Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale

I heard this afternoon on 93 Rock, our local rock radio station, that they will be hosting the 93 Rock 'N' Brew this Friday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. For $20, you get a chance to sample around 200 beers or whatever you can handle in four hours. The best list of beers to be offered I found at the radio website, but if there are 200, this list is far from complete. It would be nice to have a full list, so maybe I'll send them a message requesting that. Anyway, I'm thinking about printing up some blog business cards and seeing what interesting people I can meet. And hopefully finding a few beer gems outside of the ones they have listed.

As far as 93 Rock goes, it has its ups and downs. I really like a lot of their songs from the 80's and 90's and even some newer stuff. But I can't stand listening in the morning, when they have that terrible Bubba the Love Sponge show on, and I can't listen any time my children are in the car as some songs start with "I like your pants around your feet." Oh, Nickelback, you lyrical wizards!

I'm just opening big (no, giant) 24 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California. The bottle says this is its second release, so it must have had at least a warm reception the first time around. There is some story about flying around the globe for hops to get shit done, but I don't care about that--just the final product. I guess I do care about the lengths some breweries will go to make a great beer, but it seems not today.

Honestly, I thought this was going be just another big beer thrown together in a mass-produced almost 40-style beer. But... I am being surprised. (I was going to use past tense there, but remember, this is giant 24). There is a hoppy, earthy and floral aroma, a little sweet, too. Sweet initial flavors, with light carmel. Then bitter hops and a tinge of grapefruit take over in a really nice and smooth way. Some pine, grass and herbal tea type flavors are also present in addition to some lemon and orange citrus, not a lot but noticeable. Tastes oily, too. Very refreshing. Good carbonation, and tasty flavors all around. These guys should make a third release, for sure. This beer was even a little better as it warmed up slightly. I'll pick it up again and you should too! It's also share-able if you care or like to share--I don't.

Dark Horse--Nickelback

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