Over at Ben and Nora's yesterday night for Nora's B-day, I finally had my Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest, which was not bad but — since I'm not one of those types who can tell what kind of hops are in a beer — completely wasted on me. I will say that it has a nice finish for a fairly hoppy IPA.

After that Ben let me try some of the Avery Mephistopheles' Stout that Nora had got him for his birthday. It was very good; I liked the notes of chocolate and the aftertaste (which is apparently "double espresso"). Ben was right about the drinkability though: you can really tell that this is a strong, alcoholic beer.

I finished the evening with a Sierra Nevada Porter. That was decent, certainly better than some other porters I've had — but after the Mephistopheles' that beer seemed completely one-dimensional.

Labels: American IPA, Avery Brewing, Mephistopheles' Stout, Porter, Russian Imperial Stout, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Sierra Nevada Porter, Southern Hemisphere Harvest