365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
Day #687 Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop Ale / Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, CA
Previously from this brewery: Southern Hemisphere and Summerfest
Another Sunday of realizing that Penn State football isn't very good. They aren't supposed to be, and they don't need to be, but still.... losing sucks always and forever.
Beer review for the day is a Northern Hemisphere from Sierra Nevada. It has a clear light amber color, with a lingering white head. There's ample bitterness, but not as much citrus as I was expecting. Good bit of piney, earthy flavors. In all, a solid beer, but there are others with more welcoming balances of flavors out there. Worth a try, though. The interesting story about this beer is that the hops used go from the fields to the brew kettles in less than 24 hours.
I have no picture, as this one is lost in my phone somewhere, and that's just the way it goes some days.
Thing to Think About Today:
On a fall day with Northern Harvest beer, I give you Neil Young and Harvest Moon. Good day, folks....
Beer #183 Southern Hemisphere Harvest / Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, CA
Today was spent with a little 5k. I know what you're thinking; 5k doesn't sound very hard, 25 minutes of running or so and you're wrapped up. WRONG. Try a 5k trail run through the deep woods, at 2pm on a 90 degree day, with murderous hills, blazing sun when you ran through the fields, and then more murderous hills just when you've near given up. Even the downhills weren't fun, because your legs were so chewed up from the uphills, it was hard to control speed going down. Clearly, this race needs to be run in May, or possibly at 8am. I mean, I'd have beers at 9am post run - wouldn't you? The good news? Our friend Kelli and I made it through in record *cough, notexactly, cough* time, and we got to see and run with a number of other friends. Plus, free beer post-race, courtesy of Victory Brewing Company, the primary event sponsor. And special thanks to Marci, who served as our crew for this one!
Only regret? The one water station on the course had beer, but we blew past it because we felt good (and didn't know it had beer). Could have run faster with a mid-run beer, I think. Anyway, this was the first time I've put a race bib on since July of 2010. I took some time off due to injuries, plus some additional time due to laziness, but it feels good to be back. Reaffirms my plan to run another ultra-marathon in 2013. Oh, indeed.
The best way to celebrate a big accomplishment on the field of battle is with beer. There were some free beers from Victory on draft for everyone there, but seeing how we already crossed them off our list we ventured to TJ's to sit on their comfy chairs and continue unwinding. Tonight's beer is the Southern Hemisphere, an IPA from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Yes, we're crossing a California beer off the list right before we actually go to California, but based on it's readily available status at home, I don't feel too worried about this. In the glass, this beer shows off a copper color in the glass, with a lingering white head. You pick up a lemony citrus on the nose, and when you drink this you get pine, hop bitterness, sweet malt and lemon. There are flavors of tea in there as well, which is a nice addition to this brew. Very well done here - definitely check it out if you get a chance.
All the gold medal I need, thank you very much
Sierra Nevada has been brewing since 1980, and is one of the true pioneers of the craft beer movement. Great beers all around, regardless of whether you're drinking them in California or not.
Thing to Think About Today:
Even though the race was short but challenging, I loved it. Felt good to be out there. If we're thinking about running, then let's have Tom Petty send us to the ice bath with Running Down a Dream. Pretty sure this song/video has nothing to do with running, but it's a great song, and you're bound to be in a good mood if you listen to this - running up hill be damned.
I am way impressed by the mad running skills and dedication of Gary and Kelli as they kicked ass at a hilly, woodsy 5K today. It was probably about 90 degrees when the race started and I'm pretty sure it was uphill both ways. I was spent carrying their water bottles. How they didn't keel over immediately after finishing is beyond me.
We celebrated with beer. Lots of beer. Beer at Victory Brewing, beer at TJ's Everyday. Perhaps more beer at home.
All that celebration resulted in tonight's beer review...Sierra Nevada's Summerfest. I think Sierra Nevada likes to make hoppy beer just because they can. Is that a California thing? I hope not. I'm not a fan of the "punch you in the neck, it's so hoppy" kind of beer.
The Summerfest is a crisp summer lager coming in at 5% ABV. It poured a clear golden color with a thin white head. It smelled of wheat and non-descript beer aroma. The taste was citrus, malt with a big hop tanginess. It's a good beer but not a style I gravitate toward.
