Sierra Nevada Hop Bullet American Double / Imperial IPA at 8% ABV | 60 IBU (US$2.31 at Specs Main Houston, 355 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 3-Mar-2018, reviewed 6-Mar-2018)
Appearance: clear pale gold with one fat finger of rocky pale ivory head diminishing gradually to a persistent thick creamy cap, stringy moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: juicy citrus, pine resin, caramel, pale malt, stone fruit, light floral, earth. (9/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, medium duration lingering and building bitter finish. (4/5)
No packaging date, but “Spring Seasonal”, so it should be fairly fresh. The finishing hops (which I assume includes the described “lupulin dust”) are pretty much all the starts-with-C hops (Centennial, Cascade, Chinook, and Crystal) in addition to Magnum. I usually see positives and negatives to a multiple hop approach, and this one is no different: there are absolutely none of the negative “over-extraction” style characters one might expect from a single-hop approach, but it’s also not particularly bright. Lots of fruit character, but blended, if you will – so, not orange juice, but Tang™. (And seriously easy-drinking for a beefy ABV DIPA.) Really good stuff overall, though I think it could’ve been better with a more focussed hop philosophy. (17/20)
8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
