Harvest Hop
Brewsters Brewing Company & Restaurant - Eleventh Avenue

Had on tap at Calgary Crowfoot location, one of Brewsters' many rotational offerings that the beer geek is quite lucky to find during any given visit. Attractive pale ale, dark ruddy amber with minimal white forth and an assertive sweet yet tangy aroma of mixed sweet citrus like iced tea powder, creamy caramel, and a floral perfume that recalls jasmine. Palate is a rich blend of lemon and lime (fewer of the grapefruit or orange notes so typical of American hops), gummy candy, light toffee, and a little dark toast to prevent things from skewing too far into the sweet realm. Really quite a nice malt and hops balance, but this one showcases hop flavor and there is no coarse bitterness: Ultra smooth finish does indeed include some aromatic but not woody pine along with citrus pith and a lingering sumac sourness that must be quite refreshing in hot weather. Some chalky minerals add extra nuance to the semi-chewy body. I am surprised at the lack of green vegetal hop flavors in what is billed as a wet-hopped ale, perhaps these dissipate in the keg quite quickly, or alternatively the hopping is sufficiently delicate and light-handed to avoid onion, parsley, or other such green flavors. Not really complaining. This beer is all top note, little in the way of deeper, darker, or harsh flavors and makes for a pleasant gustatory experience that requires one to pay some attention. Go now before it disappears.

20oz pint at the Oliver location.

This beer appears a clear, medium bronzed amber hue, with one finger of tightly foamy, and somewhat creamy off-white head, which leaves some Hawaiian waterfall lace around the glass as things drop away.

It smells faintly of caramel cream malt, orange and lime rind, and leafy, piney hops. The taste is biscuity, grainy caramel malt, lime rock candy, orange and grapefruit pith, a hard water flintiness, and further floral, piney hops.

The carbonation is pleasantly even, and perhaps a tad frothy, the body just on the lee side of medium weight, and more or less smooth, the hops not really game to mess this up. It finishes off-dry, barely, the malt maintaining its biscuity character, and the hops carrying on in an herbal, grassy, and wet pine needle manner.

A decent pale ale, the hops weirdly not the story here, although they are functional enough. It's the malt that had me at hello, the crisp crackery goodness laying the foundation for a solid experience, one the hops do well not to mess up. Worthy of a try, before it's gone for a long rotational spell.