Highland Little Hump Spring Ale - Highland Brewing

knoxtennessee

Tennessee

4.48/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Barley's in Knoxville. Great clear straw gold color.

That great dry hopped aroma. Citrus and spice, a little grassy.

Has good hop flavor and a great unexpected malt complexity. Biscuits and bread doe.

Good med-light mouth feel.

Nice clean finish with malt and hop balancing very well.

Great pale ale/bitter. More balance and character that. Most APAs.

Serving type: on-tap

05-21-2013 17:35:36 | More by knoxtennessee

KickbacksSteve

Florida

3.89/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

On tap at Kickbacks in Jax. Poured into a snifter. Fluffy, white head, good retention on a clear, golden body. Soapy lacing. Aroma includes a fresh hop bitterness, including lemon zest, grass, pine, maybe a touch of lime and the slightest aroma of earthy cheese. Taste is actually less bitter than expected. Very palatable, I would think, to the average beer drinker and satisfying to the most discerning palates. Very sessionable and nice.

Serving type: on-tap

05-13-2013 03:52:11 | More by KickbacksSteve

barczar

Kentucky

3.41/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours a brilliant golden straw with a frothy one inch ivory head that leaves modest lacing as it slowly dissipates.

Grainy malt, floral hops, resin, and that amarillo umami note form the initial aroma. Grapefruit pith and onion add complexity.

Flavor is very minerally initially, with lime, lemon, and resin fading to bready malt into the finish. Underpinnings of lime and bitterness are somewhat fleeting, and the finish is only slightly bitter and peppery. More malt than expected.

Body is a touch light, with moderate to slightly high carbonation and a somewhat crisp finish. There's a noticeable amount of astringency.

Somewhat one note in hop flavoring, and I'm just not a fan of that minerally character.
More malt presence than expected, and bitterness balances well.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 23:22:05 | More by barczar

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

"Can I get a Little Hump?"
It really matters which bar in which this question is asked.

Highland's spring seasonal ale opens with an extra pale straw color. Bright in clarity it shines with active carbonation. A fluffy and somewhat airy head builds upon the beer with cottony-white froth that easily endures the session and laces the glass with intricate collared patterns.

Bright and zesty aromas are distinctly of American hops. Grapefruit peels, freshly zested oranges and light herbal botanical all align on a base of dry cracker-like malts and the most of supple floral honey notes.

Little Hump's refreshing taste is terse dry bread, grainy-sweet bit early. But the sweetness easily gives way in order to favor hop flavor on the middle palate. True citrus zest simply bounce from the tongue with grapefruit, ripe oranges, light lemon zest, and fragrant grassy notes. Finishing bitter-balanced, a minerally taste similar to seltzer water.

Light and crisp throughout, the beer is effortless on the palate as the malts are easily carried by its zesty carbonation which ushers in a quick and snappy finish that makes the ale as quaffable as any lager. Finishing with a light minty-cool evaporation and mild sulfury scrubbing, the ale continues to surprise the palate even in its short-lived aftertaste.

Little Hump is a remarkably drinkable and enjoyable American Pale Ale. It tilts toward hops because of its suppressed malt taste and texture and its heightened citrus hop aromatics. But its so wonderful to drink that its style flaws are easily forgiven.

Welcome to Kentucky, Highland Brewing Company!

Serving type: on-tap

04-10-2013 16:39:48 | More by BEERchitect

Dodo2step

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

P- thanks to my buddy Trask for this brew

A-clar pale yellow with a twinge of green it seems. huge frothy head that looks like a foam pillow with air sacs.

S-orange and wildflower aromas. earthy malts as well.

F- bready malts and light floral hop flavor. Surprsingly very simple but very tasty.

M- earthy and smooth. Very crisp and leaves minimal aftertaste.

D- decent APA and could drink it very weekend. Nice during the summer.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2012 17:18:39 | More by Dodo2step

chickenflea

Florida

3.3/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

12-oz bottle. Began with anticipation. Highland has some solid offerings in their line-up. Beer pours a light clear orange. Stiff white head that settles into a rocky meringue-like foam within 5 minutes. Good lacing. Aroma is orange and dandelions with a hint of spice. Taste is pleasant and clean. Not sweet, but not that bitter. Texture is soft. Low carbonation. Refreshing and easy drinking. A dry finish. Not a sipping beer. Tastes best in big swallows.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2012 22:18:09 | More by chickenflea

nickfl

Florida

3.85/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours with one finger of white foam on top of a lightly hazy, golden body. The head settles fairly quickly and leaves only light lace.

S - Spicy hops with a green note of pine and a touch of toffee.

T - Bready malt up front with some spicy hops. More green hop flavor in the middle with a touch of dry toast. Moderate bitterness and dry malt in the finish with a bit of spicy hop flavor.

M - Medium body, moderately high carbonation, and a dry finish.

D - The beer has a nice hop character with pine showing up in both the aroma and flavor. The malt is present in small doses, but it is excessively dry and the beer would be quite a bit more drinkable with a bit more sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2012 04:04:46 | More by nickfl

Jadjunk

Georgia

3.65/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a six pack of this for $8.99 at a local package store. I've had Little Hump a many times before but only reviewed on tap. Lets see if my opinion of this beer changes.

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle to a pint glass. Served at 43º Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a crisp frothy head of a pure white color. Retention is average. Body color is a pale golden yellow. Carbonation is abundant, varied and active. It's a pretty nice looking American Pale Ale, although head quality could improve significantly. 3.5

(Smell) Pale malts, a touch of grain, grapefruit hops and a lesser grassy hop presence. Hop presence is really nice in this beer and the malt bill adds an equal amount of complexity and depth to the aroma as well. Potency is above average. Really nice aroma. 4.5

(Taste) A mild bitterness and crisp pale malt front grows in intensity to a bold bitter and grainy finish. The hop presence is pretty nice and makes this a really good tasting beer, but there is a definite limited flavor brought in by the malt character, leaving the taste quite unbalanced and a bit shallow. Aside from the malt limitation, the hop flavor has real potential and is spot-on. 3.5

(Mouthfeel) Crisp but not striking carbonation presence is pretty good texture for the flavor, although body limitations leaves the beer tasting a bit watery and shallow. Alcohol presence is low. Body is low. Nice texture pairing but a shallow body leaves for something more desired. 3

(Overall) Second time around I am more susceptible to more of the flaws in this beer which include a limited body that leaves a blank spot where more flavor should be. Hops are ideal in this beer but I'm finding that a bit more malt flavor to balance would perfect this beer's recipe. Aside from a few of the usual culprits of the style (head quality and limited flavor profiles), this beer is quite enjoyable and is certainly a decent American Pale Ale to be savored or consumed in sessions. 3.5

Highland Brewing's
Little Hump Spring Ale
3.65/5.00

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2012 01:39:55 | More by Jadjunk

Georgiabeer

Georgia

2.8/5  rDev -25.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Another fairly mediocre low abv beer. I'm all for session beers- I wish there were more of them, but I'm beginning to suspect that most breweries can't make them very well, hence their dearth. This one pours golden with a moderate head and constant streams of bubbles. I'd go so far as to say it is "fizzy". Smells, grainy, grassy, mildly bitter, and light. Washed out comes to mind. The taste is a little bizarre- quite bitter but with little discernible hop flavor on a grainy watery base with little overall flavor. Perhaps there is some flavor lurking there, but who could tell with the bitterness overwhelming everything. Unbalanced and a disappointment.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 02:33:59 | More by Georgiabeer

Cyberkedi

Georgia

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Aroma is yeasty, woody, and rather grassy. It pours a rather wan clear yellow, but at least the white head is thick and fluffy. Malty flavor has a strong hoppy, grassy overtone with a subtle note of yeast and a fair amount of bitterness, rather like an IPA. Texture is rather thin, though it has a good tingle. Though not Highland’s best effort, still worth at least a try. (And refreshing on a May day that feels like August!)

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2012 14:47:29 | More by Cyberkedi

cyclonece09

Virginia

3.78/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a 14 oz "pint" glass. Pours a straw color with a one finger white head that dissipates fairly quickly but leaves nice lacing. Smells of grassy and earthy tones, not too strong, but very pleasant. Tastes of earthy and grassy hops with some malt overtones, very good. Carbonation is great and good finish for this light bodied beer. Overall, a good beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2012 00:31:24 | More by cyclonece09

jsanford

Georgia

3.78/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a clear light gold with a dense and creamy white hear that settles to a thin cap, leaving behind some soapy lacing.
S - Fresh, crisp aromas of grassy American hops with a lightly toasted caramel malt profile.
T - More clean flavors of grassy hops, citrus, and lightly toasted bready malt. Nice and drinkable, perfect on a hot day.
M - Smooth and light, with a thin body and good carbonation.
O - I love all the sessionable hoppy beers that have been hitting shelves lately (Founders All Day IPA, Terrapin Easy Rider, New Belgium Dig), and this is another nice addition. Keep it up!

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2012 02:59:29 | More by jsanford

Heavenisbeer

Georgia

2.78/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: A cloudy lager body, with lively carbonation and a bleach white lasting head. The light lacing is enough to reveal its non-lager being.

S: Light funky hops with a touch of citrus. A sprinkle of grains on the backend.

T: Hollow dry hops lead the way into a grainy middle and a flat finish.

M: Very slight tickle from the hops midway lead into a dry finish.

Certainly sessionable, but not much else to say.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2012 03:01:39 | More by Heavenisbeer

argock

Virginia

3.13/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12oz brown bottle into a clear glass goblet. No freshness date. Single purchased at Ingles (Boone, NC) for $1.49.

A: Slightly hazy golden with short 1-finger off-white head with decent retention and lacing.

S: The aroma is pretty off-putting and reminds me of sweat/BO and spring onions.

T: There is a pale maltiness that provides some body and some residual sweetness. The hoppiness is thankfully much different than the aroma with a lot of lemon citrus, herbal tones, and floral notes.

M: Light-to-medium bodied with medium-high carbonation.

O: Not too bad once you get past the aroma.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2012 02:54:46 | More by argock

rangerred

Tennessee

3.9/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass.

Pours a slightly hazy golden yellow with a one finger white had. Moderate lacing on the sides of the glass.

Smells quite hoppy with some earthy/grassy notes. A little bready malt as well.

Some nice grassy hops up front leading to a litte bit of bready grain and grapefruit. This is slightly fleeting as a mild bitterness takes over cleaning the flavors off the palate. A fairly dry, watery finish.

Overall this is a decent session beer with good flavor. Unfortunately, the price point makes sessioning this beer pretty expensive.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2012 20:42:52 | More by rangerred

John1985

Tennessee

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Ale pour a medium gold with a finger of head. Spicy hopped aroma. Flavor was a burst of hop bitterness and that smoothed in the middle and ended with a pleasant bitterness. Light bodied and quite quaff-able. Simple? maybe, but a very tasty session ale that does what it was intended. I enjoyed this very much. It is kinda pricey in my area for a session ale but I might grab another sixer.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2012 01:11:24 | More by John1985

donmonkey1

Tennessee

3.7/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Appearance: Straw yellow, lacking carbonation, a small white head that dissipates way too fast. There is decent lacing from the bubbles gathered around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Pine needles

Taste: Pine needles, floral. Not too pine and very tasty. Perfect for a hop attack.

This is an excellent quality beer, very refreshing, nicely hopped.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2012 00:38:29 | More by donmonkey1

tdm168

North Carolina

3.63/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pale gold with a short layer of loose, foamy, soft white head that has decent retention. The nose has a light, spicy, floral hop aroma. The flavor is light malt up front with an herbal, spicy, lightly bitter hop finish. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied, smooth, and crisp.

This is a drinkable, smooth, refreshing beer, but ultimately it's simple, one-dimensional, and a little unbalanced. If the malt character had some backbone it may stand up better to the earthy, spicy hop bitterness. The hops overpower what little malt shines through. Overall, this is probably a one and done for me.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2012 18:21:54 | More by tdm168

VncentLIFE

North Carolina

3.18/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Gotta try this seasonal. Pour has a very light yellow body. Thick large bubbles cling to the side of the SA perfect pint. Low carbonation, especially considering the glass involved.

Smells malt forward. What hops I find are medicinal and earthy.

Its an APA for sure, but in a different category than Zombie Dust. Its so balanced, with a earthy feeling. Tastes slightly skunked, maybe I should revisit this sometime soon.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2012 23:25:16 | More by VncentLIFE

Merkur

Tennessee

4.15/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Beer pours a straw color with a good amount of thick white head.

Beer smells bittersweet. Very strong grapefruit smell.

Beer tastes very bitter at first. Very sharp grapefruit taste before giving way to a very crisp finish.

Beer is very light in body and very drinkable. Excellent session beer.

Serving type: on-tap

03-03-2012 15:38:46 | More by Merkur

AgentZero

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Peach/orange colored beer with a minimal white head that didn't stay for long and left no lace or anything else on the glass.

S - A litle bit of resin bitterness, some pale sweet malts, slight bitter grapefruit. There is some sort of sweeter smell i here as well.

T - There is an interesting taste of apricot in this one. It's a sweeter, more malt-forward APA. Not a hoppy ABA, by any means. Decent malt profile, and easy enough to get down, it's not bad.

M - Lower carbonation, lighter side of medium bodied.

O - I was fairly whelmed by this one. Not a bad beer, and it's actually slightly above average if you like a sweeter APA.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 02:35:36 | More by AgentZero

PDXHops

South Carolina

4.35/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12 ounce bottle poured into a Duvel tulip (back in March when it was very fresh). See-thru light gold topped with a thickish, almost meringuelike white head that sticks around impressively and leaves nice soapy lacing.

The dry hopping is apparent from the first sniff. Pine resin, grapefruit zest and lightly toasted grains are the chief components in the very fresh nose. A ton of grapefruit and pine flavors, yet it's smooth drinking with a nice juiciness until the swallow. At that point, things turn clean and grainy. There's a load of hop character crammed into this small (ABV) brew, yet it doesn't necessarily feel like an 'IPA Light' kinda APA. Just a really nice sessionable brew with a ton of hop flavor, but not a lot of bitterness to get in the way of drinkability. Easily the best Highland brew.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2011 01:03:27 | More by PDXHops

kylehay2004

Florida

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: golden clear yellow with rapidly dissipating white head. Little lace. Clear and golden.

S: floral, grapefruit aroma

T: very very floral with herbal and grainy notes. Mild bitterness.

M: dry. Mild bodied. Crisp finish.

O: the dryness was unexpected. In my early experience rating beers, I have not have a beer as floral as this one. I like this one.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2011 15:21:19 | More by kylehay2004

chinchill

South Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I popped the cap on this bottle without inspecting it, so I was pleasantly surprised by the very hoppy aroma emanating from a bottle labelled "Spring Ale": it smells a lot more like an IPA than like the light fare I was anticipating. Aroma is notably fresh, with a malt component largely overpowered by the hops.

Excellent hoppy flavor to go with the aroma, yet with a rather limited bitterness. Hops (Simcoe, Amarillo and Cascade) have citrus and earthy elements with a little spruce, and leave a lasting and quite enjoyable aftertaste.

The beer itself is golden, clear, and covered with a modest but durable white head.

M - More body than the color suggests but still on the light side; semi-dry, markedly crisp finish. Ample carbonation.

O- an excellent Spring seasonal that I'd be happy to have year-around.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2011 22:22:22 | More by chinchill

CoalPorter

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a bottle from the mix and match case at my local Whole Foods. Poured into a pint glass.

A - 1/2 inch head dissapates to a thin layer that hangs on, no lacing to speak of
color is golden yellow, with a lot of suspended sediment causing a haze, (didn't see a warning about bottle yeast when I poured)
carbonation is evident in little streams of bubbles

S - amarillo and cascade hops come through with cirtus notes, lemon and tangerine at the fore

T - hop cirtus and grapefruit peel up front lead to a pleasant bready middle, then into an astringent bitterness that lingers
mouthfeel is quite bubbly, medium to light

D - the bitterness that comes through the end of the brew makes it difficult to go back for more than one, but the sediment leads me to believe I might have gotten a bad bottle

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2011 00:24:02 | More by CoalPorter