The Rapture with Sierra Nevada as Our Guide Tasting…
The Rapture with Sierra Nevada as Our Guide Tasting…
We will be tasting starting at 6pm Tonight!
Harvest Wine & Spirits
842 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, CT 06119
Ovila Abbey Ales will closely follow the traditions established by centuries of monastic brewing. These remarkable ales will be packaged in 750mL cage-and-cork bottles featuring artwork inspired by the historic Santa Maria de Ovila monastery.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these beers will go toward the restoration of the historic Ovila chapter house building on the grounds of the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, California, just a few miles north of Sierra Nevada’s home in Chico. This medieval chapter house was begun in 1190 near the village of Trillo, Spain. Monks lived, prayed, and worked there for nearly 800 years. In 1931, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst purchased the abbey, dismantled it stone-by-stone, and shipped it to Northern California. Hearst’s plans were never realized, and the stones fell into disrepair. In 1994, the monks of the Abbey of New Clairvaux gained possession of the ruins, and began the painstaking reconstruction of the historic abbey.
Ovila Abbey Ales are Belgian-style beers brewed in a centuries-old abbey tradition. These beers are an homage to the legendary monastic breweries, but are not Trappist beers—nor are they made in connection with the member breweries of the International Trappist Association (I.T.A) headquartered in Belgium.
Our newest addition to our Harvest family is Southern Hemisphere Harvest. This is the first time we know of that an American brewer has put out a beer with fresh-picked hops from the southern hemisphere. The inaugural ale will debut in late April and will feature fresh Pacific Hallertau, New Zealand Motueka and New Zealand Southern Cross hops, all from New Zealand.
Like our Celebration Ale, the fresh hops in this beer are dried right after being picked then shipped immediately to Chico for brewing so that they retain their peak aromatics and flavors. To ensure the freshest hops possible, we went to the added expense of flying these hops from New Zealand to Chico so we could brew with them the week after they were picked.
BLESSINGS
