Summer Birthday Beer Review!

While the temperature refuses to dip any lower, the sun grows tired of its high vantage point and begins to slip behind some clouds as it makes a break for the horizon. A chaotic choir of chirping birds fills the air, nearly drowning out the alarm-like droning of a number of cicadae. The perfume of a freshly cut lawn invigorates the nostrils as the incessant buzzing of a nearby lawn mower fights for attention against the aforementioned bugs and birds.

Yes, this is summer.

Summer usually means basketball at the park, football in the road, Wiffleball in the yard. But when exhaustion sets in and the usual players are away at other engagements, summer means taking a load off, putting your feet up, and taking a break from the fun but frantic pace of the season’s sports.

It seems then that there is no better time to indulge and enjoy a cold summer ale. At this slightly noisy summer sunset, the brew is Sierra Nevada’s Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale; a first year release from the California brewery who provides us with the classic Summerfest lager.

Poured into a pint glass from a 24 ounce bottle graciously given to me as a birthday present from Jeff, the Harvest Ale pours a beautifully clean, mild amber, with a thick head that would quickly diminish at a rate much faster than the beer itself. The aroma is inoffensive, with the slightest trace of citrus and a grassy note that may have actually come from the nearby yard clippings.

The first sip offers no doubt that this is a clear winner as a solid summer beer. Without even divulging specific tastes, it simply smacks of the sunny season. Each sip holds a subtle hop bitterness; enough to provide a much welcomed refreshment from the heat and humidity of July while complementing the ever-so-slightly citrus sweetness. Make no mistake: this is not a bitter beer, this is not a sweet beer. This is a carefully balanced brew that, even as it begins to warm up, offers reprieve from the most uncomfortable climates.

When I opened this bottle, my intent was to simply enjoy a pint, review it for others in the hopes that they may be convinced to try it as well, and save the rest for later. But the sun is still setting, the heat hasn’t gone anywhere, and the relatively low (6.7%) alcohol content is light enough that it hasn’t caused any type of buzz, so I feel no shame in saying that I’ll leave you now as I venture off to finish off the bottle. Cheers!