Hop Harvest #2
Portsmouth Brewery

 

 

Draught @ Brewpub: This one pours a murky orangish-amber color. There was a small off white head that left lots of lacing. Good nose. Citrus and tropical hop notes. The taste is quite good. Mainly hops, with a touch of caramel malt sweetness in the background. hops are citrus and tropical. Nice!

 

22 oz bottle was poured into a large snifter.

Appearance: A two finger head was poured that reduced to a puffy layer. It is a hazy amber copper color with some clarity and vision of bubbles coming up through the glass. Spotty lacing down the glass as the beer was drank.

Smell: Herbal, citrus, grassy, toasted, biscuit, cracker, oatmeal, and some sweetness.

Taste: Pretty much same as above with mild bitterness in the glass. This year's hop harvest was not as tasty as previous years when I compared my notes to others. Lots of toasted grains, bready malts, oatmeal, and some sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Chewy, smooth, medium bodied, medium carbonation, and slight bitterness.

Overall: Pretty nice ESB. Love the fresh hop characteristic and good to see them use on a style other than an a
IPA. I wish I could have tried previous years to compare, but this is only a one time fall brew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you like Citra Hops this one is for you! Opened a bottle and immediately got huge grapefruit/passionfruit/tropicalfruits. My Fiancé could smell it from the other room before pouring it! All that nice grapefruit on the nose follows through in the taste. Amazing stuff. Just enough bitterness to cut all the sweetness from the hops and malt. I hope P.Brew will brew up another batch this fall!

 

 

 

 

A crystal clear yellow amber colored ale with a healthy white foam on top with plenty of lacing. The aroma is whoa Nellie cat piss and skunky cereal. Wonderful to any hop head! The flavor is true to the aroma with sweet lemon/grapefruit grass and a thick grain base that coats the tongue. This is probably pretty one-dimensional to some folks but who’s complaining? Hop bite abounds in this medium bodied brew with understated carbonation that supports the bright, somewhat eye-opening hops. There’s a slight chalky feel in the finish but through it all is this bold pissiness that mellows into a hop heavenly blend of harvest grains. A hop sessionable brew that further boosts my respect for Portsmouth Brewing.