Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Whole-Cone Imperial IPA coming New Year’s Day

sierra-nevada-hoptimum

(Chico, CA) – “The ultimate whole-cone hop experience.”


Just got a sell sheet for Sierra Nevada Hoptimum tipped my way. The beer will be released on a very limited basis beginning New Year’s Day.

A group of hop-heads and publicans challenegd our Beer Camp brewers to push the extremes of whole-cone hop brewing. The result is this: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurrican 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.

sierra-nevada-hoptimum-bottleHops, hops and more hops are the stars of this big, whole-cone Imperial IPA. 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.

Beer specs:

ABV: 10.4%
Original Gravity: 22.8 Plato
Final Gravity: 4.5 Plato
Bitterness Units: 100 IBU
Color: Orange Amber
Bittering Hops: German Magnum
Aroma Hops: Simcoe & New Proprietary Variety
Dry Hops: Simcoe & New Proprietary Variety
Topedo Hops: Citra & Chinook
Malts: Two-row Pale, Golden Promise, Munich & Wheat
Yeast: Ale

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15 thoughts on “Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Whole-Cone Imperial IPA coming New Year’s Day

  1. hey, remember when sierra nevada beers used to have class, and didn’t cave to gimmicks like overhopping and high abv that talentless hacks like Greg Koch and Sam Calagione use? good times.

  2. hey, remember when sierra nevada didn’t make extreme beers and all you could get was pale ale like every other talentless hack makes? bad times.

  3. Well, I guess Torpedo IPA, one of the best selling craft 6 packs, must be a gimmick too. Yeah, those 30th anniversarry beers, all of which have been fantastic, must be a gimmick too. And who would have ever thought about over hopping a barleywine?!?! Bigfoot is the biggest gimmick Sierra Nevada’s been shoving down our throats!!

    Get off your high horse, Sierra Nevada has been and will always be an amazing, innovative brewery. If you want boring beer, go to England.

  4. Whoa! Strong opinion alert!

    Remember when music used to be good? You know, when it was just a man and the wood of his guitar? Then all these gimmicks like “distortion” came along which allowed thousands of talentless hacks to make “rock and roll”

  5. Tar and feather Ajaarg for speaking ill of Sierra Nevada and extreme hops and high ABV! Uncouth bastard.

  6. Say Ajaarg, you’ve a right to your opinion but I’d point out to you that all of your beloved SN classics are still on the shelf. Thing is people want hops right now and there’s nothing wrong with that. Grossman is a brewer but also an astute businessman and if that’s what people want he’ll give it too them. It’s not like he’s just tossing Kochish beers out there that aren’t good. All of his new brews are top of the line and that’s saying something from an operation as big as SN has gotten. I’m looking forward to this “gimmick”.

  7. Not to mention that Sierra Nevada has been around forever and is largely responsible for the micro-boom. So many brewheads, myself included, got their start with SN.

  8. “Talentless hacks like Greg (I think you meant Jim) Koch and Sam Calagione?” You could probably thank those two “hacks” for all of the craft brew that you drink, as they both are hugely responsible for the movement toward craft beer in this country. Especially “Greg.” You’re a dope.

  9. Pingback: VACraftBeer.com » Blog Archive » Virginia Craft Beer Reviews & News Ep 4

  10. I had hoptinum at the vail big beer belgiams and barlwy wines ans it was incredible. Wtf is wrong with hype and overdoing it? Its not called blandium

  11. Pingback: Sierra Nevada Hoptimum 2011 « Beerproof – Adventures in Drinking

  12. I dunno i guess im a beeridiot. This is one of my all time favorite beers ever! Call it whatever you want it’s very good. I hope they continue to make it. It is right up there with Sam Adams imperial pilsner which unfortunately you can only get every two years in limited supply..To each his own heck some guys like to get an 18 pack lite of the other kind and pound the whole thing down in one sitting. It’s not for me to say but I’ll take one Hoptimum any day in exchange for one of those 18 packs! I’ll feel better when I’m done and look better too! Really what benefit is it to hack on one mans creativity. If you don’t like it don’t buy it. I encourage the rest of you to give this one a try. If you don’t like it send me the left overs!!

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