Vista Farms Harvest Ale 2008
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

 

Draught @ Victory: This one pours a clear, golden color. It has a frothy white head on it, which leaves some lacing down the glass. The aroma is nice, being lightly sweet with some earthy, grassy hops. The taste is good also. Some hop bite, with some caramel malt sweetness in the background. A touch of fruit also, perhaps pear?

Made with PA grown hops from Vista Farms.

A-Bright golden orange tinted yellow with a medium meringue-like white head. This reduces to a thin ring and leaves decent lace behind.

S-Floral, fresh grassy/earthy with a touch of spicy hops and a bit of backing malt sweetness.

T-Present, but not overpowering earthy hop bite. Balanced malt sweetness adds caramel notes and a light tartness of citrus.

M-Medium bodied with a crisp/bright feel. Finsihes dry but still retains smoothness.

D-Tasty, smooth and easy drinking. Doesn't "pop" like some other, and better, harvest brews but for a first time effort using homegrown hops this is nicely done. Given the under 6% ABV this would be an easy beer to session.

On tap at Victory's brewpub on 12/12/08

Poured a clear gold with orange hues. Thin white head has OK retention and leaves some good lacing behind. Smells of fresh floral hops, honey, earth, and a touch of citrus and spicy hops. Tastes primarily of earthy hops with some dankness and fruits accompanying. Bready malts, caramel, and citrus add some sweetness with some spicy hops and grassiness in the finish. Medium in body with moderate carbonation. Smooth with a nice crisp dry bitter finish. Different from their usual harvest ale, this one has more subtle hop flavors and focuses more on the earthy side of the hop spectrum. Still, easy to drink and enjoyable, just a different beast than the other Harvest they brew.

had on 11.14.08 at Victory.

was excited for a fresh hopped beer - but was slightly dissapointed.

pours a nice golden yellow with slight tints of orange. decent lacing left in the glass. decent head. mild hop smell, but not much there at all.

very crisp taste. they served it too cold - so i had to let it sit for a bit. crisp malt taste and hop combo. hits on the very front and roof of the mouth. was hoping for quite a bit more hop flavor, especially since it is listed as an IPA.

mouthfeel and drinkability were great. while the flavor may not have been to my expectations, i sure could drink a bunch of these.

Served on tap at the VBC on 10/25/08.

Pours a extremely clear golden orange color with a 1/2 finger of creamy brite-white head. Retains via some thin wisps that leave some decent looking swathes of lacing behind. The aroma is floral and earthy with a touch of dankness and hints of spice, citrus, and some sweetness in the back.

The taste has more of an earthy and mild hop profile that is not overly bitter, with a lot of balancing sweetness in the back courtesy of citrus notes and caramel malts. Finishes with a combo of sweet tang and light dry bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a firm carbonation and crisp feel in the mouth.

Different take on the Harvest style here, utilizing the much earthier Centennial hops in this that are in strict contrast to the more assertive Cascade ones that are used in the regular Harvest Ale. A nice change of pace with a crisp feel and good drinkibility. I liked it.

A: Golden-orange with a nice white head, good retention, and nice lacing.

S: Dank and earthy with a hint of citrus.

T: Dank, barnyardy, grassy, and the ever favorite cat piss hints.

M: Creamy, smooth, and crisp.

D: This beer is what it is supposed to be. It is a nice crisp pale ale with fresh hop flavors and a nice sisionablity but not the flavors I enjoy the most.