Ommegang Grains of Truth

Ommegang Grains of Truth. Harvest Ale. 5.8% ABV. There’s a lot of tiny type on the label, and I can’t find my glasses.

It’s a bright, golden hue, lightly hazy, with a short, but lasting head, a little off-whitish in color.

Aroma: Belgian yeast and spice. Pepper and clove and funk. Very nice.

In the mouth: the spice keeps coming. In a good way. Is it “hot”? Nearly. Light bodied, easy drinking. Not in the sense of alcohol, anyway, but the spice factor is high. Well-balanced, though, and tasty. Malt is coming through, rich and rewarding. Herbal and earthy. I’m liking this more and more.Digging it.

Here's some gobbledygook from the website:
Grains of Truth is Ommegang’s ale honoring the harvest season. Using barley, oats, wheat, and rye, we’ve brought the mood of fall to life with vibrant and flavorful passion.

Farming is about precision, timing and care. At Ommegang we place the same emphasis a farmer has for his crops into the creation of our beers. Grains of Truth is a testament to the craft and care of farming, from which our farmstead-brewed beers benefit greatly.

Brewed with balance in mind, Grains of Truth reveals a smooth and creamy mouthfeel with light toastiness and gentle sweetness. Bright amber in color from the mixed malts, the beer is balanced with delicate hopping to counter rather than overpower the malt profile.

Available for a limited time in 1/6 BBLs 1/2 BBLs and 12oz bottles every fall.

Three Floyds BrooDoo Harvest Ale

Three Floyds BrooDoo Harvest Ale. "A seasonal ale that glorifies American hops. BrooDoo is brewed using fresh green "wet" hops picked right from the vine and put into our beer vats, from vine to brewhouse in one day! BrooDoo also uses the best American malt money can buy. Enjoy!"

What do troll dolls in sailor suits, princesses, unicorns and rainbows have to do with a Three Floyds Harvest Ale? Perhaps it's best not to ask.

Slightly hazy, golden hued, slim, off-white head.

Aroma, grassy hops, citric hops, tropical hops, hoppy hops. Bright, bitter, and lovely.

Taste: All that and more on board the palate. Fresh, bitter, fruity, and juicy. Medium bodied, long, bitter finish. Just enough malt to hold the balance, but plenty of room for the fresh hops to shine. A touch of sweetness creeps out, but pithy, citric, little bit o'piney bitter hops hold center stage.

I like this one, but I'm thinking I had this bottle too late in the game, for it seems the freshness should have been more forward, more pronounced. Still good, still delicious, however, it feels a touch faded, if only from 3 to 4 months time.

New Holland Hopivore

Fresh, Michigan wet-hop ale. I'm drinking this out of season, (came out last October, got a keg in March (?), sat on it until May, re-tapped)but it didn't get raves when it was fresh, either. 6% ABV American pale ale.

Clear, crimson coloring, slim, white head.

Soft aromatics, fruity and mild.

Taste: slight bitterness, nutty, earthy herbal malt flavor. Definitely in a more, English-style pale ale, more balanced, more malt.
Hopivore is a great name for a hoppy ale or a double IPA, but not this one. It's hoppy, all right, but we anticipate a beast, a behemoth, even. This is tasty, a little bitter, but mellow, and easy-drinking.
It's a fine beer, but expectations are very high on beers like this call it Hopivore, it had better be hoppy. Call it a wet hop harvest ale, it had be damned hoppy.
I'm looking at reviews. One guy gives it a D+, calls it a "malt bomb"…that's a bit much.
There's nothing wrong with it, it's just too unimpressive.