Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Imperial IPA - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

HopNuggets

Connecticut

4.38/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured 24oz bottle into Spiegelau stemmed pilsner glass.

A - Poured a nice clear light sunrise orange with a finger head that stuck around for a bit that could easily be agitated back up. Leaves a nice heavy lacing down the glass that is very impressive.

S - Major grapefruit upfront with some caramel / toffee backing it.

T - Citrus, citrus, citrus with caramel sweetness to follow. Bitterness is huge, probably one of the most bitter beers I have drank. The sweet smooth caramel comes out a bit in the late taste but aftertaste goes back to citrus and cheek puckering bitterness.

M - Moderate to higher carbonation on the tongue it's a bit thicker than the appearance makes it seem and leaves a coating around the mouth.

D - For 10.4% and well over 100 IBUs it is quite drinkable. I will have no issue finishing this entire super fresh 24oz.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2011 00:45:45 | More by HopNuggets

mbusster88

New York

4.83/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured from 24oz bottle into perfect pint.

A: Pours with a good off white head and light copper colored body. Tons of carbonation off the bottom of the glass.

S: Smells like fruit juice. Tons of tangerine and grapefruit. Get tons of great hop aroma right up front in this one, really fresh smelling as well.

T/M: Right away get the drying hop flavors and the citrus. Very easy on the palate but also semi-dry. Good character throughout for the hops that are extremely fresh and very pungent. Great mouth feel that makes it an easy beer to drink. Love the overall palate and flavor as it is so well done.

D: This beer is well worth picking up. I think this is one of the better DIPA I have had to date. I will be returning to the store to get more of this as it is so dang good.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2011 00:11:53 | More by mbusster88

Onenote81

North Carolina

3.4/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Didn't want to shell out the $ for a bottle of this bad boy, so I was really excited to see this one on tap at City Bev in town. A full pint, poured out a clear dark orange with a finger-width white head on top. Minor lace. The nose is splendid, with bursts of fresh pine, grapefruit juice, orange zest, and light alcohol. Very nice for the style.

The mouth was crisp and clean. Alcohol was very apparent. Big boozy DIPA here. That's almost all I could notice at first, but the hops came through in the end. Crisp, sharp, and highly bitter. There we go. Still, this is one of the more boozy beers I've had in awhile. Much more so than Hopslam. Sweet sugary flavors meld in there, but the booze just takes over. This was decent, but I like my DIPAs a little less aggressive. Glad I tried it though.

Serving type: on-tap

01-21-2011 19:39:03 | More by Onenote81

breyton490

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

In Mass at Julios liquors I had to ask for this beer and was limited to purchasing 2 bottles per visit. They said they are only giving the beer out by request due to lack of inventory.
$10 / 24 oz bottle

Appearance: light, golden, tad lighter than SN PA. Comes in a 24 oz bomber.

Smell: Wonderful. Best aroma off of any SN beer I have had. Very floral, piney, perfume like.

Taste: Bitterness is there to support a 10.4% beer, nice balance. Definitely get a big taste/hit of alcohol but its not hot.

Mouthfeel. Similar to SN PA, but bigger

Drinkability: Very good for a beer this size, but at 10.4% Abv, I don't think i could down more than 2 bottles without taking a nap.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2011 19:29:05 | More by breyton490

drabmuh

Maryland

4.15/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bottle into a stange. Beer is amber and clear with a small head of small and tiny bubbles that leaves some lacing on the glass. Carbonation is moderate to low.

Earthy meets piny with a backdrop of some citrus hop character, smells like a Sierra Nevada IPA.

Beer is medium in body with only a mild malt backbone to begin with. The center palate has a nice hop forest on it with a complex mixture of flavors, pine and grapefruit with some earthy sulfur / resin. Beer is quite drinkable, about what I expected, it did not disappoint.

I will also say that this is a really cool label. It kind of makes me laugh.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2011 13:54:15 | More by drabmuh

kbnooshay

New York

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear orange-copper color with a few inch high frothy off white head. Head quickly shrunk down to half an inch and then slowly dissipated leaving a huge fading sheet of lace.

Aroma is SUPER fresh and floral with a nice hit of weeed. Hop scent is DELICIOUS. Nice hints of grapefruit and pine.

Up front, it stabs you in the face with hoppage, allowing for the delicate caramel malt background to sit in the back. Bitter, but not too bitter. The hop bitterness is deliciously pungent and flavorful.

Reminds me of the waxed homegrown estate beer i had a few months earlier. So fresh and delicious! I am glad because i was concerned this would taste more like an amped up torpedo which in my opinion is a HARSHLY hopped up almost mess.

This kinda reminds me of nugget nectar. The hops are so burst in your mouth juicy and tropical. Alcohol is warming and noticeable, but not an issue.

Feel is oily, sticky and moderately carbonated.

I enjoy Sierra Nevada's brews but I can't help but wish they had a year round 6 pack brew that provided such a fresh but deliberate hop punch to the face. I don't even care if its strong.

Time and care went into this one. Just right.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2011 04:03:59 | More by kbnooshay

abar22

Alabama

4.22/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Growler poured into a DFH Signature Glass...

Looks great. Nice copper orange. Fluffy white head, solid cap, spotty lacing.

Fantastic nose on this one. Hops are definitely dominant with full range smells; grass, pine, lemon, tropical fruit. All that mixed with a slight hint of alcohol. Just enough to know this is a DIPA.

Taste mirrors the smell. Hops assault the tongue in the best way possible. SN style pine bitterness. Loads of tropical fruit. Delicious!

Dry and grassy in the aftertaste. A bit thin in the mouthfeel but nothing off-putting.

Here's hoping the put these in 6 packs every year so I can knock em back with pleasure.

Serving type: growler

01-21-2011 03:51:46 | More by abar22

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

4.1/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

24oz bottle served in a snifter.

L - fairly clear copper color with a bubbly head that thinned out but still left ringed trails of lacing.

S - good hoppy aroma. I could smell this beer all day long, as it may actually clear my sinus congestion!

T - somewhat bitter bite upfront being balanced briefly with malts before finishing dry and bitter.

F - medium bodied with a biting feel.

D - I enjoyed this beer and I hope you did/do too.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2011 03:45:10 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

oberon

North Carolina

3.8/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the Mellow in Greensboro.Poured into a goblet a slight chill hazed burnt orange tinged copper with a sticky one finger head that held for quite awhile.A mix of overripe tropical fruit and big pine resin in the nose,a whiff of sweet alcohol is there as well.Just like the aromas the big tropical fruit and pine resin really hits at the start,the alcohol plays much more of a role as the beer warms a little,the sweetness really comes on keeping the drinkiblity just a tad low.A beast of big hops and big sweet alcohol,tread lightly.

Serving type: on-tap

01-20-2011 22:26:27 | More by oberon

babaracas

Florida

4.22/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a darker amber with two finger foamy white head that leaves a nice ring of chunky lace as it settles to a quarter inch or so. Smell: floral, resiny, grapefruit peel. Orange extract in the sense of a whiff of orange zest and alcohol. A sugary tropical tinged backdrop. Taste: spicy and resinous, limoncello made 50/50 lemon and orange, lingering menthol after the sip. There's a nice light caramel presence going on beneath all of this. Nice citrus flavors in here and an interesting finish. Bottled 12/16/10.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2011 06:00:19 | More by babaracas

DaveHS

California

4.97/5  rDev +18.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A-Pours a transparent amber with 3/4 inch of bubbly light khaki head. Leaves attractive rings of soapy lacing.

S-Amazing. Pineapple, Dole fruit cocktail juice, strawberries, tangerine. Mouth watering.

T/M-Better than I could have imagined. The perfect blend of fruity, juicy flavors, chewy citric hops and bracing bitterness. Medium bodied with invigorating carbonation. The most striking thing about it is how fresh it tastes. If you could squeeze beer directly out of a fresh picked hop, this is what I imagine it would taste like.

D-This is the first IPA in a long time that has blown me away. Really solid. They should make it year round.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2011 04:03:28 | More by DaveHS

monkeylovebeer

California

4.18/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The maniacal brew freaks at Sierra Nevada's latest foray into the land of extreme hoppy goodness is a whole-cone-fired monster named Hoptimum. Sounding like a b-list X-Man who, after a mysterious nuclear accident in a hop field, awoke the next day with a giant hop cone for a head, this hop bomb delivers the bitter goods.

Hoptimum pours the color of a new Lincoln penny and its mutant hop power drives a multi-finger head that never truly dissipates but sticks around throwing lace all over the place like a cross between your granny and Spider-Man.

As for the hop report: German Magnum, Simcoe, Citra, Chinook, and the mysterious "New Proprietary Variety," all gang up on your helpless lil' pink tongue and give it a beat down it won't soon forget; kind of like getting whooped with a towel full of grapefruit and clementines (so they don't leave bruises) and then slowly fucked by a pine tree while smoking some killer green bud (don't pretend like it hasn't happened to you). The astringent factor is off the chart, so if you don't like drinking cleaning products--and let's be honest, some of us don't--steer clear of this one.

The malt character, made up of Two-row Pale, Golden Promise, Munich, and Wheat, fights a good round or two--probably just so those who foolishly put money down on Light Caramel don't start throwing chairs--but ultimately (or Hoptimately) bites canvas before too long.

At 10.4% there is an expected alcohol note in the finish, but nothing like what those numbers would presage, which leads me to rethink that perhaps this creature is better balanced than I gave it credit for.

All-in-all, an enjoyable atomic hop bomb for those of us who appreciate such things, but God help us all if this thing gets into the wrong hands.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2011 00:58:20 | More by monkeylovebeer

bosox941827

North Carolina

3.8/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

24oz bomb bottle into imperial pint glass, tasted cold and warmed as it tasted
A - Pours a "typical" SN; that is, amber/orange, clear and with a foamy head that dissipates to lacing but holds down the glass
S - Grapefruit hops and a definitive whiff of alcohol, with a hint of caramel malts
T - First off, the alcohol is there, right off the bat and throughout; unavoidable. A strong hoppy sweetness right off the bat, and the hoppiness is grapefruity and persistent and really nice. However the alcohol is prominent throughout and becomes a bit of a drag. The persisting flavor, minutes after a sip is the drying hoppy bitterness and this part really helps redeem the "difficult" middle palate.
M - Not a heavy beer, nice mouthfeel and really drying. Carbonation is barely perceptible.
D - Probably as low as I can think of for a SN beer; this one really wears on you b/c of the alcohol.
To be honest, I thought I was pretty biased when it came to Sierra Nevada; they are easily my favorite brewer. However, this one is pretty tough; the alcohol really wears on you, and it's a tall task to put down a 24oz bottle in one sitting. Good beer, but I'd rather a Bigfoot any day; much more balanced w/less prominent alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2011 00:46:26 | More by bosox941827

chcfan

California

3.73/5  rDev -11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle into Duvel tulip

Pours a light amber with a large white head.

It was initially hugely aromatic, but that toned down a bit as I drank it. A couple of swirls, and it comes back for the most part. American hops all throughout the smell. Citrus is what I'm detecting the most of.

Pretty big bitterness from the hops up front. More piney than the smell. It sweetens a little bit towards the back.

Lots of carbonation in the mouthfeel.

Very good stuff. Probably the most I've ever enjoyed a hop forward beer from SN outside of Bigfoot.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2011 00:25:01 | More by chcfan

chefkevlar

North Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a copper brown with a moderate layer of off-white head.

S: Very upfront hop aromas of citrus and pine dominate, with background notes of

T: Overall flavor is very hoppy, with the taste being mostly citrusy with a small amount of pine. There is a pleasing bitterness at the finish, but it is not overpowering. Up front there is a bit of sweetness but the finish is mostly dry

M: The body is moderately thick with a pleasing level of carbonation.

D: This is a very drinkable brew and is one I'll have to keep an eye out for every year

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 23:08:08 | More by chefkevlar

timtim

District of Columbia

4.13/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

you asked for it, and here it is... orangey amber with an off-white head that holds forever and leaves tons of lace. very attractive, and pretty much exactly how it should look. nose has a HUGE, dank tropical fruit character with notes of pine and a healthy malt backbone that is pale and pretty tame on the sweetness. very nice. taste is hops, hops, hops with a good amount of bitterness and a malt character that isn't too sweet. the use of only whole cone hops adds a really real flavor and seems like some of the sweetness is actually coming from the hop. medium full body that is fairly dry, but not nearly as creamy as a beer this big would have you expect. a really amazing effort from sierra nevada, and a must-try for all hopheads.

Serving type: on-tap

01-19-2011 12:19:47 | More by timtim

DovaliHops

California

4.15/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear-ish amber orange color with a medium sized head that slowly diminishes. Aroma is EXTREMELY hoppy! I get a lot of pine and citrus. Not really any alcohol scent, which is surprising. Taste is just as it smells...A real hop bomb! Although it is extremely hoppy, the bittering hops don't pull through until the end, which is nice. But when they hit, man are they bitter! And the malt profile blends well with this huge DIPA. There are delicious malt, caramel, and citrus notes in this beer. A lot of grapefruit and orange. Tasty DIPA! Mouthfeel is very nice, as it is not too sticky or thick at all. Still very crisp and full bodied. Drinkability is fairly above average, as I couldn't see anyone drinking too much of this...the ABV would kick your ass! Delicious beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 07:05:05 | More by DovaliHops

Satchboogie

New Hampshire

3.8/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

24oz bottle poured into a Duvel glass

A: Pours light amber, hazy, massive 2+ finger white frothy head that seems to last for a life time, leaves a ton of lacing. Only thing that keeps this from a 5 is the color, I like my IPAs a little lighter color.

S: Hop heaven. A ton of citrus (grapefruit, tangerine, maybe blood orange), pine and a floral in the background. Malt seems pretty sweet and strong

T: You get a little bit of everything from the hops; citrus flavors up front with the pine and floral hops behind it. The bittering hops are there in the background, but aren't quite as strong as I was expecting. Malt character is very earthy, fairly sweet upfront then fades to a nice pale golden character. I've read people claim they tasted cannabis in this and thought they were crazy... nope, it's there! Finish and aftertaste is definitely weed-like, not sure if I'm all that happy about that. There is definitely a bit of wood flavor going on, SN lists cedar as a layer of flavor so I'm assuming that's it. Could also be part of that weed flavor. Alcohol is fairly noticeable and gives a pretty warm finish. It's fairly well balanced, but I'd like a little more tropical fruit and less cannabis.

M: Carbonation is just a little on the strong side, body is just a little viscous. Chewy, very resiny and sticky. Not exactly smooth, but not too bad.

D: A sure sipper, I think the highest ABV IPA i've had to date. It's can get a little hot and heavy.

Overall I thought it was a good DIPA, but didn't live up to my expectations. The flavor profile seemed a little to similar to a hopped up barleywine and I didn't particularly like that cannabis like flavor. A solid IPA with a great nose, but at $8.99 for a bomber, it's not something I'm likely to buy again.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 04:28:38 | More by Satchboogie

silentjay

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

nice amberish golden with a eggshell colored head that raises well above the standard two fingers, settles to a nice topping that sticks around for a while and leaves remnants on the glass.

lemony citrus, mint, tobacco, dirty and earthy fresh hops with a backbone of smooth caramel.

hoppy, yah, but not as much of a citrus bomb as I expected. plenty of juicy, dirty, floral hops with some leafiness that border on mint and tobacco, mentholish, but not quite. pine, oily hop resin, grass, some leafy salad greens. kinda odd, but tasty. some booziness in the flavor as well.

pretty full bodied with perfect carbonation and a slick resin left behind until a bit of burning alcohol takes over on the exhale.

drinks well. perhaps not as outstanding as I was expecting, but even a let-down by sierra nevada standards equals an excellent beer. maybe I just can't be wowed anymore.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 04:18:34 | More by silentjay

OBeerMeGreatOne

California

3.38/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Look: Amber with a decent and fluffy white head. Some decent lace gets left behind.
Smell: There is a heavy mineral element right out front with some thick resiny hops following. Sweet toffee backs that up.
Taste: I am judging this as a DIPA and not as a raw hop beer. Very freaking sweet (as in candy sweet) which draws me off a bit. The hops are heavy and very bitter but it isn't a very balanced mix of flavors (this includes the bitch slap of alcohol heat that distracts the tastebuds and keeps them from truly enjoying the hops.
Mouth: Burny, sticky. Mediocre.
Drink: I'm glad I got a chance to check it but the booze makes it a difficult sipper.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 04:17:39 | More by OBeerMeGreatOne

Daniellobo

District of Columbia

3.93/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice DIPA with a raw and assertive hop side.

Presentation: 24 oz brown capped bottle. A typical Sierra shape but with an entirely different label setting it aside, at least visually from all of their production. Green illustration, slightly cartoonish and tongue-in-cheek. It offers the take on a romantic portrait where Hoptimun, the gentleman naming the brew, is depicted with a whole cone hop head. Notes vintage as 2011, and 10.4 Alc. by Vol. Served on a tulip glass.

A - Clear pale to medium amber pour, with a rich 1" frothy head, good retention, lacing, and surface memory.

S - Not too fragrant early on, in fact it takes it a bit to offer a hint of what the flavor is holding. Hoppy touch, resinous, pine, very herbal dash, which...

T - Comes very strongly in the flavor. The herbal side at first, urine-ganga like, is quite intense, it flows never leaving the hefty hoppy sense to pine, resinous touches, with a dash of citrus, sweet malty note barely holding it in the back.

M - Medium-full body with good and carbonation, a bit oily, with a boozy touch, that is well balanced for a brew of this kind.

D - Nice flow to a hefty and rather herbal sense in the hop side. It all comes together with dexterity if one is eager for dive into the hop experience.

Notes: Nice to see Sierra doing this range, a bit unusual in the marketing and change in the image projected but welcome nevertheless. Plenty of different hops, some framed as "propietary" but reminds me quite a bit to what Oskar Blues achieved just using Summit hops, right ? on their Gubna, which had a similar cat/herbal/ganga/piss side to it. This is nice and very recommendable if one is into hops.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 03:35:07 | More by Daniellobo

climax

Kansas

4.4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Picked up at the Sierra Nevada Gift shop in Chico 1/17/11. The cashier claimed this batch was brewed in January.

It pours a brilliant deep gold with admirable clarity. The head is even and dissipates lazily. The lace notches as it should. Good start.

The aroma was nothing shorter than expected, a compendium of hop goodness. The intensity is not extreme, but it has more hop complexity than a typical IPA. Herbal, soapy, tropical and more bitter citrus all hit the spot. Bubblegum and just the slightest dash of feeble malt sweetness find they're way to the nostrils to round it out.

The flavor is a hop-heads delight, as anticipated. The warmth from the alcohol isn't fooling anybody about the strength of this beer. Sweetness and bitterness butt heads in an epic rage. Pink grapefruit, spinach, and a heavy toffee and wood aged brandy sweetness even emerges. The complexity continues through the finish where sweetness and dry bitterness still haven't come to terms.

Paired with sharp cheddar, the beer acquires a sweet tropical fruit and bubblegum character, which even my fiancee enjoyed.

The body is very full and viscous. The syrupy mouth feel ends slick through the finish and dry at the very end. The carbonation adds just the perfect amount of fluffiness to such a heavyweight body.

This is a heavy beer packed with flavor. One to be sipped, yet I find myself sipping at very fast rate.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 02:57:38 | More by climax

HopHeadJimmy34

California

4.08/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A- Great color very clean, and great lacing.

S- Good smell very grapefruit like. A little too much alcohol smell though.

T- Unlike most IPA's or IIPA'S I think they are so much better really cold this one gets a little better the more it warms up getting to the bottom of the glass.

M- Full with very good carbonation. Full bodied!

D- Kinda reminds me of Torpedo with a punch in the balls!! Not a beer you want to pound. A pallet wrecker for sure.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 01:01:50 | More by HopHeadJimmy34

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A careful pour produces a mostly clear orange/amber elixir with a one finger bubbly white head that recedes quickly but leaves lots of lace. Smells of pine and citrus with a bit of an earthy grassy tone mixed in there as well. Hints of sweet malt buried deep beneath barely find a voice in this one. Taste is pine and resin mixed with more bitter grapefruit and lemons than the produce isle at Hannaford. There's some malt in there I'm sure, but every time I think I can find it, its gone. Sticky resinous pine pitch mouthfeel, low to medium level of carbonation, medium body. Well you asked for hops, you got it! I was expecting that Sierra Nevada sameness that runs through their IPA line and was pleasantly surprised at this over the top DIPA. Its over the top hops, bracingly bitter, and that's just fine with me. Now put it in a six pack and charge me a fair price for it and I'll buy it often.

On a side note why is this vintage dated? Not a cellar candidate by any means.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2011 00:40:40 | More by johnnnniee

olmatty

Oregon

4.05/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Appearance-Pours a huge white Sissy head with a clean orange beer.

Smell-Grapefruit pity, pine

Taste-Dramatically hoppy with a huge malt body. Hops are piney, floral herbal and citrus.

Mouthfeel-Sticky and thick bodied.

Drinkability-Heavy but still nicely quaffable

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2011 05:59:48 | More by olmatty