free Or Die

Brew Free! Or Die

Provocative name! We'll take the "Brew Free!" please!

Mugsy and Jugsy typically search for the best airfare when choosing airlines, but we may just need to forgo that tradition the next time we fly and go with Virgin Airlines instead.

"Why?" you ask? We love to support our fellow Beer-lovers and Virgin America is doing something pretty special. For the first time ever, craft beer is making its way to the blue skies! Hooray!!!

According to RealBeer.com:

21st Amendment Brewery is set to launch their Brew Free! Or Die IPA in cans aboard Virgin America Airlines. Starting now Virgin America will serve complimentary Brew Free! or Die IPA in First Class and Main Cabin Select and the beer will be available for purchase in the Main Cabin for $7.

21st Amendment Brewery says their "Brew Free! or Die IPA is brewed with some serious west coast attitude. This aromatic golden IPA starts with a sucker punch of six different hops to the nose, quickly balanced by a solid malt back bone. The Brewery’s top selling beer, this IPA starts big and finishes clean leaving you wanting more."

Mmmmmmm... we haven't even tried it yet and we want more already!!!

Stone Cali-Belgique

Beer: Cali-Belgique IPA
Brewer: Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA (USA)
Bottle: 1 Pt. 6 fl. oz. Bomber
ABV: 6.9%
IBU: 77
Served in: Tulip glass
Place of Purchase: Beverages and More, Sherman Oaks, CA
Price: $5.49

We briefly considered shelving this review for a few more weeks so as not to have too many reviews of the same style of beer, but the Cali-Belgique IPA is a Stone Brewing Co. Limited Release for the year, and we'd hate for beer lovers to miss out on this one!

The Cali-Belgique IPA is a fresh approach to combining different IPA styles, American - or, Californian, to be more specific - and Belgian. Its unique flavor comes from the combination of Californian hops and Belgian yeast.

In an effort to pay tribute to both the French and Dutch influences in Belgium, Stone has labeled 50% of the bottles "Cali-Belgique" ("Belgique" being the French word for Belgium) and the other 50% "Cali-België" ("België" being the Dutch name for Belgium)!

In every proper review, the Beeraucrats will examine the Appearance, Aroma, Taste, Mouth-Feel, Drinkability and Overall Rating of the Beer and arrive at a Total Score from 1 to 10.

Cali-Belgique IPA

APPEARANCE:

Mugsy: Golden-red color. Definitely looks like an IPA. Thin but creamy head that leaves lacing on glass when swirled. Can see fair bit of carbonation present.
Jugsy: Golden, copper in color with a thin head which dissipates quickly. Amber when held up to the light; visible carbonation.

AROMA:

Mugsy: Interesting blend of IPA-like hoppiness, mixed with slight fruitiness (grapefruit) and a little bit of yeasty funk. This is exciting.
Jugsy: Aromatic hops, not flowery per se, but sweet nonetheless. Orange and vanilla scents, possibly pineapple, too. Fresh woodsy aroma of crisp Autumn air. Barley and yeast are background scents. Smells like beer candy!

TASTE:

Mugsy: Immediate taste is hops, though not the over-the-top hops that Stone IPA lovers (like myself) have come to know and love. This is slightly more subtle. Secondary taste is grapefruit. Aftertaste is grapefruit also, but this is where the yeast comes into play, leaving just a hint of the barnyard so commonly associated with Belgian Saison Ales. Grapefruit lingers on the tongue well after swallowed and becomes more prominent as beer warms, as does the funkiness.
Jugsy: Sophisticated bitter hops flavor bursts in your mouth. The aroma almost makes you think it's sweet. Definite pine flavoring with orange peel and hops aftertaste. Flavors play out like a well-orchestrated symphony.

MOUTH-FEEL:

Mugsy: Lots of bite on the tongue from the hops. Crisp and clean, yet to contradict here, leaves just a little bit of warm coating on the tongue and mouth, much like a Belgian Ale.
Jugsy: Creamy and rich without feeling heavy. Adequate carbonation and pleasant, hoppy tongue coating.

DRINKABILITY:

Mugsy: Can feel the slight beginning of what a 6.9% ABV can do, but still light enough to be a "semi-session" beer. Easy going down. Crisp and fresh.
Jugsy: At a 6.9% ABV, you might not want to drink too many of these in a row, but that aside, you will love every minute of having the Cali-Belgique in your mouth. I know I did!

OVERALL:

Mugsy: Nice and very well balanced beer. Fairly complex. Would go quite well with spicy food like Indian or Latin. Leave it to the wonderful folks at Stone to come up with yet another complex (and quite experimental) Ale that is tasty and easy to drink. Stone continues to set the benchmark for so many other breweries and makes this beer lover happy to live in a world where Stone is readily available.
Jugsy: The minute I smelled the aroma of this brew, I wanted to dive in head-first! It felt like Christmas! And not in the sense that I was about to drink a Winter brew (which this is not) but in the sense that I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, who just knows that Santa got his letter and his dream toy is under the wrapping before him! I don't know if I can do this beer justice. Just do yourself a favor and allow X-mas to come a little early this year -- try a bottle of Stone's Cali-Belgique IPA now, before it's no longer available!

SCORE:
Mugsy: 7.99
Jugsy: 8.75

Sierra Nevada 2009 Anniversary Ale

Beer: Sierra Nevada 2009 Anniversary Ale
Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA USA
Type: American IPA
Bottle: 12 fl. oz. bottle
ABV: 5.9%
IBUs: 47
Served in: Pint glass



Place of Purchase: Silver Liquor, Sherman Oaks, CA
Price: $2 per bottle (Supermarket sells them for $9.99 / six-pack)

As you might have noticed, Mugsy and Jugsy are big fans of Belgians and IPAs. Many of the best beers in these categories can sometimes be difficult to find. And what’s the point of reviewing beers if YOU can’t try them?! Exactly.

So, we’re very excited about the Sierra Nevada 2009 Anniversary Ale because not only is it a fine example of an American IPA, but it’s also widely available pretty much everywhere!

Drink it up!

In every proper review, the Beeraucrats will examine the Appearance, Aroma, Taste, Mouth-Feel, Drinkability and Overall Rating of the Beer and arrive at a Total Score from 1 to 10.

Sierra Nevada 2009 Anniversary Ale

APPEARANCE:

Mugsy: Deep golden honey color with lots of red highlights. Plenty of carbonation visible. Medium, creamy looking head that lasts. Looks delicious!

Jugsy: Deep amber with red tones; visibly carbonated with a medium, frothy head that lasts. Leaves lacing on the glass.

AROMA:

Mugsy: First off is strong scent of bitter hops, a little bit of sour, mixed with citrus; lemons and even a little orange. Very slight note of fruit, like peach comes from underneath the hops and citrus. Smells delicious!

Jugsy: Citrus and spice notes hit the nose first, followed by mild floral hops and a healthy dose of yeasty sourdough.

TASTE:

Mugsy: First of course are the hops - and a little citrus, which is to be expected; but the there’s so much more! Aftertaste is of warm, roasted malt with a hint of toffee at the end. Little bit of orange peel, too. Taste is hoppy but not “soapy” as so many IPA’s can be. Very complex flavors here. Tastes delicious!

Jugsy: The sharp, bitter hops attack the tongue – and, if I didn’t know better, I’d say this beer has Quinine (because the aftertaste is very reminiscent of Tonic Water!) Strong citrus – orange peel flavors – throughout. The spice notes, possibly cloves or cardamom, are buried somewhat in the abundant hops flavor. Complex taste.

MOUTH-FEEL:

Mugsy: Head is wonderfully creamy as you first bring glass to lips. The bite of the hops is there and the carbonation is big. This goes down so smoothly, with a crisp, fresh feel.

Jugsy: Creamy but not heavy. Full-bodied with a fair amount of carbonation. Bitter aftertaste coats the tongue.

DRINKABILITY:

Mugsy: This one would be a perfect session beer. Not overpowering in its ABV nor too heavy on the palate. Refreshing and clean. Could drink this all night.

Jugsy: This is a very drinkable and enjoyable beer. At only 5.9% ABV, this brew manages to incorporate the complexity and flavor of a much higher ABV beer. Could certainly enjoy this in any atmosphere.

OVERALL:

Mugsy: Fantastic beer. Extremely complex, yet not overdone nor heavy. Thoroughly enjoyable beer! Wish I had purchased more than just the two bottles for Jugsy and me to review. Would go well with spicy foods, like Indian, Thai or Latin.

Jugsy: At first blush, it seemed surprisingly bitter for only 47 IBUs, but the bitterness mellows over time. The flavor blossoms upon warming – so let this brew rest for a while to taste its full complexity. Each sip made me more and more a fan of this Anniversary Ale. Good job, Sierra Nevada!

SCORE:

Mugsy: 9.0

Jugsy: 7.0