Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale

I tried a half-pour of Sierra Nevada’s Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale at Asheville’s Thirsty Monk, and they’re not kidding about the freshness of the hops. A bit too hoppy for me, this beer is much more like an IPA than a typical pale ale. It’s a special beer, though, blending seriously-fresh hops from New Zealand with Pacific hops.

At first there wasn’t much of an aroma, but after a few quick sips, the flavors came pouring out. It smelled like liquidized fresh hops. Really. It tasted like liquidized fresh hops. It wasn’t bad, but just way too hoppy.

The color is a nice golden, almost an amber. It is a refreshing beer, however, if you’re not a fan of IPAs, then you probably won’t like this beer all that much.

Sierra Nevada Summerfest Seasonal Lager

Seasonal brews are so iffy, so I generally approach them carefully. Sierra Nevada’s Summerfest beer had a very salty smell, almost beach-like, not so much sandy skin-display beaches, but more of just the beach or coast in general. And of course, this beer smells of pacific hops.

The taste was crisp, with a sharp bite but a smooth aftertaste. The aftertaste didn’t linger around and pollute my mouth or sinuses, but rather, it cooled off quickly. Nice flavor, punchiness, and smooth going down.

As it warms, the carbonation became spongy, so I’ll drink this one more quickly in the future. It tasted salty, too, but not too much.

All in all, it’s a good day beer, and I recommend it!

We then decided to make some tortellini, and an idea popped into my head that I’d never heard of or considered. I’m sure it’s been done before, but I’d never had it: breaded tortellini lightly fried in virgin olive oil. They were pretty damn good, and a great accompaniment to the saltiness of the Summerfest!

Breaded Cheese Tortellini

Bison Brewing Chocolate Stout

I started out with the Chocolate Stout, and it had a fairly weak smell to me. I smelled a bit of chocolate, but nothing that punched me in the face. It’s got a nice balance of chocolate, stout, and general beer flavor, but it just wasn’t quite punchy enough to remember.

Bison Brewing IPA

Now, granted that I’m not a huge IPA fan, Bison’s India Pale Ale was not so bad. It had a nice light color, it was clear, and the aroma was wholesome, organic, and grassy.

The taste was light, a nice hop flavor that wasn’t overbearing like normal IPAs. The aftertaste was a bit rough for me, though, a bit too lingering.

Barley wine

I didn’t like this, but that’s probably just my tastes. I don’t think I care too much for barley wine in general. So I guess I have no business talking about a barley wine.

Steel Reserve High Gravity Beer

My brother prefers Steel Reserve over Pabst Blue Ribbon, and I think he’s crazy. Sure, PBR ain’t the best, but it’s got its place in the world, just like any decent Adam Sandler movie.

Steel Reserve is a beer that I will call a pure utility beer; it has a job to do, and that’s what it’s going to do.

It honestly tastes like pretty much nothing. I used to think Coors Light won the prize for being the most tasteless beer, but I’ve changed my tune now. Steel Reserve, so far you’re the new winner of the Most Tasteless Beer prize. Congratulations!

Overall, it’s not really that bad, but it’s not really very good either.

Steel Reserve, in my opinion, was born for the can. So just go ahead and drink it directly from the can, don’t pour it, and by all means, don’t think much about it. The tagline should’ve been:

Steel Reserve: It’ll do.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s my go-get-em for Steel Reserve!

A reluctant thumbs up for Steel Reserve