Late Harvest IPA
Cambridge Brewing Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸
IPA Autumn Out of Production|
Score
6.92
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Brewed in celebration of the arrival of this year's fresh malt and hop crops, this deep golden, unfiltered ale showcases a toasty malt palate but is ultimately dominated by the deep, resinous, floral character of the blessed hop vine. Amarillo, Simcoe, Centennial, and Columbus hop varieties were all used throughout the kettle boil and dry-hopping in the primary fermenter, followed by additional dry-hopping with Amarillo and Simcoe in the serving tank, which will yield an ever-increasing hop flavor and aroma as long as it is available on tap. If you like your beers so hoppy as to be "dank" with fresh piney, herbal character, this one's for you. Cheers.
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7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
2005 draught pint at Redbones (it’s on at CBC too right now) on 11/13/2005. Pours a hazy golden-amber-copper with a strong peachy-yellow hue and a foamy, well-retained, albeit small, white head. Aroma certainly wastes no time in introducing the hop aspects, which are all over the spectrum. Juicy fruits, floral notes, light spicy herbs and just a hint of citrus (surprsingly light on the citrus nose). Malts are smooth and supportive, adding light pale malt sweetness, hints of light toasty grains as well and the fresh yeast of CBC. Flavor begins with a strong sense of honey, sugary dough (though not heavy) and amply integrates the fruity, juicy hops. Light citrus, spearmint and wintergreen, with floral bitterness, more chewy malt entering and finishing lightly spicy, a touch yeasty and dry. Very well-malted and tremendously balanced. The commercial description boasts of piney, resinous hops, and while there is some pine-resin flavor, though more minimal than they make it out to be, I would suggest, there are none of the adverse effects of this characteristic. No syrupy, biting, over-the-top bitterness. Comparing this to Ipswich’s Harvest ale is quite natural for me. This one forgoes, just slightly some added hops bitterness expression and adds more balancing sweetness from the malt. The yeast is certainly different too, this one stays out of the way more. Hop complexity is also higher in Cambridge’s version, having more fruitiness and citrus. Mouthfeels are similar, though having more malt this is far chewier, with less dryness. Would like to see how this one evolves and compare the two side-by-side. No alcohol apparency.
Tried
on 21 Nov 2005
at 18:48