Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest 2012

This is a wet hop ale from the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company of Chico, California. They also do a Southern Hemisphere version when it is hop harvest season on the south half of the globe. Wet hop beers use freshly harvested hops as quickly as possible, before they dry. The beer is 6.7% ABV.

The beer pours a deep amber and copper in color, almost nearing a ruby tint. There is a very tall head of off-white foam. The aroma has lots of citrus, orange, tangerine, lemon, lime and grapefruit. The taste is citrus on a solid bed of roasted, toasted, dark caramel malt. The finish is moderately to quite bitter. There are notes of tobacco and dark tea with lemon. The mouthfeel is smooth. Well constructed, but not transcendental.