Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

Appearance

The beer pours a clear copper with a head that dies quickly.  Unlike most IPAs that are yellow-ish, this is definitely a darker copper orange color.

Smell

Hoptimum has a decent bouquet but a discernible lack of hop smell.  Most DIPAs have a piney or hop smell to them, but this one comes up pretty boring.

Whereas I don’t get excited about the overly hopped taste, I generally love the smell of a good hoppy IPA.  This did not excite me.

Taste

Whoa, full hops.  Taste does not follow the smell.Described as “the biggest Imperial IPA they’ve ever brewed” and with full cone hops, this is a hop head’s dream.

Big mouthfeel with a resinous/oily aspect to it.  Not piney hops and not citrus/grapefruit varieties, this can best be described as just really big ass  hops.  I wouldn’t immediately identify it as a California beer.

Much more alcohol-y than I expected, and with a big bitter finish.  OK, but not as well executed as many other SN brews in my opinion.  Again, my regular critique was that this beer lacked balance and care.

The label describes it as being buried by “a hurricane of hops” and that’s a pretty apt description.

Numbers

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, California.

4 12 oz bottles for $10

10% ABV

100 IBUs.  Wow!  Yeah, that’s the technical limit for bitterness.

Overall

As someone who doesn’t care for big hop bombs, I can still appreciate this beer as the hops aren’t the traditional.  For drinkers who only favor hops this will be  a welcome addition to your fridge.  A bit overpriced if the ABV were ignored, but since it packs a whallop with an abnormally strong double digit, the cost is justified.