Hoptimum
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

12 ounce bottle dated 4-13-23, poured fridge cold into a Wasatch Brewing can-glass.
Generous foam rises above an orange tinted bronze brew. A little sticky lace manages its way throughout the drink.
Aroma is disappointing., it’s not as mighty as it should be for a huge TIPA.
Taste is a tad confusing; it’s not this big hoppy dank bomb I was expecting / hoping for. The sweetness is annoying. There’s a hint of bitterness trying to surface but the sweet kicks it back down.
Mouth is nicely dense, mid carbonation.
Overall, points for reaching SW Florida at just 5 weeks since bottling. But damn. This should be so much more in every department - except the buzz. A pair of these gets the cheeks red. That may be its saving grace.,.

Ehhh... don't bother with this one.

 

12oz bottled 4-6-22. Opened 2-12-23.
1+ finger white head with very good retention, leaves behind some thin wisps of lacing early. Orange-gold body with great clarity. Big nose of candied orange, late mint, and sweet malt. Sweet fruit - fruit salad with berries, tropical, and some ripe citrus. Full body, creamy mouthfeel - no real heat but the 11% is apparent. Long finish with some lingering sweetness. Very Good.

 

 

 

 

 

Yields a clear amber color with a bigger, stable head.

The aromas lead with ripe passion fruit, caramel and dried lime zest among flowery blueberries and nutty honey.

Drinks soft, with a smooth mouthfeel and a well nuanced, late effervescence, which successfully manages to establish a slightly alcoholic refreshment.

Tastes of sweet caramel, creme brulee and white bread dough, together with bitter, pungent limes and a sweet, resinous malt backbone. Offers an equally sweet middle part with a medicinal hop bitterness, bringing out a buttery, toffee leaden sweetness. Finishes soft with a layer of whipped cream and additional caramel, only to invite a hop bitterness, which numbs the tongue like a local anesthesia, revealing a faint hint of alcohol.

Not a big fan as this seems not very balanced, as well as the beer‘s single components seem unable to create a flavorful synergy. Everything in this is overpronounced and standing in its own way, trying to steal the show while being too full to dance.

This beer is hands down one of the best Imperial IPAs in the world. Nothing but hops from the head down, smell and taste is of hop resin, pine and slight grapefruit. You can also smell and taste a slight booziness which is inevitable for this type of beer. The ultimate cure for a hop fix if you’ve ever needed one.

Pours a fairly clear golden color with about two inches of a light tan head. The smell is of some citrus, strong pine and hops. The taste is definitely on the pine and hops side and the alcohol is hidden well. Definitely worth it.

Enjoyed it when I was new to craft beer, appreciate it still as an experienced hop head. It has all the marks of quality, but is as inoffensive as a hoppy, high abv, in-your-face beer can be. Lots of malts and well rounded hops that aren’t overly bitter or resinous, but still taste citrusy and flavorful. Too booze and too sweet. But overall a well made brew.

The pour and appearance is beautiful. Reddish gold, nearly two inches of head, great retention, mostly clear. It doesn't taste high abv, but you do feel it on your tongue and as you drink it. Good amount of pine and definitely a western. Taste gets better as it warms a bit. Very smooth. Great IPA. A new favorite.

 

 

 

 

L: Reddish gold body
S: Creamy tropical fruit; mango, guava, pineapple, and pine resin.
T: Rich and creamy tropical fruit concentrated with pine resin. Floral notes on the finish, and a lingering piney bitterness that plays back and forth with a bit of tropical sweetness.
F: Incredibly smooth from start to finish. The alcohol is very noticeable in the mouth and chest.
O: Similar flavor profile to Heady Topper, but a bit sweeter; would be fun to do a side by side. Shockingly smooth for how high the ABV is. Glad I finally found one.

 

 

 

 

 

pours a hazy pale amber body with a cream colored foam head that billows with moderately high retention that leaves a high amount of patchy sticky sudsy lacing behind as it settles to a patchy cap with defined halo

aroma is sweet floral and earthy grapefruit and misc citrus with a malty dark caramel malt backbone

taste follows that up with a honeyed sweetness and a trace amount of pine that flashes towards the end; it's sweet but very hoppy, eventually balancing out. a certain fruitiness can be picked out eventually, but it is nondescript outside of being citrus adjacent.

mouthfeel is high carbonation and thick bodied - a constant battle between thickness and carbonation pillowing. it ultimately runs mid-way between smooth, thick, crisp before abruptly finishing dry and syrup-sweet with a grapefruit hop aftertaste with tinges of lowkey pine

overall:
pretty killer, but balance is missing. it's sweet, honey sweet with a thickness that is at battle with the carbonation to create a disheveled feel that is hard to settle into. it is certainly hoppy, but perhaps a little crowded - the features blend together and meld into more of a flashcard representation rather than a display of different players coming together to make something bigger by highlighting their complementary features.

 

 

 

Checking a long empty box, had Hoptimum--now even more illegal in Mississippi--poured from 12-oz. bottle, label stamped "PKGD 03/24/21C," trade from friend, into Sierra Nevada tulip pint.

Pours light amber with clarity and 1/2- to 1-finger creamy, cream-colored head, with good retention, leaving nice lace down the glass. Sweet malt aroma off pour, then aromas of grass and pine, and some stone fruit showing as warms. Begins with carbonation and big hop bite, over smooth malt body, soon nearly overwhelmed by alcohol beginning to build, then some sharp and sweet stone fruits are also evident, before a big but not unbalanced bitter piney and alcohol heat finish.

Unsurprisingly, has none of the common defects in huge IPAs, and is an appropriate biggest brother to SNPA and Torpedo.

 

 

Poured from a 12oz bottle into pint glass in September 5, 2021. There is a "Package" date of 05/14/2021 on the bottle.

Appearance: Medium gold color with 2 finger white head. It is slightly hazy, but less hazy than New England IPAs. Head lasts a minute, and there is a little lacing.

Smell: Strong aroma from the hops as expected in an IPA: mostly pine and grapefruit, Also some sweetness like pineapple. Overall the pine and citrus aroma dominates the other aromas.

Taste: There is a strong hops flavor that is both refreshing and bitter. Very fruity and contains flavors of grapefruit, citrus, pine, and a little sweetness as well. Hoptimum has as a very nice after taste. Overall a nice balance and very drinkable.

Mouthfeel: Strong bodied. High alcohol, which matches the 11.0% listed. I nice thick feel when drinking.

This is a great IPA. It has a nice mix of citrus, hops, and other flavors, which makes it interesting. It has stronger flavors and body than most other IPAs. This has a good hop bite, but not over-powering. It is a very good IPA, and I would buy this again. One of my favorite IPAs.

 

 

 

 

L - Golden with a ton of clarity with a white head that dissipates somewhat quickly leaving behind some lacing
S - Tons of fresh, bright, bitter, piney hops along with some citrus and malt notes
T - Follows the nose with a punch of bright, piney, bitter hops up front and throughout tied together with a malt backbone and citrus notes - some honey notes, caramel, earth notes. Some floral notes as well.
F - Medium bodied with moderate amount of carbonation. Smooth, soft, yet crisp
O - A pretty solid TIPA

The pour is honey colored. The taste is bitter grapefruit upfront with some bready malts in the back. The 11% abv is well hidden but I am getting some heat from the alcohol in my throat in the aftertaste. It's a good beer but not sure if I would recommend an entire 4 pack of it, maybe it's more of a 1 & done. Cheers! A-

The first time I had this beer was in 2012.
12oz bottle pkg date 4/16/21 into a 12oz snifter glass.
L: Pours a clear caramel amber with a light beige 1/2" creamy head with good retention. Good carbonation. Plenty of spotty and skeletal lacing.
S: Pine, flowers, grass, light malt.
T: Very sweet caramel malt, sweet rich hop flower, honey, grapefruit, sharp apricot, raisins, pine and spruce. Light alcohol midway through and pine/spruce tip enters at the finish making it long but not overpowering.
F: Mouthfeel is sticky, heavy-bodied and intense. It is also lush, soft, and has a creeping long conifer finish that is in excellent balance and contrast with the overall sweet characteristics of the beer. It is somewhat dry at the finish.
O: A very assertive, bold and hop forward triple IPA that is everything an IPA should be. An excellent smooth feeling sweet tasting beer from Sierra Nevada.

Bottling date 4-7-21.
Bright, orange-amber color with a white head that slumped to what looked like a ring of lace fire lapping at the curved glass walls. Clear with a faint murk, no rising bubbles visible but they cascade when swirled.
The smells are classic old school left coast IPA. Big bouquet of flowers and spruce tips, sweet honey, blood orange and apricot jam along side toffee dipped in vodka notes.
First taste is sweet up front but flavoring/ mid boil hops move in quickly to balance the rich, caramel malt backbone. Great complexity and balance - lush and heavy on the tongue but the hop character stands up and keeps this from being cloying.
Not a beer for big gulps, this is a snifter sipper that will have you looking for another soon after draining the glass.
Full bodied and a bit harsh on the back end bitterness and sharp with alcohol but dangerously drinkable and seriously well balanced.