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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

145. Sierra Nevada Hoptimum


What was on the menu for tonight?  Leftover Chinese food from the previous night!  And what would be another good beer that would pair with Chinese?  I had no idea, but I figured an IPA would do the trick.  Lucky for me, I had Hoptimum chilling in my fridge.  

The beer poured a burnt siena color into a pilsner glass with two fingers of fluffy egg-white head.  Great retention with big splotches of lacing on the glass.  Really good looking beer.  There's some malt in the aroma, but it's predominantly pine, pine, more pine, and maybe a little bit of citrus, followed by pine.  When I look at Hoptimum, I think Torpedo IPA on steroids.  

Torpedo IPA on steroids is not a bad thing at all.  The taste is as expected, starts out with that sweet malt, followed by that explosive pine taste.  There might be some citrus in there, but I thought it was lost with the piney resin taste.  The bitterness is strong in this one (100 IBU), but it never felt all that overwhelming.  Maybe I'm just getting more used to IPAs.  It did have a slightly boozy aftertaste, which isn't too surprising since it comes in at 10.4% ABV.  It's a full bodied brew, and it's very, very good.  If you see this around and you're a bit of a hop head, don't pass this one up.  Agree or disagree?  Let me know!

Grade: B+
Price Paid: $2.59 (12 oz bottle)

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