Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

Sierra Nevada, one of my favorite breweries, has produced another outstanding beer, Hoptimum. (I loved their Rye IPA, when I discovered it in January.)

I found it on the shelf at my local beer emporium last week and bought a four-pack. Allowing my sense of smell to recover fully from a mild cold, I was rewarded yesterday evening with its rich aroma and well-balanced taste.

From the brewer's description:

A group of hop-heads and publicans challenged our Beer Camp brewers to push the extremes of whole-cone hop brewing. The result is this: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurricane of flavor. Simply put -- Hoptimum: the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced. Aggressively hopped, dry-hopped, AND torpedoed with our exclusive new hop varieties for ultra-intense flavors and aromas.

Resinous "new-school" and exclusive hop varieties carry the bold and aromatic nose. The flavor follows the aroma with layers of aggressive hoppiness, featuring notes of grapefruit rind, rose, lilac, cedar, and tropical fruit -- all culminating in a dry and lasting finish.

Perusing the rest of the description, I was surprised (although I shouldn't have been) to find that the recipe employed a favorite hop variety of mine, Simcoe. I must also say that the "hophead" illustration (top right) used on the bottles is ingenious. I can't think of a label I like better.

I really hope that by "Limited Selection", the brewer means that this will reappear on occasion. It would be a shame for this to be a one-off. If any passer-by knows one way or the other, please leave a comment.

-- CAV