Sierra Nevada Hop Secret 393

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Chico, California USA

Pours an amber color with a tan head. Aroma is juicy, sweet, fruity hops, some crystal malt, and a hint of toast. Flavor is hop forward, sweet, fruity, juicy, caramel, crystal malt, and a lingering sweet hop bitterness almost bubble gum.

Draft. Copper beer with an off-white head. Grapefruit and woodsy aroma. Grapefruit flavor with light spice, malt, and light earth. Medium bodied. OK bitterness. Grapefruit, light spice, and caramel lingers with a faint sugary ending.

Date: March 02, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Taco Mac, Kennesaw
Appearance: clear dark amber, fine beige head
Aroma: big earthy hop aroma, sweet dark caramel malt, hint of citrus
Flavor: big sweet caramel malt flavor, lots of earthy hops for balance, touch of citrus, light bitterness, light bitter finish

Date: March 11, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: taco mac crabapple
more sweet fruity citrus and less of the earthyness,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

Pitcher @ TacoMac, Crabapple. one keg down in 14mins. red copper, thick tan head. huge lacing. big florals, hop grapefruit. flavor is sweet caramel. big grapefruit. its a double celebration. Giant lace, huge aroma, balanced creamy texture. heavenly. Finishes oh so smooth. best sierra nevada ever made.

16 ounce pint - $4.75 at Taco Mac (Crabapple) in Roswell, Georgia. Depending on who’s watch you were going by, the keg was completely emptied in anywhere from 14 to 18 minutes. Appearance: Deep, dark amber-gold body with excellent clarity and capped by a thin, somewhat fizzy, off-white head. Steady, faint effervescence throughout. Nice glass-coating lace on the way down. Smell: Bready malts with a meager amount of caramel, but a supporting, rich hop scent smelling of spice, oily citrus rinds, and pine flowers. Taste: Blend of light caramel and bready flavors with, particularly as it warms, a perceived crystal malt sweetness. Trifling addition of roasted malt. Intriguing mixture of hop flavors: meager pine and tangerine with the floral, spicy qualities of a Noble hop. Medium bitterness. Finishes predictably dry with a light, lasting bitterness. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. There’s a scintilla of stickiness to the mouthfeel. Drinkability: Pretty solid job here, Fred! Evokes a combination of Celebration and Torpedo with a slackened overall hop bitterness and unique hop flavors brought on by the 393. I’d recommend it, but as the stores of Hop Secret 393 have essentially dried up, there’s not much point in doing so; like recommending saber tooth tiger filets.

On tap at Taco Mac Decatur. Pours a dark clear amber with a small white head that left a bit of lacing on the way down. The aroma has plenty of tropical fruit, especially grapefruit, and some bready malts. There are also hints of a floral pine aroma as well. The taste follows the aroma with lots of grapefruit up front but with a generous malt backbone with plenty of caramel sweetness. It’s very hoppy but extremely well balanced. The mouthfeel is meidum bodied with lots of carbonation and sticky with hops. This is a really good DIPA and extremely drinkable. I’m extremely intrigued by the hops used in this one and would be interested in any beer than SN produced with it going forward. Recommended.

Tasted on tap at the Bistro Double IPA Festival on 2/7/2009. This imperial IPA pours a medium orange gold color from the tap. Medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is floral and citrusy. A medium bodied Imperial IPA. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are citrusy and floral. A medium bitterness IPA. Good carbonation. Nice balance. Light and crisp. Perhaps a little on the sweet side. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Draft at Taco Mac. Pours a deep copper-amber with a slight haze and a thin off-white head that leaves light lace on the glass. The aroma is big citrus hops - grapefruit with subtle pine needles. There is also a note subtle sweet aroma, too, like honey. The flavor starts with tasty and very bready malts with a dry hoppiness that you can feel all over the tongue. Subtly sweet malts combine with green, vinous hops in an unexpectedly balanced way. At mid-palate there is a pleasant strong sweetness and firm bitterness - that though somewhat varnish-like isn’t actually overpowering. The finish is dry and very toasty with a nice grapefruit bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium-full in body and has a pleasant, just-right level of carbonation. Overall, a nice and surprisingly balanced IPA (not really a double IPA though).