Harvester Experiment (IPA)
Ground Breaker Brewing

Harvester Experiment (IPA)Harvester Experiment (IPA)
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From:
Ground Breaker Brewing
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
5.8%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.4 | pDev: 18.53%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
24
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 04, 2017
Added:
Jul 31, 2012
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by harrymel:
Photo of harrymel
Reviewed by harrymel from Washington

1.95/5  rDev -42.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2
Bottled: unk

Golden and has etched surface of fine whites. Smelled nice and hoppy in the bottle, but as soon as it hit the glass an overbearing plastic smell, some body odor hops and a little rice. Taste is sharp, kinda chemical, plastic, some soyonnaise, not good. Medium bodied with tight, slightly hi carb and a dry finish. Hopefully this is just old, because if it's like this fresh, this ain't my cup of tea.
Feb 23, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.52 by wordemupg from Canada (AB)

Jun 04, 2017
 
Rated: 3.24 by chickenm from Canada (BC)

Jan 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by HoppySeb from Washington

Sep 17, 2014
Photo of mactrail
Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

3.33/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
Color is very pale but it has a little head and everything beery. Flavor is rather sweet and peculiar, but the Horizon, Crystal, and Santiam hops do their job, and it's rather aromatic. Thin, astringent, herbal flavors. It tastes of celery and yams with lemon.

This really should be in a caegory of gluten-free or non-traditional ingredients. It makes a good facsimile of beer, but it's still strange. I can't see the slightest reason to drink a brew like this unless you are on a non-gluten diet. So people in that situation would want to know what are the more well-liked GF brews.

In any case, this stuff is quite drinkable, and it sucks so much less than most of these non-barley concoctions, Harvester should get a medal. How do you make an affordable beer when one of your main ingredients is chestnuts? From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Special Brews in Lynnwood, Washington.
Aug 11, 2014
 
Rated: 2 by anteater from Oregon

Jul 30, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by staceya2 from Washington

Jun 21, 2014
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.79/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
650ml bottle, one of the few GF IPAs that I have yet to come across. Made with the same chestnut/GF oats/tapioca concoction as its sister brews, but now with some sexy new-age hops.

This beer pours a murky, medium golden amber hue, with two fingers of puffy, weakly foamy, and bubbly dirty white head, which leaves a bit of sudsy island group lace around the glass as it slowly ebbs away.

It smells of bitter, dank pine and leafy hops, a bit of overripe grapefruit and orange pith, a nutty sweetness, gritty vanilla pudding, and a strange warm spiciness, that I'm pretty sure is the sorghum. The taste is sweet, well I gotta say it - Neapolitan ice cream - vanilla, mild dark fruit, and a chocolate-flecked nuttiness, with a splash of west coast IPA on it, as the pine resin, acrid citrus, and bitter leafiness seem somewhat disjointed from the whole. A smidge of alcohol astringency worms its way in as things warm up.

The carbonation is quite average, manifesting as a tight-assed frothiness, the body just on the lee side of medium weight, and a tad too prickly (yup, the hops) to be deemed outright smooth. It finishes off-dry, the nutty and vanilla essences still prominent, amongst a still heady, and musty pine, leafy, and floral hoppiness.

Well, I've certainly had proper IPAs with much less interesting and/or enthusiastic malt bills as this one does. The hops strive to be the star here, and they surely have the spunk to go far, babe, but with GF brews, I have to pay more attention to the sweetness counterpoint, because of its stereotypically inherent weakness. So, survey says: everything's fine, people, Harvester hits another standing triple with their deft combination of malt-adjacent ingredients, and gets to keep their West Coast IPA cred, or whatever, for the aforementioned hops.
May 31, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by schopenhauerale from Arizona

Apr 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by cburns48 from Vermont

Nov 30, 2013
Photo of Bookseeb
Reviewed by Bookseeb from Washington

3/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Appearance is light orange amber in color supporting a healthy head leaving fair lace. Smell has a medicinal aroma with light hops in the back. Taste has the sweetness of the base ingredients balanced with the hops. Mouthfeel is light medium with good carbonation. Considering that it's GF and my first, I have nothing to relate it to, but it's not to bad.
Nov 14, 2013
Photo of lancecenter
Reviewed by lancecenter from Texas

3.01/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
A - crystal clear golden color, head dissipates quickly. No lacing.

S - What am I smelling here? Not much. The hop smell is kinda subdued.

T/M - This is not bad for a regular pale ale. A little bit of citrusy hops. Still a bit of that cider/sorghum taste that's common for the style.

O - One of the better gluten-free beers, but most definitely not hoppy enough to be called an IPA.
Oct 06, 2013
Photo of mfnmbvp
Reviewed by mfnmbvp from Illinois

3.85/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22 oz. bottle, with no apparent bottled on date present. A friend brought this back from a recent trip to Portland, Oregon. This bottle simply identifies this beer as Harvester Brewing IPA. My first beer from this brewery, split the bottle with my cousin.

Poured into a clear balloon snifter glass.

A - Pours a nice bright golden orange colored body, with less than one finger of bone white froth for a head. Looks pretty okay, but borderline ordinary appearance.

S - Smell is also kind of tame. Grainy rice presence, some alcohol fumes, tropical citric hops, & a hint of vegetal spice rack notes, presumably from the sorgham.

T - Taste is of bitter vegetal / flroal / piney hops from the Cascade hops used here. Cloves. Tart citrus. Some grain / wheat. Tastes very pure and natural, and mad props for going gluten free.

M - Feel is lightly tart, crisp, & citric. Finishes dry and bitter in the same vain as a lot of IPA's.

Overall, a nice full-bodied, and full-flavored IPA, suitable for both our gluten intolerant friends and standard IPA lovers alike. Highly recommended drinking if it is available to you.

Harvester Brewing IPA ---4/5.
Sep 20, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by jbeervt from Vermont

Sep 13, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by CoryR from Oregon

Jul 29, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by Chris-MOC9 from Oregon

Jun 28, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by beernads from Florida

Jun 12, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Hopmodium from Washington

May 31, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by Sokool from Washington

May 19, 2013
Photo of BourbonBetty
Reviewed by BourbonBetty from Maine

4.03/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Nice golden color with a fluffy head. Retention isn't ok, not great, but leaves a little lacing. A great accomplishment for a gf beer.

Hop aroma is typical of a good west coast style IPA, piney and fruity. Slight oxidation. We've been spoiled by some lushly aromatic IPAs of late and this one isn't quite in that league but it isn't far behind either. Bet it's better super fresh. Like previous reviewer, it's a shame they don't date their bottles.

Again, nice hop character, not the best, but nice. What sells it is the nutty chestnut flavor. Typically I imagine a gf IPA struggles without a deep, malty backbone to stand up to all that resinous hoppiness. Here the chestnuts are unexpected but they really work to keep the flavors full and balanced.

Mouthfeel isn't too thin like some gf brews, nicely carbonated, tongue feels happily coated.

For GF it's darn good. It is one of the first to gf beers stand up on it's own in the arena of regular beers and while it certainly won't win any prizes against all that is out there, it can run competently in the middle of the pack.
Mar 10, 2013
Harvester Experiment (IPA) from Ground Breaker Brewing
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 24 ratings