Heavy Seas - Hop Harvest Ale - Heavy Seas Beer

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.45/5  rDev -8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

22 ounce bottle - $5.99 at Olde Crabapple Bottle Shoppe in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours a dark walnut-hued body with a two-finger high foam layer, light beige in color.

Smell: There's a roastiness present, though not overly effusive in the nose with hoppy notes of newly mown lawn and citrus over top and a faint hint of substandard chocolate in the background.

Taste: Initial lightly toasty, roasty, and unsweetened chocolate malt flavors, though none of them particularly potent. Light sweetness. What follows is a fluttering of minutely citric lemon rind and a small sprinkling of fresh lawn clippings, though not much bitterness, really. Drying, slightly roasted finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium carbonation.

Overall: A gentle, laid-back porter is definitely not the typical vessel for fresh-picked hops. With the subtle malt flavors, I was expecting the hops to be a bit more robust, but, no, they're pretty mild-mannered, too. So, it's kind of benign all around.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2011 19:50:12 | More by ChainGangGuy

smokeypeat

Maryland

3.7/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Saw this on the shelf for the first time and picked it up. This is probably my favorite Heavy Seas label yet. I'm a sucker for locally fresh hopped beers and I was intrigued that it was labeled as a porter rather than a IPA which is how I've had every other fresh hopped beer.

Pours a deep chocolate brown into the glass. Head was an aggressive eggshell white but it dissipated fairly quickly. Aromas on this one are intriguing. Getting a lot of nice hop presence up front with some good light citrus notes. At the same time though there is a strong malt biscuity smell with some slight chocolate showing up. Upon tasting the fresh hops really come through up front and linger throughout. Some fresh cut grass, springtime flowers and lemon zest are all present. The characteristic "porter" side of the taste is very muted. I'm not getting any up front roast or chocolate tones. There is definitely some roasted malt balancing the hops but I would call this more of a black IPA than a porter. Mouthfeel is very thin as well for any type of porter, again more of a black IPA feel.

Overall, I enjoyed this beer as something different to have. Really its labeling as a porter style through me more than anything. I could see myself picking it up again while the hops are super fresh.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2011 15:41:09 | More by smokeypeat