Sierra Nevada: Torpedo

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company always a special place in my heart. I regard it as an example of “good” beer. This is because I came of age in northern California, where I started my life anew in college after a failed start in the Bay Area music industry. If I had a particular good day or wanted to reward myself, I usually ordered a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Curiously, I hadn’t been exposed to Sierra Nevada’s other varieties until I moved out of the state.

My life in beer got off to a rocky start. I went from slamming Icehouse with a bunch of punk rockers in my hometown in Iowa and a short stint with Budweiser in Arizona to the flavorful sophistication of West Coast microbrews. My journey west brought forth many life lessons as I grew more experienced and experienced more of our great country behind the wheels of my 1992 Isuzu Rodeo. Importantly, I learned that a few high quality brews went much further than a sixer of the beast. Not only were they objects of great appreciation and wonderful taste, they were conversation pieces and signaled my admiration of craft. Much like any collector had to have every item in their collection, I had to try every microbrew, the large and the small, the local and the regional. Thus started my lifelong obsession with craft beers, a passion I continue to this day.

Enter Torpedo. Billed by Sierra Nevada as

“big American IPA; bold, assertive and full of flavor and aromas highlighting the complex citrus, pine and herbal character of whole-cone American hops.”

It doesn’t disappoint either. This is seriously hoppy. Its so hoppy that Sierra Nevada had to put out a press release about this beer! In fact, this is Sierra Nevada’s first year-round IPA launched this past January. Perhaps surprisingly, Wikipedia has a decent article about IPA’s and includes this little background about American style IPA’s:

“In the USA, IPA has gradually evolved into a distinct variant sometimes called American India Pale Ale…[.] Although some are made to traditional recipes, many American IPAs are brewed with citric American hop varieties such as Cascade, Chinook, Centennial, and Columbus.”

Torpedo tastes like it is chocked full of Cascade Hopes. And its good. So good!

If you have never held a bunch of fresh hops in your hand and taken a big whiff, you are missing out on pure unadulterated joy. Torpedo’s aroma is much like holding that fresh batch of hops in your hand, floral and reminiscent of pine. At 7.2 % alcohol, the first taste is very crisp and you can feel the bitterness move down your tongue where it settles in the upper part of the throat and doesn’t leave. I’ve eaten handfuls of pretzels and can still taste the Torpedo lodged in the back of my tongue. I’m not sure if I’ve had something this hoppy before. I’ll need to perform an experiment comparing Stone IPA, Victory Hop Devil and Torpedo. I used to think Stone IPA was one of the hoppiest beers I’ve had the fortune to acquire, but Torpedo is giving it a run for its money! If you haven’t figured out yet, I like VERY hoppy beer. Bitter is better as I say.

Overall, I am very pleased with Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo. Its everything I want in an IPA, has a distinct flavor, the first sip is amazing, the bitterness doesn’t leave your throat, and I can drink more than one happily. An experience that I associate with Sierra Nevada, perhaps not entirely unique to myself, is my association of it with good times during my 5 years in California. It is hard to be unbiased in this respect, but I promise you that if you like hops as much as I do, you will really like Torpedo. I highly recommend!