Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

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

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Bottle thanks to nearbeer. Crystal clear red-orange with two fingers of off white head and crunchy lacing. A mildly spicy citrus hop aroma, some caramel base. Taste is a slick citrus hop note over a solid caramel body and a nicely bitter finish. An IPA version of their Pale Ale in my eyes, a very nice beer if only it were available in Tennessee. Damn 6% laws.

A nice resiny orange. Capped with the glue-like sticky bubbly white. Floral, fragrant citrus aroma, and a slight bit mineral. Kinda dirty and woodsy in a wet way that isn’t good or bad.

Flavor is plenty of hops, and surprisingly peppery. It’s like pine needles and rose petals rolled in black and white pepper. So it’s quite earthy, but it isn’t especially crisp. It’s heavily impacted by the dulling, slick effect I often perceive from highly resinous hops that aren’t blended with the sweeter, brighter citrusy or flowery varieties. That’s a palate thing really though. The flavor of the resins and earthiness here is really bold and damp like strongly steeped tea, and it’s hard not to be struck by it. Malt flavors open up a little as it gets warmer, and these are mostly delicate. Sweet little flashes of almonds, and cotton candy, and white bread, barely there. Citrus flavors present are mostly rind-like tastes of bitterness, grapefruit and clementine mostly, I think.

As I’ve already whined the palate is a little heavy and syrupy, which isn’t something I generally like in something that isn’t complex in malt flavors. The firmness is good though, and supports the loudness of the peppery flavors really well. It’s the slick, crystally bit of the texture that I don’t care for, and occasionally makes me think of any number of lagunitas pale/red/boring ales. Finishes lengthily in the pithiness and the resins, quite sticky in fact, with something like caramel far in the back. Whatever I guess, it’s good enough, I really wish it were crisper in the finish.

Pours a medium bodied amber with a semi frothy head. Sweet and juicy aromas of hops. mmmmmm. Flavors of sweet citrusy hops. The flavor is just about on the same level as the aromas. Palate is just above average having a slightly resinous feel. Lovely beer all around.

12 oz bottle, thanks to LooseCannon. Clear amber with a nice eggshell head. Citrus nose of white grapefruit and tangerine. Somewhat herbal but certainly citrus bitter flavors, caramel and a touch of earth. Dry finish, great lace rings. Excellent.

Bottle poured a clear tarnished copper with a lasting amber head. Aromas of pine, grapefruit, orange zest and light carmel. Palate was medium bodied and crisp with a lightly dry finish. Flavors of carmel, orange, pine and light grapefruit with a smooth lightly dry lingering bitter finish.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is more of what I like about IPA. I pulled this instead of the usual Terrapin Rye Pale Ale (athens, ga) thinking it would be as consistently good like their other stuff. Not so much so this time. Too sweet and syrupy. Lots of alcohol, yummy.

Very good. I had it with a Troegs Nugget Nectar which is my favorite and it holds up pretty well. Nice aroma and good hop flavor. Nicely bitter and dry finish.

Pours copper coloured. sweet floral aroma with hints of grass. Full hoppy taste with pine. Finish is bold and dry. Has that ’Sierra Nevada’ taste...which is good.

Huge, even yellow head, leaving textbook lace over clear copper-amber beer. Deep maltcake with hopsyrup nose; extremely seducive. C-hops to the fore. Very bitter onset, then more aroma hops, but finishing pretty metallic all the same. Bit of fruity lemonflavour, but not much else. Short sharpish MF, quite carbonated. Hops go on & on... Seriously Indian pale ale. Big thanks to DavidA!

A nice golden color with white head. Mild hops and faint malt on the aroma. Very very nice hop body with a mild malt balance and a bitter aftertaste.