Founders Harvest Ale - Founders Brewing Company

livewire78

Indiana

2.7/5  rDev -37.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Pours a boring yellow. This doesn't look like anything special or out of the ordinary. Average at BEST.

Smells again, average. Citrus and pine. Neither seems interesting though. Nothing going on in the Wow department here.

Ok now I'm just plain bored. The citrus and pine are there, sure, but they just kind of sit there. They don't have any depth to the flavors. The bitterness is way overdone for my taste and it seems to be bitter for the sake of being bitter and no other reason.

Feels good especially for a pale. Resinous and nicely carbonated.

If the carbonation level is my favorite thing about a beer then I'm not gonna get it again. I don't get how it's rated so high. I was really looking forward to this but I guess I'll have to say it,"The emperor has no clothes."

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2010 20:04:17 | More by livewire78

AndoBrew

Georgia

2.73/5  rDev -36.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

*did not like would not buy*

app: looks like a thick kinda cloudy hefe. yellow orange ish, looks odd.

smell: smells yummy, nice balanced hop aroma. neat mix of fruits and citrus.

taste: odd unbalanced unblended. some banana flavor, not much depth.

mf: to thick and to spritzy all at once. but ok.

drinkable??: yes it is. i just dont like it.

not bad for an over hopped usa ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2008 21:21:57 | More by AndoBrew

wvsabbath

West Virginia

2.73/5  rDev -36.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Serving Type - Bottle

Appearance - Very golden yellow, pale. Very little head. Some carbination also.

Smell -Strong fresh hop smell. Nice pineapple,orange kick with floral odor also.

Taste - Well everything was going so well up til this point. Very dry, bitter taste. The hop taste is bitter, almost no citrus flavor to them. Almost has a pilsner taste to it. Im not getting any kind of spice flavors either. This beer aint for me

Mouthfeel - I hate the aftertaste. My tounge has this bitter bland taste like ive been eating wax. Doesnt do a thing for me.

Drinkabilty - Not for me. Got a 4-pack, drank one, got 3 left that will be offered to visitors.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2010 06:28:27 | More by wvsabbath

wheelinshirt

Pennsylvania

2.83/5  rDev -34%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Picked up this stubby little 12 oz bottle from Capone's in Norristown. Seemed a little late for a wet hop beer, but i needed a hop fix so i picked this one up over bomber of great divide's wet hop, maybe should have gone the other way.

Hazy gold color with about a finger and a half of creamy, just off-white head that actually didn't last that long and left only some lacing. Little disappointing.

Smell is basically just a fresh hop. Not a lot of complexity here, but it does smell good. Wish there was a hint (just a hint) of malt, but the citrus and resiny hop smell is nice.

Taste is pretty bitter, lots of hops. Not really any malt to balance it out. As it warms up some more the hop taste seems to fade, or maybe it is just my palate adjusting--haven't had this much hops in a while. Mouthfeel is pretty poor, actually. Very thing and the slick, oily feel of it keeps it from tasting crisp. Would it have killed them to throw in a bit of caramel malt or something in there?

Drinkability is limited due to the thin body that simply cannot support the bitterness and the lack of malt presence to balance out the hop flavors. Not too bad, I guess, but i wish i had been drinking sierra nevada harvest ale instead.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2007 05:07:37 | More by wheelinshirt

dancinwillie

Wisconsin

2.9/5  rDev -32.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

$2.39 per bottle at Ottos in Brookfield, WI.

Label reads: 6.5% ABV, and 70 IBU's. I'm don't quite understand wet hopping yet, but I'm going to assume this will have fresher taste somewhat.

The pour got away from me a little bit, as I was a little aggressive, but still, this is an active head! Dense, tight bubbles at the bottom, spacious big ones in the middle, with a thick meringue-like layer on the very top. The beer itself reminds me of a thick ripe peach.

Aroma is muted, but I can faintly detect a pine scent. A little fruity sweetness too, possibly apricot or peach. A decent enough malt presence. The first couple of drinks were very good, but after that, it seems a little one-dimensional.

My favorite thing about this beer has got to be the mouthfeel. I never thought I would say anything like that, but it's true. Creamy and silky, yet the carbonation feels like it's doing a bit of dancing on your tongue.

Overall, I might try this beer again when next it's released, but I won't be paying $2.39 a bottle for it again this year.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2008 23:42:25 | More by dancinwillie

adamette

Ohio

2.9/5  rDev -32.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Live review. Poured from the 12 oz. bottle that I bought as a single for $3.49 at North Coast Wine & Beer in Cleveland on W. 117th Street two days ago into my Murphy's Irish Red pint glass. Kind of expensive if you ask me for a domestic, albeit craft, single, no? No observed "best by" date on the label.

A Very clear yellow body under a one cm creamy white head. Less than average since this style should have a nice, darker orange color in my opinion. 2.5

S Floral hops dominate. This smells like an IPA. I was a bit surprised to smell this so prominently since the label mentions that it is 70 IBU's. This is not my favorite smell in a beer but I will say that there is a distinct flowery hops (as opposed to the overbearing overripe grapefruit of other hops-centric beers). 3.5

T The hops are front and center but the mid taste was thankfully without the most severe of the hops. The same cannot be said for the first taste sensation and then a long aftertaste of bitter (but flowery) hops. I think this beer is overly hopped. 2.5

M Moderate with the stinging flowery hops and barley adding some body. 3.5

D This is supposed to be a session beer and it is just average for me due to the hop level in it. 3.0

Notes: Well after so much good news from fellow BA's about this Harvest Ale I was motivated to try it when I saw it in the cooler. Had I known that it was pretty much an IPA I might have left it there. I am going to Founders Brewing Company next week in Grand Rapids, MI and so now I know that I do not need to order this one.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2009 02:32:30 | More by adamette

Brent

Kentucky

2.95/5  rDev -31.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I feel rather bad giving this beer a less-than-excellent rating, as it is the first thing I've had from Founders that was not top-notch. Hops flavor was a bit off - herbal hovering on grassy, with a flatly bitter finish. Perhaps the hops variety just isn't hitting the spot for me, but I found myself uninterested in going for a second bottle. Gave it a second try on the chance that the one particular bottle was a bit off, but the same. A sub-par beer for me.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2009 21:47:06 | More by Brent

Vancer

Illinois

3.03/5  rDev -29.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

A new offering from Founders, and I must say it’s very disappointing. Not one of their better efforts.

Poured great – Semi-hazy orangy yellow with this massive ivory head, plenty of lace sticking to the glass sides.

Aroma was first off-note; a perfumy citrus wafted upwards, which progressed into the quaff, along with some grass and soapy notes.

Medium bodied and a bit of a slick finish. 7% alcohol per the nice looking label.

Doesn’t hold a candle next to a Sierra Nevada Harvest ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2007 14:37:29 | More by Vancer

Arbitrator

California

3.1/5  rDev -27.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Chilled bottle into a glass. A generous extra from KeefD. Thanks Keith!

A: Pours a hazy orange-amber color topped with an off-white head. Retention is moderate and there is some intricate ivy lacing down the sides.

S: Damn, this is like sniffing orange juice. Lots of orange pulp that gradually blossoms into grapefruit and tropical aromas. But primarily orange.

T: Tastes like orange up front, with a stronger variety than sensed in the nose. Grapefruit, apricot, pineapple in the mid-taste. There's a small trickling of biscuit malt that is nearly hidden by a strong grassy flavor. The finish is a moderate rubbery ethanol flavor that reminds me of a badly dry-hopped homebrew (no offense to my homebrewing friends).

M: Medium-bodied, high carbonation. Pretty cleansing, but it can't erase that rubbery astringency that closes each sip.

D: Starts off great -- really great -- but finishes badly. I'm mixed about this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2009 02:11:18 | More by Arbitrator

champ103

Texas

3.1/5  rDev -27.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Pours a perfectly clear golden/yellow color. A two finger white head forms with good retention. Lots of spiderweb looking lace is left behind.
S: Fresh cut grass, big grapefruit aromas, some citrus, and a strong bitterness. Not much sweetness for balance in the nose.
T: Big grapefruit and citrus flavors. A large lingering bitterness, and nothing in the form of sweetness or anything else for balance.
M/D: A medium body and carbonation. A bit on the thin side, and not as dry as I was expecting. A small amount of heat from the alcohol. Mostly the strong bitterness makes this harder than I would like to drink.

Not a bad beer by any means. Hop heads will really love this. Not for me though. Just to much bitterness and nothing else for balance. There are plenty other great Founders products that I will return to before this.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2010 23:02:47 | More by champ103

MbpBugeye

Ohio

3.15/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A- Psudo clear gold, only moderate haze. Big white head doesnt have much life expectancy. Droopy lace is formed for only about one ring.

S- A very buttery malt base, it has notes of buttered popcorn and bread crust. A leafy hop presence floats over top.

T- More butteriness, its getting kinda strange now. Bread crust and buttered dough form the base. Floral, lemony and leafy hops lend some bitterness to the finish.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2010 03:57:18 | More by MbpBugeye

zdk9

Texas

3.18/5  rDev -25.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A- Pours a hazy pale orange, almost yellow. A half finger of crisp head top the beer.

S- All hops. The first whiff is of sweet citrus, faintly- tangerine, grapefruit. Then there come some fresh grassiness, and subdued straw scents.

T- Fresh cut grass, and lemon are the prominent hops flavors on this one. There is perhaps the smallest hint of carmel but that all the malt I can get. The taste is weaker than I wish for, and the balance isn't quite right.

M- Rather bitter, as if there's not enough malt to balance out the hops, but also somewhat syrupy and still effervescent. The alcohol on this one is not that well hidden, as I can feel the heat even at 7%.

D- This is my first wet-hopped ale and it didn't quite meet my expectations. The hops are prominent and good, but I feel like the recipe might need some tweaking to improve the strength of the taste and the heat of the alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2007 01:11:25 | More by zdk9

morimech

Minnesota

3.2/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a pale golden to yellow/straw color with a large white head that has good retention. Moderate amount of lacing is left on the glass. The lack of depth in color was shocking for an APA, but the head and lacing that comes from the hops saved the score. Has a highly hopped aroma of grapefruit, flowers, and pine needles. That is about it from the aroma. The flavor is likewise one dimensional. This beer has one focus and that is to show off the hops. But can't we have some malt flavor? Bitter and astringent. A little hard to drink. The body is too light for so much hops and bitterness. Carbonation is ok. Not the easiest drinking beer unless you are a hophead. I understand what the brewer is doing here but I do not care that much for the effort.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2009 21:58:29 | More by morimech

Auracom

Illinois

3.2/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz. single purchased from MSCM. 6 oz. served in a C&B tulip on November 9th, 2012.

A - Very clear,straw-golden color. Thin, one finger white head with quick reduction. Moderate lacing.

S - This gets close to the target. Sticky hop resin. Dank. Herbal. Slight fruit juices. Touch of caramel malts. Quite inviting.

T - Mellow. Boring even. Wet hop bitterness, fresh grass, and bready carbonation. The back half of the palate is severely underwhelming in overall flavor.

M - Light medium body, low carbonation, lightly dry finish.

D - Smells better than it tastes. It's just too... polite. It's reasonably accessible, but I'm not sure it shows me anything I haven't seen before. Disappointment here.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2012 22:23:17 | More by Auracom

dubinsky

California

3.23/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - pours a mostly clear orange color with a 1/4 in cheap that dissipated quickly. Minimal lacing. It's a nice looking beer.

S - I do have a cold so I will be gentle here. The aroma is not great for an IPA. Very bready and malty. Minimal hop aroma to speak of. Yeah, that's me being gentle. I don't care for the smell.

T - Nice! Thank god taste doesn't follow aroma. Nice grapefruit flavor with a flavor that I can't put my finger on. Kind of bready, but still has that typical fresh hop flavor.

M - Medium body with decent carbonation. The finish is fairly dry.

O - This is a nice beer, but I must say its up against some stiff competition. Beers like Celebration, chasing freshies and other wet hop IPAs make this one seem ordinary. It's good, not great.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 22:39:12 | More by dubinsky

chugalug06

Colorado

3.25/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Foggy, orange brew. White cloudy fluffy head. Lacing is on the rim only.

Crisp, yet unrefined aroma. Soapy, musty, and apricot.

Very wet, moist, crisp, bitter yet sweet. It hits the tongue in a odd way.. It doesn't finish clean or crisp. Very average flavors; nothing amazing or earth moving.

Very dry from the hops and doesn't excite too much. I'll take an Odell.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 06:17:46 | More by chugalug06

mgoblue5743

New Jersey

3.35/5  rDev -21.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is a very average beer coming out of Founders Brewery. I have generally found this brewery to be of excellent quality.

This is a so-so seasonal brew. I wouldn't go out of my way or trade for it, but it's not bad. There are a few other Octoberfest style beers that I like better this year (Weyerbacher, Victory).

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2010 20:21:52 | More by mgoblue5743

jsanford

Georgia

3.38/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at the Distillery in Savannah, GA on 12/11/10

A - Clear gold with a fluffy white head. Nice sticky lacing and good retention.
S - Crisp grapefruit and pine resin dominate with a minimal malt backbone. Very herbal and fresh.
T - Very resinous with heaps of pineapple and grapefruit. Pretty good, but it's not my favorite hop profile in the world. The pine resin gets to be a bit much for me, as does the sweetness.
M - Medium bodied with medium-low carbonation. Smooth and just a bit sticky.
D - I had no problem drinking the one I ordered, but I wouldn't order another one. I'm glad I tried it, as I enjoy most Founders brews, but if I want a good fresh-hopped beer, I'll look for a Celebration.

Serving type: on-tap

12-16-2010 04:20:24 | More by jsanford

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.43/5  rDev -20%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours an effervescent, deep yellow body with a lush, foamy (and lasting) white head.

Smell: Soapy, citric-smelling hop aroma with notes of tropical citrus fruits.

Taste: You don't get more than a pinch of malts before the hops kick in with tropical fruity flavors and bittersweet ruby red grapefruit juice. Moderate bitterness with a citric sting that lasts into the finish.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium carbonation. Oily mouthfeel.

Drinkability: A decent beer, just notr my favorite of the harvest ales.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2007 21:08:23 | More by ChainGangGuy

GJ40

North Carolina

3.45/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Sampled from a 12 oz bottle in a DFH pint glass.

A - A very light straw colored ale with good clarity. The white head is huge (too much in fact) even with the gentlest pour. Nice lacing.

S - A very floral and fruity aroma. Some spice as well.

T - Heavy on the hops and light on the malt (which as a concept is perfectly fine with me). The hops are mostly floral and grassy with very little citrus or bitterness. I thought the flavor was pretty good but I found it too dry.

M - Way too much carbonation for my taste. A bit on the thin side too.

D - With the exception of the carbonation, I found it enjoyable. I had high hopes for this one but I didn't think it was worthwhile; especially at $10 / 4 pack. I could get a Stone or Lagunitas IPAs for less.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2008 20:53:51 | More by GJ40

tewaris

Minnesota

3.45/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Founders Harvest Ale
Fresh hop ale (APA - AIPA in my opinion)
6.5% ABV, 70 IBUs

Must have been bottled a couple weeks ago but the date in unintelligible like most date stamps on Founders beers. Fail. Poured into a generic pint glass.

Much lighter colored than other pale ales, the color of Harvest is somewhere between a pilsner and the usual pale: true amber color with a rather small but dense and creamy head. The head retention is fine; minimal lacing.

Tropical fruit and mowed lawn in aroma, this one is late hopped and dry hopped. I suppose this hop profile is getting too pedestrian though and I really don't see the appeal of "wet" hopping. Fairly similar to your typical west coast pale/IPA I say.

Taste is nice... restrained malts with plenty of hop flavor and bitterness. Drinks way thinner than an average pale ale but I am content. Reaffirms by belief in Upper Midwestern pale ales. Daisy Cutter, Zombie Dust, and now this. The bitterness, although not over the top, is certainly assertive and lingering and the finish is dry. A fine beer but too bad it cannot be sessioned. My yardstick might be biased but this is my opinion... if Town Hall can cram a boatload of hops in a 4-5% ABV beer, why not others?

3.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 3.5

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2011 08:08:14 | More by tewaris

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.45/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

We pour a brew of pale golden coloring. It holds a two finger head of massive, cakey white bubbles. This shows excellent retention, leaving sticky, spidery lacing down the sides of the glass. Carbonation appears moderate, and while no sediment is noted, light constellations of haze swirl about the glass. The aroma hits hard with fat grapefruit and floral hops. Sweetness comes from fruit of pineapple and lightly toasted pale malts. There is a metallic twinge, with creamy lactics and phenolic plastics once warmed. The booze seeps out late, along with a deepening of the hops to a resiny, earthy bitterness. Our first impression is that while the beginning is a bit muted, the finish is robust with pucker. From the nose you would also expect a much sweeter drink. As we sip, phenolic plastics and bright resiny hops start things off. These are fleeting when sipped quickly, but flourish to a greenstick, resiny bitterness of earthen hops and minerals when held in the mouth to linger. The middle peaks with washed pale malts, and a thin wheatiness, with bite from alcohol and more of those phenols. The hops come in full through the end, with raw, herbal, earthy, piney, resiny, bittering bite and pucker. There is light bready toast to blend, but this is minimal. The aftertaste breathes of herbal hops, oily resin, mineral, metallic yeast, peppery booze, and muddy pale malts. The body is airy and medium, and the carbonation is light to medium. There is lightness to the slurp, smack, cream, and froth, and the feel is thin on the sip. The mouth is left cooled, with little coating. There is an eventual astringent dryness, with significant pucker from the bitterness. The abv is appropriate, and the beer drinks decently.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was the aroma. There was such a floral blend of hops, with earth and citrus, while sweetness and light malts came in to cut and balance. This left the drinker feeling light and airy, and excited to sip. This was, however, disappointing. The flavoring was relatively one-dimensional, with huge, raw bitterness from start to finish. While this gave nice robustness to the palate, it really washed away many of the other balancing aromatics. The feel was equally as thin, and felt a little cheap off the lip, taking away further from the experience.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 01:56:01 | More by TheBrewo

JDV

Texas

3.48/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle courtesy of Demitriustown
Pours cloudy orange with a bright white medium sized head. Smell is sweet orange and caramelly malt with a lively citrusy and fresh hop character. Taste is a bit of a muted, dull, malt with a citrusy orange like hop character. Mouthfeel was about average, and neither thin nor thick. Pleasant and mild hop flavor and bitterness overall. Nice, but I'm unable to tell that this is a fresh hop beer, and don't get that spicy, tingly hop flavor I get in some others. Still, a quality beer that I really enjoyed and am glad I got to try. Thanks for the awesome bonus, Andrew!

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2008 19:20:33 | More by JDV

AltBock

Ohio

3.48/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. stubby bottle with a cool looking up close drawing of a heart shaped hop bud. Off to the left and right of the bumpy heart shaped hop bud is where you'll find all the mandatory US information. It's on the small neck label where you can find the IBU level (70) and the ABV % (6.5%).

As soon as I poured this beer into my Bell's pint glass, up rises like a cloud of smoke one fluffy 2 inch pure white head of foam. This cotton white head of foam had great retention that left behind small blots of lace and a 1/4 of an inch milky white film. Under this white film was a hazy and bright lemon meringue yellow colored beer. This beer was so damn hazy that I couldn't even see the shadows of my fingers on the other end of the glass. It's one of those beers that you have to see to believe.

The hops in the aroma had that wet tea leaf aroma to them. The hops weren't all that bitter or sweet. Backing up the wet hops was a splash of lemon peel and the scent of sweet grapefruit. There was no sign of the malt backbone in the aroma. Did it need the malt backbone? It could have helped.

This beer started off crispy with a touch of lemon and then the hops kicked in. These hops were mildly hoppy and of the citrus variety. This hoppy taste didn't last all that long and then the hops gave way to the sweet grapefruit. I hate to say it, but that was it for the taste. There was no sign of the malts in the taste either. Did the taste need the malts? Like the aroma, it could have helped.

This was a medium bodied APA with crispy carbonation and a mild hoppy aftertaste of citrus hops and a gentle touch of lemon peel.

Because this beer had "Founders" on the label, I had high hopes for this beer. Don't get me wrong, it's a good beer, but a little more hops would do this beer justice.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2009 03:07:29 | More by AltBock

BeerSox

Virginia

3.48/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into nonic.

Clear pale golden hue with a thin off-white head that slowly settles to a thin cap. Stringy lacing.

Very sharp and fruity hops, with a good amount of grapefruit and pineapple.

The hops seem to disappear from the flavor, very surprising considering the aroma. The hops are more tea-like, sitting on top of a sweet bread-like malt base. Full bodied, low carbonation.

I've got 3 more of these. I was hoping for something better and if one of the others deliver that I'll update this review.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2009 01:15:44 | More by BeerSox