Harvest Time Ale
Big Boss Beer
In October I bought a six pack of Big Boss Beer's Harvest Time Ale. I drank one of them and I immediately realized that this was a very, very special kind of beer. I had already been planning my trip to the Beer Bloggers Conference in November and so I made sure to pack 2 to share with other beer drinkers at the conference. After the conference I even managed to share two bottles with peers I met there. That left me with one, fantastic and slightly aged, bottle of beer.
Appearance: Hazy with many particle floating. I've been holding on to this beer since October 2010 to see how the flavors changed. I didn't think that the appearance of the beer could change to...until now. The first time I drank this beer I never saw any floating pieces in the beer, but now the beer is cloudy with the floating pieces. I'm anxious to drink the beer to satisfy my curiousity.
Smell: Heavy cloves and spices. Orange and cinnamon too. This is the perfect memory of fall gourd decorations, apple cider and crisp weather.
Taste: When it's cold - the beer has a some of the same flavors as the smell, but because it reminds me of hot apple cider, I want to let it warm up a bit. When it's warmer - the bouquet of flavors come together and mesh much better than they did when they were cold.
Mouthfeel: When it's cold - it's got an off taste to it now. The crisp taste of the beer is weird with the warm flavors of the beer. When it's warmer - the fizz gets bubblier and just so much tastier.
Drinkability: When it's cold - I love the bitterness of the beer. I love how it makes you want to gulp insted of sip. When it's warmer - all I want to do is let the beer wash over my mouth, it's just so good!
If you like Sam Adam's Octoberfest, you'll probably like this beer. They share many qualities, but the Big Boss Harvest Time has a deeper taste of spices and fruits.
I would pair this with pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potatoes and pecan pie - all the flavors of fall that make me happy. I think that sugars in these foods will pair well with the ale because I can smell the spice and sugar flavors in the beer itself. Let me know if you try it with pecan pie, I'd be curious to know how the flavors match!
This is the first review in my 365 Days of Beer. Every day I will post an article about different places to get craft beer around Durham or reviews of various craft beers. Make sure to subscribe to my column in order to get the latest updates!
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