Goose Island Harvest Ale

I picked up a sixer of Goose Island Harvest Ale over the weekend. I like to try as many Oktoberfest beers this time of year as I can and GI has always put out a pretty good one. But this year, they're foregoing an O'fest for this ale.

Anyone tried this? Interested if your assesment agrees with mine.

I really loved this stuff. It had a nice hop nose - not like an IPA, but definitely there. A real complex, malty taste. It has some O'fest flavor elements, but with the ale yeast and other malts used, it clearly isn't an O'fest. The best way I can descibe it is it just tastes like Fall in a bottle! I'd like to try and clone this beer.

Yeah, we noticed it at Sam's in Chicago right at the end of August. Since we were right across the street from Goose Island on Clybourn, we stopped in for a pint and they didn't even have it on tap yet and said that bottles had just started going out and that it was replacing Octoberfest as their fall seasonal. So we had a pint (or two) of a few other things and went back across the street and picked up a 12 pack. I think we've more or less had some in the house since then. SWMBO has taken a real liking to this beer. I dig it too.

I agree. Its a really great beer. Maybe my favorite hoppy beer I've had from Goose Island, as I'm not really a big fan of their IPA. My fiance described it as "its like Goose Island took a Red Hook and made it super kick ass." I think she nailed it.

from Goose Island's site:

Harvest Ale 5.7% ABV
Our latest creation is brewed in the style of a traditional American Extra Special Bitter (ESB). As Summertime fades, the sun shines less bright, and evening comes a little sooner. Harvest time arrives – it’s a time to reap the benefits of a great Summer. Fresh picked cascade hops from Washington and the richest Midwestern malts makes Goose Island Harvest Ale an extra special beer worthy of your devotion.

I tried a sample of it tonight at a small local annual blues and brews fest, there were about 20 brewers, actually a mix of micro brewers, brew pubs and a few beverage distributers.

I tried 2 of the GI beers and the harvest Ale was real good, went to the liquor store on hte way home but they diddnt have any.

I probably sampled 20 beers and only had to dump one, it was a "breakfast beer" a stout with coffee, milk and oatmeal. YUK

I'm drinking more tonight.

Tastes like they used 1056, lots of dry hopping and some marris otter for the base.

I will be as well. GI Harvest Ale has fast become SWMBO's favorite "12 pack" beer, meaning not including various belgians. I'm not sure how long this will be out there this season so she dropped the hint, "maybe we should stock up a bit".

My football sunday (haven't started drinking yet) will consist of Harvest Ale and what is left of my homebrewed IPA. And I might sneak a few of my Alpha King clones (been bottled 2 weeks).

jvh261 said:

I will be as well. GI Harvest Ale has fast become SWMBO's favorite "12 pack" beer, meaning not including various belgians. I'm not sure how long this will be out there this season so she dropped the hint, "maybe we should stock up a bit".

My football sunday (haven't started drinking yet) will consist of Harvest Ale and what is left of my homebrewed IPA. And I might sneak a few of my Alpha King clones (been bottled 2 weeks).

Click to expand...

My SWMBO loves this stuff too, and I like it myself. I'm heading down to Bev Arts tomorrow night to bottle my first batch, and we were thinking about trying to make our next brew (at home this time) a clone of Goose Island's Harvest. Anyone have any suggestions on a recipe?

Playing around, I found some info on this beer on the gooseisland.com website, so I played around with this in beertools.

[size=+2]Harvest Ale Clone[/size]
[size=+1]10-C American Brown Ale[/size]



Size: 6.0 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 193.47 per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.058 (1.045 - 1.060)
|=====================#==========|
Terminal Gravity: 1.015 (1.010 - 1.016)
|====================#===========|
Color: 20.4 (18.0 - 35.0)
|==========#=====================|
Alcohol: 5.72% (4.3% - 6.2%)
|===================#============|
Bitterness: 33.47 (20.0 - 40.0)
|==================#=============|

[size=+1]Ingredients:[/size]
10.75 lbs Standard 2-Row
2.25 lbs Crystal 120
1 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1.75 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
1.0 ea WYeast 1056 American Ale

[size=+1]Schedule:[/size]
Ambient Air: 70.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F
Elevation: 0.0 m

00:33:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.06 gal; Strike: 162.3 °F; Target: 150.0 °F
01:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 145.0 °F
01:43:00 Mash Out - Heat: 10.0 min; Target: 168.0 °F
02:28:00 Sparge - Sparge: 4.18 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 6.71 gal collected, 45.0 min; Total Runoff: 6.89 gal

[size=-1]Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.0.28[/size]



Fall in love with it this fall!
As Summertime fades, the sun shines less bright, and evening comes a little sooner. Harvest time arrives - it's a time to reap the benefits of a great summer, when all your work pays off. Fresh-picked Cascade hops from Washington and the richest Midwestern malts make Goose Island Harvest Ale an Extra Special Beer worthy of your devotion.

I thought this was a good beer but too hoppy for a fall O-fest, but I guess that isn't what they were going for, the first time i had it I think I got it right when it came out and didn't have much time for the hops to mellow out at all, the aroma was all hops and really over powered the malt. it tasted good, and I could pick up on the malt.

The second time I got some though, the malt aroma came through alot more. I like that they used fresh cascade in it. I think that may make it a little more difficult to clone and achieve that same hop charactor unless of course you use fresh cascade. Unless i am reading it wrong, but it does sound like they used fresh (not dried) hops Right? oh well probably wrong but i am used to that.


Cheers

wop31 said:

... Unless i am reading it wrong, but it does sound like they used fresh (not dried) hops Right? ...

Click to expand...

That's how I read it.

I like that clone, Cheese. I found this clone, too. I'm gonna give ione of these a whirl as soon as my brewery is back in business.

I picked some of this up Friday, it is pretty damn good. I also found Fat Tire in 20 oz. bottles. Sweet.

Made a pretty good beer score at some liquor store in La Grange.

Also got Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout, Breck Vanilla Porter, New Holland Mad Hatter IPA and Poet Stout, some rechid Leinie's Shandy (SWMBO insisted), and a case of Summit EPA.

Dude said:

I picked some of this up Friday, it is pretty damn good. I also found Fat Tire in 20 oz. bottles. Sweet.

Made a pretty good beer score at some liquor store in La Grange.

Also got Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout, Breck Vanilla Porter, New Holland Mad Hatter IPA and Poet Stout, some rechid Leinie's Shandy (SWMBO insisted), and a case of Summit EPA.

Click to expand...

La Grange, IL? Give us a shout! You're not THAT far away.

Rhoobarb said:

That's how I read it.

I like that clone, Cheese. I found this clone, too. I'm gonna give ione of these a whirl as soon as my brewery is back in business.

Click to expand...

Where are they finding wheat in this brew? I didn't detect any wheat at all. Too clean. I'm wondering if the base shouldn't be something else, but it says "Midwest". I'm tempted to think MO or Vienna otherwise.

Cheesefood said:

Where are they finding wheat in this brew? I didn't detect any wheat at all. Too clean. I'm wondering if the base shouldn't be something else, but it says "Midwest". I'm tempted to think MO or Vienna otherwise.

Click to expand...

I'm curious about that, too. I'm with you there. I asked and am awaiting an answer. Maybe somebody knows somebody at Goose?

EDIT: Just heard back and, according to GI, they do you a bit of wheat malt. They just won't say how much!

I'm thinking one of my next brews is going to be an attempt at cloning this. Anyone tried yet? Figured I'd check here before I start combing the web when I get some time.

Any more info about the amount of wheat? It can't be much, I didn't detect any characteristics of a wheat on the many I drank since August.

Stuff is pretty much off the shelves now. I've only seen a 6-pack here or there leftover. Kinda pissed, this never showed up at Costco but they are now well stocked with GI Christmas Ale.

Very tasty stuff. I'm glad I picked up a 6er of it. I was always very happy with the O'fest. I always buy a lot of different fests every year. It was kind of nice have a hoppier beer thrown into the mix. I've also had Red Hook Late Autumn Harvest on tap in Duluth, which was very good. I can't seem to find it any where by me.

Bringing this thread back from the dead.

The 2008 batch is out! I bought a case at Binny's in Schaumburg this afternoon! Hell yes! Love this brew. Can't wait to get home to get these things cold. I'm going to do damage watching the Seahawks beat up on the Bears in preseason action tomorrow night.

Ahhh... Goose Island Harvest Ale, NFL Football... it must almost be autumn!

Life is good.

That time of year again.
My favorite seasonal offering from Goose Island is now available.
Now I just have to hope my local beer store can stock it quicker than I drink it. (or I finally get around to brewing that clone recipe)

jvh261 - I saw your posts above. I have gotten this by the case at the Costco in Schaumburg and Oak Brook before, this shouldn't be a problem if you were in Schaumburg recently anyway. I have found the beer selection varies from one Costco to another. The Schaumburg store also has cases of SNPA sometimes for $24. If you call them they will tell you what is available at the moment.

I am also a fan of this beer.

anyone care to comment on the accuracy of the clones floating around?

I tried the Harvest Ale on tap at the main brewpub last year and loved it. I'm NOT a fan of Cascade hops, but thatkfully they don't overdo it in this beer.
On the downside, I bought a 12, and didn't like it quite as much. Still drinkable, though.

Tried this for the first time on tap a few days ago. Really, really liked it.

Had it back to back with Great Divide Oktoberfest... the Goose Island was much better.

Has anyone come up with an extract recipe for this brew? It's one of my favorites, and I scavenge everywhere for sixers that slipped through the cracks. In season, Target had 12 packs for $11.99 and I'm mad I didn't buy more of it.

The brewmaster describes it on their website as a Honker's Ale that has been turned up a bit with extra malt and hops. I'm thinking about using Austin Homebrew's Honker's Ale Clone kit as a starter and hitting it with an abundance of Cascade Hops (to include dry hopping) and some late addition malt, but I'm not sure yet.

Cheesefood said:

Playing around, I found some info on this beer on the gooseisland.com website, so I played around with this in beertools.

[size=+2]Harvest Ale Clone[/size]
[size=+1]10-C American Brown Ale[/size]

Size: 6.0 gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 193.47 per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.058 (1.045 - 1.060)
|=====================#==========|
Terminal Gravity: 1.015 (1.010 - 1.016)
|====================#===========|
Color: 20.4 (18.0 - 35.0)
|==========#=====================|
Alcohol: 5.72% (4.3% - 6.2%)
|===================#============|
Bitterness: 33.47 (20.0 - 40.0)
|==================#=============|

[size=+1]Ingredients:[/size]
10.75 lbs Standard 2-Row
2.25 lbs Crystal 120
1 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
1.5 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1.75 oz Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
1.0 ea WYeast 1056 American Ale

[size=+1]Schedule:[/size]
Ambient Air: 70.0 °F
Source Water: 60.0 °F
Elevation: 0.0 m

00:33:00 Mash In - Liquor: 4.06 gal; Strike: 162.3 °F; Target: 150.0 °F
01:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 145.0 °F
01:43:00 Mash Out - Heat: 10.0 min; Target: 168.0 °F
02:28:00 Sparge - Sparge: 4.18 gal sparge @ 170.0 °F, 6.71 gal collected, 45.0 min; Total Runoff: 6.89 gal

[size=-1]Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.0.28[/size]

Fall in love with it this fall!
As Summertime fades, the sun shines less bright, and evening comes a little sooner. Harvest time arrives - it's a time to reap the benefits of a great summer, when all your work pays off. Fresh-picked Cascade hops from Washington and the richest Midwestern malts make Goose Island Harvest Ale an Extra Special Beer worthy of your devotion.

Click to expand...

Has anybody brewed this? How did it turn out? Goose Island does say wheat malt is included like somebody mentioned earlier in the thread. Can't be very much though because this beer is not cloudy. Appreciate any help I can get. I'm not too comfortable designing my own recipes yet, but I really like this beer and can't find a recipe for it anywhere.

I'm resurrecting an old thread but I just bought a case of this stuff at Costco for $22 and it is quite awesome in my opinion. Below is the recipe I'm using. Please feel to critique it. Thanks.

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Harvest Ale American ESB

Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.062 SG
Estimated Color: 14.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 33.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 64.00 %
2.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 16.00 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 8.00 %
1.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 8.00 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.00 %
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) (First Wort HopHops 18.4 IBU
1.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 9.1 IBU
1.75 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 5.8 IBU
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (DCL Yeast #S-05) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12.50 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 3.88 gal of water at 167.8 F 152.0 F

this is one of my favorites as well. i'm wondering if they use all marris otter as the base malt. goose island seems to like using english malts a lot. either way the recipe looks good to me. i'm wondering if a small dry hop would be in order... i'll just have to pick myself up a case and remind myself how it tastes.

NorthSide said:

this is one of my favorites as well. i'm wondering if they use all marris otter as the base malt. goose island seems to like using english malts a lot. either way the recipe looks good to me. i'm wondering if a small dry hop would be in order... i'll just have to pick myself up a case and remind myself how it tastes.

Click to expand...

If you go on their website they mention 2row, wheat, caramel and pale malt. I'm substituting pale with maris otter. As always, it's the hop schedule which I'm not sure on. I borrowed the hop schedule from the recipe in an earlier post on this thread. I'm assuming the yeast is an american yeast instead of an english one. I think an english yeast would make it to malty and this is an americanized version of ESB. Hoping to brew this over the weekend.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Home Brew Talk

bmason1623 said:

I'm substituting pale with maris otter.

Click to expand...

Can't wait to hear how this works. I was wondering if anyone picked up a hint of biscuit? Might just be the MO though. I bet I'll try this one over the winter when it's off the shelves.

baudler said:

Can't wait to hear how this works. I was wondering if anyone picked up a hint of biscuit? Might just be the MO though. I bet I'll try this one over the winter when it's off the shelves.

Click to expand...

this damn little thing called "work" is putting a damper on my brewing. I'm hoping maybe next weekend to be able to brew this.

I'm drinking some HA as I post this. I'm tasting a tinge of sweet maltiness. I'm wondering if s04 would be a better choice than s 05?

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Home Brew Talk

I'm brewing this as I type and I'm sticking with S-05. We'll see...

bmason1623 - check out this video from goose island about harvest ale!



says they use special pale malt, and it also shows a bag of caramel 60. toward the middle he talks about how much cascade they use and that they dry hop. they also filter it which is why you won't see the haze from wheat.

i might try to come up with something based on this and see how it turns out.

How did this turn out? Any reviews yet?

never got around to trying to brew this... anyone else?

I brewed this a month ago and bottled it last friday. To me it tastes nothing like HA based on my gravity sample. I think the recipe needs a lot of crystal. Also, the hop schedule needs to be figured out.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Home Brew Talk

okey dokey, I'm drinking a glass of my HA clone attempt. It doesn't taste like HA unfortunately. While my attempt is not bad it's not great either. To me it's missing two things. One, I think it needs much more crystal malt. i used 1# of crystal 120 only. Maybe 3 or 4 pounds of crystal 60 I'm thinking? Secondly, i used the hop schedule that I posted on this thread. I think it needs slightly more bittering hops and significantly more aromatic hops. Maybe someone else who has brewed this can chime in. ThatGuyRyan?

all righty now, it was exactly 2 weeks ago today that I bottled my HA clone attempt that I brewed on 9/04/11. It tastes much better than last week now that it's properly carbed. And you know what? it tastes close but not quite the same as the real thing. I think it needs more malty flavor from extra crystal and MO. It also needs to have a stronger hop aroma and a little more bitterness. I would leave the hop time additions as is just increase the amount. I will attempt again but maybe do the following changes:

Recipe: Harvest Ale American ESB #2
Brewer: Bill
Asst Brewer:
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
TYPE: All Grain


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.061 SG
Estimated Color: 27.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 43.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 40.00 %
3.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 24.00 %
2.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 16.00 %
2.00 lb Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 16.00 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.00 %
1.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) (First Wort HopHops 27.7 IBU
1.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 9.1 IBU
1.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min) Hops 6.7 IBU
1 Pkgs SafAle American Ale (DCL Yeast #S-05) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12.50 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 3.88 gal of water at 166.2 F 152.0 F


EDIT: Now that I've had 2 glasses I'm thinking slightly less hop increases of only .25 ounces for each addition but I would keep the times the same. Hoping to brew this in a couple of weeks or so.