BoW - Sierra Nevada Wet-Hopped Harvest Ale 12th Release

Been outta town, so no BOW last week. This one is a new favorite (a wonderful friend gave me a case as a wedding gift). Wet-hopped ales are made with fresh hops, so they're truly seasonal. Their character is utterly unlike the standard "hoppy" beer, as dried hops offer up a much different character. This is a much more mellow bitterness, with far softer floral notes. I loves me a good IPA, but this is surely more "drinkable" - at least in the sense a session beer is more drinkable than an IPA (and note how quickly the case is disappearing...). From SN's website:

Created in 1996, Harvest Ale features Cascade and Centennial hops from the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington. These hops are harvested and shipped as “wet” un-dried hops—the same day they are picked—to our brewery in Chico where our brewers eagerly wait to get them into the brew kettle while their oils and resins are still at their peak.

Apparently there are two others in the series - Southern Hemisphere, made with hops from New Zealand, and Chico Estate, with hops grown onsite at the brewery. I haven't seen either of those, but the standard Harvest Ale has the best reviews from what I saw. Get it while you can, if you can.