beer_name: Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale
text: Presentation: It was poured from a brown 24oz bottle into a pint glass. The label reads 2nd release 2009. Appearance: The pour produced a tall thick and pillowy foam head. It is light tan in color and has great retention. It keeps a nice one finger thick cap all the way down the glass and as I drink, it leaves behind nice lacing on the glass. Under this head is a deep rich amber colored liquid. The beer is not totally clear as I noticed that there is a very fine yeast particle haze in it. Smell: The aroma has a citrus like hop character with some pine notes as well. Under that are some light bready/malty notes with just a hint of raw grain and even some fruity/estery/yeasty notes. Taste/Palate: The flavor has a sturdy base of bready malty sweetness with a touch of raw grain. Hop flavor is the focus here though, and they add an assertive yet well balanced bitterness and solid citrus (lemon and orange rind and pith) sweet spicy herbal and mild pine like flavor notes. The finish has a long slow bitter hop fade. Its palate has a nice lively feel with plenty of soft carbonation and a good solid medium body. Notes: This beer is absolutely outstanding. I really enjoyed the play between malt sweetness and the solid hop bitterness.