Sierra Nevada Torpedo...?

[BlackRob]

Finally a SN IPA produced for the masses!:rockin:

 

[nosmatt]

6 12ozers down in 3 hours (ok, 2.5 hours!) and i wish i had more... but alas, it is a school night.

 

[no1likesme]

I picked up a 6'er of this Friday night and it is fantastic. A local grocery store has it priced a buck cheaper than SNPA, so that is a plus.

 

[codyg]

I just drank a six pack of it last night. Very detailed info (for a large brewery) on sierra nevada's website.

 

[magnj]

mmm drinking my last one right now. We have to work on a clone for this.

 

[jackson_d]

mmm drinking my last one right now. We have to work on a clone for this.

I would put a clone recipe of this on the top of my list.. Anyone find anything/ have any ideas? A personal fav of mine...

 

[Edcculus]

Finally got a chance to try this. I've got to say, it is very good. Maybe my new go to IPA. Despite a lot of people's conception that SN is one of the huge "microbrew" monsters, they are really a small brewery at heart.

Heres what their website says:
7.2% ABV
Yeast: not listed, but their yeast is available from both Wyeast and White Labs
OG: 17.8 Plato (~1.074)
FG: 4.6 Plato (~1.018)
Malt: 2row, carapils, crystal (from the color I'm guessing a 80 or 120L)
70 IBU's
Bittering: Magnum
Finish: Mangnum, Crystal
Dry Hop: Magnum, Crystal, Citra (maybe sub for a touch of cascade???)

 

[niquejim]

I had my expectations too high when I tried this. I was hoping for a year round Celebration Ale, and although it's good it's a letdown when you're hoping for one of your favorites

 

[doggage]

Torpedo is easily in my top 10, and that's saying something. What a wonderful beer. Not having any luck finding a reviewed extract recipe...

 

[RichBenn]

Torpedo is easily in my top 10, and that's saying something. What a wonderful beer. Not having any luck finding a reviewed extract recipe...

As an IPA lover, and appreciative of SN's contributions to the brew world, I too love this beer! For those that like Celebration or other styles, this is an IPA, not an XMAS beer!

Like another poster said, these are the web site specs:
alcohol content 7.2% by volume yeast Ale Yeast
beginning gravity 17.3 Plato bittering hops Magnum
ending gravity 4.2 Plato
finishing hops Magnum & Crystal
bitterness units 65 dry hopping Magnum, Crystal & Citra
malts Two-row Pale, & Crystal

At any rate, Citra is a must, (IMHO), a reasonable dose of crystal malt(darker varieties), reasonably heavy late/finishing hopping, to simulate their using of the torpedo device, and the Chico yeast(wlp001, salfale US-05, Wyeast 1056).

I haven't tried a clone for this yet, but will. I'm very interested in the results anyone has on this, so please post your taste tests!

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I just tried this recently, also tried Dead Guy and DFH 90 (I know these are not all the exact same style). I don't drink much commercial beer so these were all new to me.

Loved the Dead Guy.
Liked the Torpedo.
Do not want DFH 90.

TwoHeadsBrewing's assessment is spot-on imo. Somebody else said the bitterness is a tiny bit harsh and I agree but overall it's a good beer imo.

EDIT: the DFH 90 may not have been fresh, it had some aroma but not a ton of it. But I found it to be sort cloyingly sweet.

 

[McCuckerson]

I like it, but it surprisingly has a pretty small amount of hop aroma. However, there is a nice hop flavor and good hop bite to it. Finishes nice and dry with a good amount of bitterness to cleanse the palette. Head retention is not so good, reducing down to a 1/4" layer of bubbles after the first few drinks. Overall a great IPA, but not the best I've had.

I'd give this one 87/100. Great and tasty but not fantastic.

+1 For a Double IPA there was almost zero nose, not bad but just not what I expected....Can anyone suggest a real good representation of a double IPA or an Imperial IPA

 

[Fishin-Jay]

I'm not sure about the "no nose" comments, because I get plenty of hop nose from it. For me most IIPAs are unbalanced and push too much hops without enough malt to balance. Most IIPA's I find overpowering, but I really enjoy Torpedo. It's one of the few that seem balanced to me.

 

[McCuckerson]

I'm not sure about the "no nose" comments, because I get plenty of hop nose from it. For me most IIPAs are unbalanced and push too much hops without enough malt to balance. Most IIPA's I find overpowering, but I really enjoy Torpedo. It's one of the few that seem balanced to me.

I think I expected more aroma. When I think of IIPAs I expect firework aromatics. I got more malt and bitterness than anything with this one. I did like it a lot, its just not what I expected. Maybe mine was a bit older.... dunno 7.2% cant be bad........

 

[UncleJohnnys]

I've done about 7 all grain batches now and this one is the best yet.

This was fly sparged and put a total of 6 gallons into (2) 4gal carboys for 2 weeks, then dry hopped in 6gal carboy for another week.


2 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
14 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
1.50 oz Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
1.50 oz Crystal [3.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min
1.00 oz Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.00 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days
1.00 oz Crystal [3.50 %] - Dry Hop 10.0 Days