By Cory Huffman of Indiana On Tap
You pass the large display cases for Sierra Nevada at darn near every liquor store you enter – same with grocery stores. The chances are beyond good that you’ve had the iconic Pale Ale, which may have led you to their Torpedo IPA. From there you may have dabbled in some of their other offerings like Narwhal Russian Imperial Stout or Celebration, their winter seasonal IPA.
Or maybe you view Sierra Nevada the same way you look at Sam Adams in the craft beer world and have slowly started to just ignore them. It’s your call, I’m not judging.
I would ask you one favor though, if you’re inclined to listen. I implore you to give their new Hop Hunter IPA a shot.
Why? Well, here’s a little insight that makes it an intriguing beer.
You might not realize that hops—one of four necessary ingredients in beer—are only fresh, or “ripe,” for a 6 to 8 week window every year. Generally that time frame stretches from mid-August until mid-September. A majority of those fresh picked hops are dried and turned into pellets, while a rather small amount are immediately used in fresh hopped beers, called “wet hop” ale.
The beer guru’s at Sierra Nevada found a way to steam the hops into a vapor. From that vapor, they are then condensed and cooled back into a highly concentrated liquid – hop oil!
This distilled oil is what is used to give Hop Hunter an amazingly aromatic nose. Do I have your attention now? Good. If you’d like to learn more about this beer, its history and its unique characteristics, check out its profile on Esquire.com.
You pass the large display cases for Sierra Nevada at darn near every liquor store you enter – same with grocery stores. The chances are beyond good that you’ve had the iconic Pale Ale, which may have led you to their Torpedo IPA. From there you may have dabbled in some of their other offerings like Narwhal Russian Imperial Stout or Celebration, their winter seasonal IPA.
Or maybe you view Sierra Nevada the same way you look at Sam Adams in the craft beer world and have slowly started to just ignore them. It’s your call, I’m not judging.
I would ask you one favor though, if you’re inclined to listen. I implore you to give their new Hop Hunter IPA a shot.
Why? Well, here’s a little insight that makes it an intriguing beer.
You might not realize that hops—one of four necessary ingredients in beer—are only fresh, or “ripe,” for a 6 to 8 week window every year. Generally that time frame stretches from mid-August until mid-September. A majority of those fresh picked hops are dried and turned into pellets, while a rather small amount are immediately used in fresh hopped beers, called “wet hop” ale.
The beer guru’s at Sierra Nevada found a way to steam the hops into a vapor. From that vapor, they are then condensed and cooled back into a highly concentrated liquid – hop oil!
This distilled oil is what is used to give Hop Hunter an amazingly aromatic nose. Do I have your attention now? Good. If you’d like to learn more about this beer, its history and its unique characteristics, check out its profile on Esquire.com.
