h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Our next beer is Sierra Nevada's 2009 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale (http://www.sierranevada.com), which we've subbed for Brakspear's Bitter.

Mr. Nerd is attending the boiling wort in the kitchen, so I'm going to type up the ad copy from the bottle.


This ale marks our journey to the only place on the planet where fresh hops are harvested in our spring, the Southern Hemisphere. Our task was daunting - we needed to get the hops picked, dried, flown halfway across the world and into our brew kettle in a little over a week's time.

The result is a North-by-South fusion of fresh New Zealand hops blended with the finest North American malts. It's robust hop character presents and intriguing floral-citrus aroma leading to layers of fresh-hop spiciness. Enjoy!

>>> Sierra Nevada's 2009 Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale

This is a beer that lives up to the ad copy. It is a wonderful example of a northern California robust ale. Plenty of aroma, plenty of flavor, and with alcohol at 6.7%, plenty of that warm rosy glow.

/5

Next up is Eel River Brewing Company's Amber Ale, http://www.eelriverbrewing.com. We were subbing this one for Brakspear's Oxford Gold, on account of the certified organic granola-chomping, tree-hugging, tie-dye T-shirt-wearing hippiness of it all.

Some breweries make a great big deal out of their organic ingredients, but then don't make great beers. Other breweries, like Eel River and Bison, make great beers out of organic ingredients.

This Amber Ale has a lovely amber color, malty, and not too much hops, just as it should be. There's a hint of citrus, maybe some other tropical fruit, extremely yummy, nice and smooth.

/5

Mr. Nerd is currently chilling the wort.

Mr. Nerd put the home-brew in the primary fermenter, and I just finished cleaning the kitchen floor. Time for another beer.

This one is Anderson Valley Brewing Company's Boont ESB, 6.8% alcohol. I'm running out of adjectives. Extremely full-bodied, full-flavored, the malty character is well balanced by the Willamette hops (very similar to your Kent Golding). The sensation seems to roll up and back on my tongue, a really long, long finish.

/5

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try

wibble, wobble, goozle, vrizzzz

Ah, thank you Taff, that really helps. "wibble, wobble, goozle, vrizzzz" I might as well write up the posting in Boontling!

i could not spell

(tommy cooper)aarffazzazzasazasaaa.......just like that

I looked up Badger Poacher's Choice on the SubEthaNet, it's supposed to have liquorice and damson in it. We don't have anything like this, so we substituted Lagunita's (http://www.lagunitas.com) Brown Shugga' Ale.

Lagunitas puts 200 pounds of brown sugar in each 30-barrel batch, giving this ale 9.5% alcohol. Unfortunately this also gives an otherwise good beer a sort of sharp bitey flavor. Drinkable.

/5

I'm going to give my liver the rest of the night off, and try the Triple Exultation tomorrow.

Um, that was supposed to be /5. I'd like to quote my esteemed colleague Taff, "wibble, wobble, goozle, vrizzzz."

If I had a hat on, Happy Nerd, I'd be taking it off to you. That's real dedication.

Apologies for disappearing the other night, by the way, folks. Writing my review of the Guinness is actually the last thing I remember

I need to find some Export Guinness and do a comparison between that and the regular Extra Stout.

Last call for alcohol. The last beer we got for Beerfest 06.11.09 which has spilled over into 08.11.09 is Eel River Brewing Company's Triple Exultation Old Ale, http://www.eelriverbrewing.com. We were subbing this in for Brakspear's Triple because they're both had triple in the name and they're both organic.

Okay, this ale is the nicest way to kill brain cells I've ever run across. My husband reminds me that I obviously forgot the barley wine festival we went to, and yeah, maybe those were some of the brain cells I lost. No, I'll just amend it to say one of the nicest ways to kill brain cells.

Back to the Triple Exultation. Mr. Nerd and I have split a 22 ounce bottle and at 9.7% alcohol, if you can get ahold of it, it should hold up for a long time in the cellar. Not to mention, it makes it hard to type.

This is brewed to the Old Ale style, deeply malty and thick, rich mouth-feel with just enough hops to keep it from being too sweet. Every sip was delicious and I'm saving one sip to toast everyone for when I hit "post message".

/5

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Tying up a loose end from the beer fest:

The porter we were brewing during the beer fest is now safely in its secondary fermenter.


HN