What natural occurrence is strong enough to pull me out of a
winter hibernation? A truly perfect hop storm. Last week a quick stop at TJ's revealed a whole lotta love for hopheads. On draft were Bell's Hopslam, Sierra Nevada Hoptimum and Troegs Nugget Nectar. Three short pours of each created a true Holy Hop Trinity.The hype is as big as ever with the release of Slam and Nectar, but after praising TJ's on the holy gathering it was the Sierra Nevada Hoptimum that took me by surprise. This whole-cone brewed DIPA is a sweet, biscuity, tangerine, grapefruit, hopfest. That familiar Sierra pine bitterness doesn't come in until later. At 10.4% the booze hits and the sticky factor is there. However, it's a big beer that works. This double more than holds it's own with it's mega hyped counterparts. If you don't fear going big it's a must try.
