Death in the northern hemisphere

Summer is reluctantly giving way to autumn in Dublin. The weather is still pleasantly mild, but the state of my wife's once glorious sun flowers tell a different story. They are sorry sight but the only clear sign to me that we are careening towards less temperate weather. To my mind it isn't quite time enough to break out the winter warming beer and don't really feel like committing something dark, rich and alcoholic to a glass is fully justified.

I made do the other night with something rich and alcoholic, yet crisp and full of  fresh hop character. Unsurprisingly from the West coast of America, Sierra Nevada's Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale is very bitter and bursting with hop flavour. It is satisfyingly full bodied and thanks to all those floral, spicy hops it holds onto rich foam all the way to the bottom of the glass - a characteristic that always pleases me greatly in any beer. Plenty of sticky body and malt holds its own against the hop onslaught resulting in a well balanced, all too easily drinkable warming ale. A few more of these will do the job nicely until such time I can happily hit the the more traditional cockle warmers.