Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Chico, California USA

A- What a beautiful looking IPA. Hazy orange color, fluffy head, lacing down the glass, lots of CO2 bubbles rising to the top. Love the fact that a big giant in the Micro world isn’t stripping out flavor in favor of a crystal clear beer. Love me some hazy IPAs. S - Doesn’t explode, but nice aroma of citrus (orange), grassy hops with hints of caramel malts. T - Lots of bitterness giving way to some caramel malts. I wish it tasted more like it smelled...and find the hop flavor falling behind the bitterness and caramel malts. M - Very nice and sticky. Feels like it looks...not stripped out. High carbonation gives it a nice crispness. D - Very drinkable and sessionable IPA. This one is a keeper. I personally think it could have a little bit of the bitterness shifted to flavor additions (it’s not too bitter, but it’s a tad bitter relative to the hop flavor)...but it’s still a very nice beer.

Pours amber in the glass with a nice very light tan head, maintains a good cap and leaves some sticky lacing. Hoppy aroma but rather subdued. Flavor is much bigger, citrus and pine hops, slight caramel malt, bitter finish. Medium carbonation, somewhat creamy. Nice, especially for the price.

35 cl bottle. Slightly hazy, light copper-golden colour. Medium-sized head, neat lace. Big, hoppy aroma. Sweet mango, sugary apricot, sharp lemon and herbal pine in a good harmony. Some caramelly maltiness in the background but the hops really steal the show. The taste is sweetish and fruity at first but it soon turns to crisp and dry bitterness. I’d like to have a bit maltier body... Long lasting and biting very bitter finsih. The palate is medium bodied, perfectly carbonated and smooth. Straightforward but very enjoyable. Perfect after Finnish sauna!

Copper brown beer with medium beige head. Aroma is lighter than I expected, but still it is complex: fruits, pine forest, some grass and citrus fruits. Flavour is strongly bitter, dry, pine needles, even resin and in the end flavour is again very bitter and after long end there are hint of fruits again. Nicely slippery and pleasant to drink. Torpedo fullfills need of hops, strong and brutal, but some freshness and fruitfull would be great.

350ml bottle at home on 22nd December 2009. Pours gold with thick white head. Sweetish malt initially before a sharp burst of dry, herby intense hoppiness. Intense bitterness in the finish with some citric fruity notes; very dry finish with evaporating sensation in the mouth.

Aroma complex, predominately hops as one would expect in an IPA. Resin, grass, citrus, faintly woody. Brilliant clear amber, with persistent pillowy off-white head. Much sticky lacing. Taste is medium sweet, over an underlying heavy (but not harsh) bitterness. Full body, oily texture, sticky, thick feel. Soft carbonation, yet 1/4 inch head remains halfway down the glass. Pleasantly lingering bitter finish. Overall, very satisfying with unexpected aspects, such as the fullness of body and restrained citrus quality. Good differences, which makes trying new brews so rewarding!

Yet another well made IPA from the west coast. Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale would in most cases be an IPA, so this Torpedo takes its pale ale and bitters it up a bit and coppers the appearance. You all know what to expect from Sierra Nevada..

Cask (handpump) at the White Horse American Beer Festival, July 2009. Mid amber colour. Sweetish hop aroma. More fat sweet hops in the flavour. Some underlying bitterness so not too blowsy. Finish is bittersweet with a quite astringent aftertaste. Worked well on cask.