Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop Ale
Bottle Inspection: 2007 Harvest, 11th Edition. Big double size 24 oz. brown bottle. Lots of cool marketing blurb about wet hops, but no real information like a date, ingredients, etc. Aroma: Fresh Cascade obvious from across the room. Sweet crystal malt under it all gives a slight perfumed quality. Appearance: Finger and a half of dirty white lace caps a clear copper red glass with lots of carbonation streams. Head drops to a finger soapy head and only gives up spotty lace. Flavor: Yep, those are hops. Its a bit leafy, citric grapefruit with a bit of earthiness. There are loads of hop flavors without any real harsh bittering. Mild sweetness in the finish is about the only place any malt peeks through. Mouthfeel: Very oily texture, fairly low carbonation, medium light body. Overall Impression: Well, it is a load of hops. I guess I was hoping for a little more depth on the malt side, but this is a hop lovers dream date. I guess I would call this a West Coast XPA. Good stuff, but I think Im good until next years harvest.