Wednesday 18 January 2012

Isle of Purbeck Brewery Harry's Harvest Pale Ale

Good evening all. I've decided to break my recent trend of Magic Rock beers with one of the beers I received for Christmas- Harry's Harvest Pale Ale from Isle of Purbeck Brewery. Today has mainly consisted of sporadic bursts of revision in preparation for the exam tomorrow, with the reward being a trip to the Southbank Centre on Friday to watch Henry Rollins- definitely looking forward to that! Anyway, let's move away from punk icons and back to the beer, which will be reviewed after the pic....


Harry's Harvest Pale Ale (5.0% ABV) is a bottle conditioned pale ale that pours an amber colour with a white head that dissolves to a patchy covering on the surface of the beer. Holding the glass up to the light, I can see specks of sediment at the bottom, despite my careful pouring. The aroma is mainly biscuit malt with a faint noble hop smell, but the whole package is reminiscent of something quite unusual- horseradish. The first time I smelt the beer, I picked up something strange yet familiar, and I was finally able to zone in on horseradish (possibly even with beef and yorkshire puddings, my sense of smell isn't that accomplished). Certainly not something I was expecting, but let's press on. The taste brings up the same spicy horseradish quality, with malt and bittering/noble hops present in the background. The finish isn't bitter at all, and the flavours don't linger around for long on the palate. The mouthfeel is slightly thick, with moderate carbonation. This is a fairly average beer, with the only interesting component being the unusual spiciness that does seem out of place in this context. Not enough hops to call it a pale ale, and the malt is only just detectable behind the spice. Not recommended.

Until next time....

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