Cascade 1st Harvest.

[vicelore]

Hey guys.

Well i stumbled apon a new bottle shop that had about 10 4 packs of the 07 Cascade first harvest so me and the GF baught the lot.

This is one of the nicest beers iv ever tasted and iv been drinking my supply very slowly.

iv got 1 bottle left now and wondering when the 08 harvest will come and is there any way to secure some for myself...

Cheers

 

[tim...]

I remember the james squire hop thief 07 (same style of beer, unless someone wants to correct me) was great. I remember tasting a bit (or alot) of cascade and nelson sauvin hops in there. Unfortunatly I talked to one of the people at the James Squire brewhouse last night, and the said it wasn't coming back this year in bottle But they will have it on tap at the brewhouse.

As for the cascade, I remember it being nicely hopped, by not as full on as the hop thief (at least for a hop harvest ale). Only bought a stubby of it, but this was a fair while ago, so I can't remember it completely.

 

[mfdes]

I didn't know last years First Harvest was still being sold. I wouldn't expect much hop aroma has remained after almost 12 months. I would certainly recommend saving your pennies for this year's release, if it's your cup f tea.
Personally, knowing how it's made, I'd say it's pretty much all gimmick.

MFS

 

[vicelore]

Hrrmm , thaught you guys might of thaught it was pretty nice. tho im not that famular with speciality hops as iv mostly drank comercial beer.

so i spose i should be looking forward to brewing my own with better hops if its going to be better than the cascade..

i havent seen it on sale anywhere alse i think this bottle shop was under renovation for months so it was probaly purchased before the reno then sold months later. i still love it.

never herd of the hop thief from squires. im very interested in that tho.

i was actualy looking for one of there brewhouses as i think i drunknly wondered into one a few years ago on stkilda somewhere ??? tho i didnt know much about beer at the time i would love to head back there now. anyone been there ??? if i can rember correctly it was a small wooden place with boilers up the front...

Cheers

Cheers

 

[glennheinzel]

MFS can probably confirm the Tassie hop harvest time, but my uneducated guess is that it will probably take place some time soon. If they use freshly picked hops then they would have to use them fast otherwise they might send them off to be dried etc. Then you have to make the beer and let it age before release.

Therefore I reckon you might see it in another 6 to 12 weeks before you see the next Harvest Ale (if they're making one).

 

[mfdes]

Harvest will be starting in a couple of weeks. About 2 weeks early this year.

MFS

 

[Thirsty Boy]

What's the gimmick with how its made mfdes??

The words on the bottle all add up to goodness and I know that at least one of the past brewers is reasonably proud of the stuff... is shiftiness being pulled?

Viclore - I also think its a good, well made, but not so nicely priced beer. Certainly it would pack a mouthful of hoppy goodness and flavour if you are normally a commercial beer kind of guy. Careful of those hoppy beers though... people seem to develop an unnatural liking for them with amazing speed

The James Squire Brewhouses in Melbourne are located in the Portland Hotel in Russel st in the City and there is a newer one at Waterfront City down at the docklands. The docklands one has better beer for mine.

Thirsty

 

[vicelore]

Hey Thirsty boy.

Good to hear that my taste buds arnt heading the wrong way in my beer love..

thanks for the info on the brewhouses i did google and search around a little but coudnt find any info on the one in portland hotel.. me and the gf are staying up the city next weekend so ill be sure to pop in there and have a try.

Cheers guys.

 

[mfdes]

Well, to my mind it's just another pale lager that uses green hops...
To my mind they'd be better off using premium aroma hops such as saaz and hallertau than whatever the hop marketers have green. When you taste it's good, but is there anyone who thinks the price they charge is justified when compared to, for example, a good imported european Pilsner (in the can) such as DAB or Bitburger?
The whole green hops thing is a gimmick, as they're actually harder to use green and have to be boiled for ages to drive off the cooked zucchini flavour they give off... there go your aromatics.

Dunno, but I've never seen it that much better than their premium lager. Which I never thought was that much above the pale ale... maybe I'm just a cynic old brewer

MFS

Edited: spelling.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Ok cool, I thought there might be something odd happening that only a local would know about, but its just that you aren't into the fresh hops thing.

btw - they don't just use whatever the hop growers have green.. they tend to be a bit more experimental with this beer than you would expect from a mainstream brewery, the variety of hops used are always something thats pretty new to the market. I know that its never brewed to the same recipe two years in a row because the brewers are out to use a new type of hop every year. They don't even try to brew it with the same malt profile, they just make themselves a beer they think is going to be interesting.

Still, none of that makes it good or means that anybody has to like it - especially at the assuredly outrageous price they charge for it. Still, its worth a crack at every season, just to see what they have come up with this year... actually, that reminds me, I haven't tried the 07 yet. Must go and see if I can find a bottle somewhere.

TB

 

[mfdes]

Trust me, I help harvest the hops and have brewed with some of them myself before they get them. They're generally nothing special. I have however tried a nice hallertau seedling at 9% alpha that wasn't too bad, neutral, clean and hoppy, but with none of the hallertau character.
I'm not saying it's rubbish, I do like it, just that I don't think it's worth the price they charge. It's essentially the 'something different for beer buffs who'll fork out some more money to try something different' outlook.

MFS.

 

[BrenosBrews]

Hey Thirsty boy.

Good to hear that my taste buds arnt heading the wrong way in my beer love..

thanks for the info on the brewhouses i did google and search around a little but coudnt find any info on the one in portland hotel.. me and the gf are staying up the city next weekend so ill be sure to pop in there and have a try.

Cheers guys.

If your going to be in the city you should check out some of the bottle shops here - Swords at Vic or South Melbourne market or Cloudwine in South Melbourne. Look out for Jamieson Beast IPA and Bridge Road Bling IPA - both great if you like hops. Probably a bit cheaper than Cascade Hop Harvest too, it was $5 a bottle at a shop near me.
Check out the Melbourne directory on www.beeradvocate.com for some other beer related places to check out.

 

[joecast]

Well, to my mind it's just another pale lager that uses green hops...

gotta say thats usually my thought as well. closely followed by "why did i pay so much for this..again?"

for a beer that makes such a big deal about the hops is uses, the finished beer is surprisingly low in hop character. i'll probably try it again this year, but i wont go out of my way looking for it. and considering how many times i've been in a bottleshop the last six months, there is every chance i'll miss it all together. so, not fussed either way really.
joe

 

[Thirsty Boy]

gotta say thats usually my thought as well. closely followed by "why did i pay so much for this..again?"

for a beer that makes such a big deal about the hops is uses, the finished beer is surprisingly low in hop character. i'll probably try it again this year, but i wont go out of my way looking for it. and considering how many times i've been in a bottleshop the last six months, there is every chance i'll miss it all together. so, not fussed either way really.
joe

Odd,

Perhaps the 07, which I haven't tried, is one of their less impressive efforts. The 06 and the 05 were both really quite full bodied distinctly hop forward APA's. Perhaps not as intensely hoppy as you might be lead to anticipate by the blurb... but nonetheless at the hoppier end of the spectrum for an Australian version of an APA.

Now I really do have to go out and find the 07 so that I see what it is that you guys experienced. Although the one thing I know for a fact that you experienced, was paying too much for a beer

 

[vicelore]

look what iv started lol...

Cheers guys

 

[joecast]

Odd,

Perhaps the 07, which I haven't tried, is one of their less impressive efforts. The 06 and the 05 were both really quite full bodied distinctly hop forward APA's. Perhaps not as intensely hoppy as you might be lead to anticipate by the blurb... but nonetheless at the hoppier end of the spectrum for an Australian version of an APA.

odd indeed. they must be keeping a different beer here for the locals! now if i see any around (are they doing an 08?) i'll have to try some damn it. :angry:
joe

 

[redbeard]

I bought a six pack of 2008 first harvest about a month ago & tried them this weekend. While very malty, Im surprised at the lack of hops. Its not an ipa but somewhere between an esb & a pale ale. Its not a bad beer but not what I was expecting ie hops, especially for the price.

Am I just mislead by the labeling ?

 

[Kai]

No, you're pretty much in the ballpark describing the beer and the time it's spent on the shelf will only have dropped the hop aroma further. That being said I loved this year's First Harvest and demolished most of the Freo Doctor's stocks.

 

[Fents]

yep gotta get em real fresh hey kai.

 

[mfdes]

Well, interestingly enough the '07 was still really hoppy when we tried a keg of each side by side at the last HOPS meet. The '08 was more drinkable straight off the bat but the '07 was great one year on.
I think they overdid the hops a bit last year, so maybe a years worth of mellowing had made it better. Not that I object to over-the-top hops sometimes, but I prefer balanced and drinkable. 2008 was better in that respect.
I've had some 2008 that has been kept cellared and just opened a bottle... still nice and hoppy. Dunno what temperature yours was kept at... maybe travelling is not good for them?
M