Garrison - 3 Fields Harvest Ale - Batch Variation?

[Richard]

Got the wife to grab six of these since everything else the G make is good to very good... rather disappointed though. The malt/hop balance is way off for an APA (assuming it wasn't misclassified). For example, it tastes like the base is either mainly maris otter or being propped up by something melanoidin-rich. More of an "English bitter" malt backbone... then to top it off, the hops taste very european... my guess is a combination of noble or english... I can't think of a single style this really fits into, because for the most part it's either too bold for the english pale styles, or too european for any kind of american pale.

What confuses me most is reading other reviews (3 Fields Harvest Ale) - they're not describing anything like the profile I'm getting. Has anyone else tried it, and what was your impression?

[fakr]

Haven't tried it but would love to.
Does the bottle state that it's an APA Richard?
What's the ABV?
Color?

From the grain and hop characters you described, sounds more like an english bitter or special bitter....?

[Richard]

Now I look at the Garrison site (I really should have done that rather than looking at BA), the hops make a lot more sense:

Cascade, Brewers Gold, Willamette, Zeus, Galena, Kent Golding, Nugget, Newport, Centennial (wet); Citra (Pellets).

No idea what the relative amounts are, but the English side of this mix is really shining through. The base malt does seem to be pale rather than 2-row.

The site and bottle states that it's a "Strong Ale" - but I figure that's pretty much a wildcard style for anything they can't color between the lines.

The rest of the vitals are here: http://adminpanel.garrisonbrewing.com/a ... eer/22.pdf

I should add that I've had a cold on/off lately, so my senses may be skewed or dulled.