70. Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Back to back Sierra Nevada? Yessir, that's what we have here!  Last night, after a disappointing Carolina Hurricanes loss, I wallowed in my sadness and thought I could use a pick-me-up.  For those of you keeping up with my blog (which at this point is probably 0!), then you'd realize that I just bought this thing and I'm getting around to drinking it.  It was shocking the first time with the Kona.  But twice?  You saw it here first, folks!

Okay, onto the beer.  I figured that this beer would be something good.  There aren't a lot of beers that are sold as singles in the grocery stores I fervent, so for it to have a special place there..must be a special beer.  I was a little excited.  It poured a nice burnt orange color with three fingers of white head.  Light retention that left remnants of lacing all over the glass.  Very attractive looking.  The aroma wasn't as pronounced as expected.  I thought I'd get a citrus bomb.  Instead, I could pick out some of the malt aromas, with a light citrus aroma, followed by some woodsy aromas as well.  Taking a look in the bottle, I was expected to come to this conclusion, so my nose must be working.

The taste of the beer was surprisingly sweet.  It shouldn't have been a surprise, as I didn't get an overly hoppy aroma, but based on the fact that this is an American IPA, I thought that maybe it was a genius concept in the fact that it didn't smell like an IPA, but still tasted like one.  The malt sweetness with a little bit of caramel would come through first, then would come this bitter aftertaste that tasted like pine and grapefruit put together.  It wasn't a mild type of bitter either..it had some pop and could linger!  It lingered to the point that I had to take another drink.  Dry finish.  Medium to high carbonation, which was pleasant from a mouthfeel perspective.  Overall, I liked this IPA, but I think I like Sweetwater's offering more.  Still, if this was offered at a local bar, I'd hit it up for another try.  A good, solid, keeper.

Grade: B

Price Paid: $1.66 (12 oz bottle)