Harvesting of hops is much like Christmas for the brewer/brewery, or so I hear. It's Christmas-time here and there's beer to be consumed. I think it works together in blog tonight. A small percentage of those fresh harvested hops are set aside for those brewers that create a seasonal Wet Hopped or Harvest Ale. There's some science behind it that you can read more about here if you have the time, but basically the oils from the hop cone aren't dried out and put into pellets and contribute a ton of different flavors to the beer.
I'm not a scholar on hops, but I do enjoy my hoppy beers! I just brewed my first IPA in 3 years and have some education to catch up on myself in hop additions, combinations, etc. However, I did read through the cliff notes version above myself and got a new found education on the fresh/wet hop. Full disclosure, I did read the article after tasting this beer tonight and it made more sense to me what I was actually tasting. I'll give you my notes pre-education.
So what beer are we talking about here? Another local-ish brewer, Victory out of Downingtown, PA. Since they're easier to get around these parts, I've enjoyed what they offer in their lineup, at least from what I've had so far. If you're interested, towards the end of last year, I reviewed their Vital IPA, Tonight we're trying the 2016 version of their Harvest Ale. Coming in at 6.5%, I expect this beer to pack a solid, yet quiet punch. They're calling in their personal tasting notes for some "juicy fruit and tea." We'll see about that.
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| I assume it won't be this... |
The pour was a definite clear amber/brown with a 1-finger head at the top. The aroma was quite odd (remember, I know why NOW). At first there was some pine, followed by bitter orange. Then, there was grass and wet hay. I even got a dank (wet/musty) and tobacco aromas here too. There was a lot going on in the aroma, which at first, wasn't too pleasant.
The beer tasted much better than it smelled. There were also lots of flavors exploding on the palate, but this time in a good way. There was an immediate caramel sweetness that took you to a citrusy-orange and tropical fruit flavor on the backside. I assume it was the citra hops that were the only hops used in this wet-hopped brew. Grapefruit and a slight peppery taste became more evident as I continued down to the bottom of my IPA glass. The lingering bitterness was just enough to make me want some more. Too bad I only purchased one bottle of this.
Even before reading up on the wet hop/harvest ale styles, I did enjoy this beer for what it was. After having a new found appreciation for what Victory did here, I stand by my rating for this evening! Cheers!
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| A welcome surprise tonight! 4 out of 5! |
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