Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Style: IPA

Alcohol Content: 7.2%

From: Chico, California, USA

Purchased From: Tesco

Located in Chico, California,Sierra Nevada Brewing is one of the top craft breweries currently operating in the United States. Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best-selling craft beer in the United States, behind the Boston Beer Company's Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It is currently the sixth-largest brewing company in the United States.The brewery produced 786,000 barrels of beer in 2010.

The brewery was named "Green Business of the Year" by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2010 for its practices in sustainability.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was founded in 1979, with founders Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi expanding their homebrewing hobby into a brewery in Chico, California. Along with the brewery's location, Grossman claims the company's name comes from his love of hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.With $50,000 in loans from friends and family, Grossman & Camusi rented a 3,000-square-foot (280 m2) warehouse and pieced together discarded dairy equipment and scrapyard metal to create their brewing equipment.They later were able to acquire second-hand copper brewing kettles from Germany before moving to their larger, current brewing facility in 1989.

In January 2012, Sierra Nevada announced it will build a second brewing facility with an attached restaurant in Mills River, North Carolina. It is scheduled to open in early 2014.

I have sampled Sierra Nevada's pale a couple of times but this is the first times I have tried there Torpedo. Lets hope the Torpedo hits its target! Damn that's cheesy. 

Colour: A beautiful golden brown colour. Once poured you get a luscious think white head that temps you into the beer. This head dissipates after a couple of minutes in the glass but leaves a little foam for you to play around with. The colour is warm and inviting, it makes you want to dive right in.

Aroma: Once in the glass you can pick up notes of freshly cut grass and newly fallen pine needles. This has to be the first beer I have reviewed that smelled likes pine. Maybe my nose is developing and I can pick up new scents or I'm just becoming a beer snob. I hope it's not the latter as that's the last thing I want to become. Smelling deeper, you can pick up notes of fresh pink grapefruit and tropical fruits. These amazing aromas come from the three hops used in the making of this beer. These hoppy buds of love are Citra, magnum and Crystal.

Body: This is a lovely easy to drink beer. However, It can be a little sticky in the mouth and it has a semi bitter after taste which comes from the three hop combination used in the making of this beer.

Taste: Just like the nose, you can pick up notes of grass and pine. After swallowing the beer, you will receive a slight caramel and biscuit after taste in your mouth. This is extremely tasty and satisfying. There is an outstanding balance of flavor and bitterness from the hops. this comes from the dry hopping technique employed in making of this beer. In summary a very fresh beer and the ABV is extremely well hidden. A real treat for the senses and well worth a second visit or five.

Sink the Ship!

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