photo courtesy of http://www.brewedforthought.com
Looking for a big bottle to share with G-LO, I went over to the local store and purchased a bottle of Sierra Nevada’s Southern Hemisphere. Sadly, this is where the story goes off the rails. In my haste, I neglected to check the date on the bottle, and it would appear that a bottle of the 2010 “vintage” had remained on the shelf.
Here is what Sierra Nevada has to say about their Southern Hemisphere:
Our newest addition to our Harvest family is Southern Hemisphere Harvest. This is the first time we know of that an American brewer has put out a beer with fresh-picked hops from the southern hemisphere. The inaugural ale will debut in late April and will feature fresh Pacific Hallertau, New Zealand Motueka and New Zealand Southern Cross hops, all from New Zealand.
I found the Southern Hemisphere to have the following characteristics…
- Appearance: Cloudy amber with good foam.
- Aroma: Hoppy with hints of lemon and pine.
- Taste: A little flat, a little hoppy with a slighty bitter finish.
- ABV: 6.7%
I really wanted to like this beer, and had it been fresher, I am sure that I would have. Even well passed its freshness data, the beer wasn’t bad. It was just that the flavors no longer had that pop. I will be trying this one again. And, I will be avoiding the local store as this wasn’t the first issue that I’ve had with regards to freshness. I guess sometimes the price for convenience runs a little too high.
