Notes / Commercial Description:
From the brewery ... Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale is a big American IPA; bold, assertive and full of flavor and aromas highlighting the complex citrus, pine and herbal character of whole-cone American hops.

Reviews by Roguer:

A - Dark, copper pour, two finger cream-colored head that slowly fades down to a thin line. Very nice lacing.

S - Piney and hoppy, notes of citrus waft out, but without that strong grapefruit peel I'm so used to in many single IPAs. More neutral; clean and bright. Slightly floral.

T - This is a beer that is near-perfect for the style. Huge notes of citrus and pine hop flavor, with solid bitterness, and a smooth malt backbone that compliments without making itself particularly known. There's some sweetness, but not much.

M - Absolutely great mouthfeel. Easy and pleasant, a very mild carbonation sting, and a thin hop oil sheen. Slightly dry, more so as the drink goes on. As thin as it seems at the time, I feel absolutely full. A pleasure to drink.

O - Not much could make this beer better for style. "Extra IPA" is a pretty decent qualifier: it occupies a niche between most single IPAs and double IPAs, packing a huge dose of bitterness, but plenty of flavor, and very smooth drinkability. Definitely fits the bill as SNPA's big brother.

More User Reviews:

5/5 rDev +21.7%look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I never rate beers. I like to drink them. I drink all the fancy ones people like to call the best beers in the world. KBS, Pliny, etc. This, to me, is the best beer in the world. This has the hops that every IPA strives for. More importantly you don't have to pay 22.99 for a 4 pack if you're lucky to get there at the right time. You don't have to show up on a Tuesday morning and whisper "george the animal steel likes butterscotch crumpets". This beer is $7.99 a sixer at Wegmans. Wegmans isn't exactly known for their bargains. 6 stars. 6 I say!

What's interesting about Sierra Nevada is that up until this year, they were probably one of the only West Coast breweries to not produce a year-round India Pale Ale (IPA). However, around three years ago, there was buzz on the internetz that Sierra Nevada was dabbling with a new way of infusing hops into beer. Soon, a concoction named "Torpedo" began to rear its foam at select locations and events. In late 2008, Sierra Nevada announced that they'd be launching a year-round IPA called "Torpedo Extra IPA," and revealed the process:

"The name itself comes from a device called the 'hop torpedo' that was conceived, designed and developed at the brewery. The result is a revolutionary method of dry-hopping that harnesses the vital hop oils and resins that lead to an unusually flavorful and aromatic beer featuring the full, nuanced range of spicy complexity that hops have to offer."

They also use 100-percent American hops and multiple varieties--each of which impart unique characters. Let's load this one and give it a shot--yeah, that was bad.

Pours a bright, clear copper with a thick and hop-induced, creamy, off-white foam head with a lace that sticks and stays along the glass. Big hops in the nose. Floral with some grapefruit rind and pepper in the back. Smooth and creamy on the palate with a firm, round and semi-full body. A bit chewy and juicy at times. Fruity (a bit tropical) with citrus (mostly rind, some grapefruit), semisweet apple (Red Delicious comes to mind) and some herbal notes (soft and pleasant). Then bitter. Dry and acidic with an aspirin edge. Building layers of hops on the palate with each sip. Fresh, green hops. Pine. Resin. Spice. Hint of soap (happens with highly hopped beers). Palate turns gritty and leafy with an ashy finish. Biscuity malt. Hay. Bone dry. More-ish.

Torpedo is a dry and robust IPA that waves confidently at the Double IPA with a ton of hop presence and 7.2-percent ABV, but remains an American IPA with its artful use of hops that brings big, but balanced, flavors, and subsequent drinkability. We love it. Released in January 2009 in six-packs and hopefully available until the end of days.

A: Pours quite darker than expected from an IPA. It is amber, almost translucent, light tan color head, very creamy head too. There is a good amount of retention and lacing.

S: This is a very balanced, typically called east coast style IPA. There is a good amount of ripe pineapple juice in this, as well as mango. But, there is also a good, solid, amount of biscuit and caramel malts. Seems quite sweet.

T: The taste confirmed what I smelled. But, this is quite a bit more bitter than expected with a strong orange peel and pine (typical west coast though) like attack right at the front. Then, the pineapple and mango are still there, a bit subdued than in the smell. You still get a good amount of caramel and cookie dough.

M: On the heavier side of medium feel, not too sticky. Carbonation is lively.

O: This is very drinkable and solid. I admit that I suppose the bottle is around 3-4 months old after the tasting, so I admit I may not have the full, correct experience that this beer can offer (I adjust my score accordingly). Still, this is a solid brew.

It always bothers me when beer snobs say Sierra Nevada is good "for a big brewery." This beer shows that SN is better than good, they're amazing, period. For a company that could be living off of brand recognition, Torpedo is a recent addition to their line of beer that shows they're not afraid to try something new. They hit the nail on the head. This is my favorite beer of all time, bar none. I've had IPAs that cost 5 times as much and would sell their soul to the devil to taste half as good as Torpedo. And you can buy it anywhere! 6 out of 5

Poured into a standard pint glass a slightly hazed amber/copper color with a tight formed 1/2 finger head that stuck around for awhile leaving broken shotty lace behind.Fresh aromas that were heavy in the citric hops,mainly grapefruit with underlying lemon pith with a bit of overripe pineapple,a light but noticeable caramel note shows thru as well.Flavors well were alot like the aromas,citric hops blast out up front with a bit of white pepper-like spice wich was odd but not a bad thing,the caramel sweetness holds up well but is obviously over taken by the big hops.You would never know the ABV. of this beer it just goes down easy and is rather refreshing,kick ass.

Everything you have read about this beer is absolutely true. It is amazingly delicious. Pleasantly dry and hoppy, a little smokey, floral, umami. It's like drinking a fine liquid cigar. There are many higher priced ipas that would fall to their knees and pay homage to this benchmark of what an IPA should be. Beautiful sticky liquid lacing my glass maintaining a nice head and lingers on the tongue like the best morning cup of coffee. Robust, toasty, rich, not too heavy. This is the best beer I have ever had. Very drinkable...I can drink all six without palate fatigue. I love this beer.

Hilariously, this was my first ever IPA, and I learned a lot from it. You can find Torpedo in hella places, from a Bodega in Brooklyn to upscale supermarkets to (odds are) wherever you happen to live. And it isn't expensive. My first take on this was that the smell, look, and feel were interesting, but it tasted like drinking pine tree juice. However, now that I've become much more accustomed to drinking IPAs, I think it's balanced: it tastes citrusy and floral (like a pine tree), but in a tasty way. It ends a bit bitter, but not overly so. This beer is proof that good things don't necessarily have to come with a 20 dollar price tag or overly hopped. I think there are many brewing companies that could take a hint from this.

This is a classic. I've had it in several states and several situations but it never disappoints. Time for a review.

Look: Looks like an IPA; classic deep amber color, nice slightly off-white head, and great carbonation. Absolutely beautiful in the glass, especially when the sun shines through it leaving rays of dancing amber light like flames on the table.

Smell: Full on piney hops, strong peach, and mango with caramely malts.

Taste: Again, classic IPA taste. The bitterness is piney and resilient. Timeless, if you will. The malt body provides a solid beat like John Bonham and John Paul Jones working together.

Feel: Full body with just the right amount of coating. There is mild astringency on the back of the tongue.

Overall: The classic and perfect IPA. I'd like to call it a starter IPA but I've seen people run screaming after one sip back to their light beer. More for me, I guess. And there will be more because this one is the Coca-Cola of IPAs.

Look- Massive foamy head. Clear reddish/Amber. Excellent sticky lace retention.
Smell- Sweetness from the citrus. There is also a perfumy and floral tone.
Taste- Mostly hops forward and rather intense at times. The bitterness is medium to high; the piny hops predominate. Floral, soapy, herbal and tobacco like. However, as he drink warms, some of the citrus/grapefruit fruitiness comes out. Very subdued bready malt backbone, however, this one is mostly about the hops.
Feel- Medium bodied, smooth and drinkable. The palate is mostly dry. The alcohol is practically untraceable.
Overall- Hoppy, dry and bitter, but with a light citrus sweetness that prevents it from overwhelming the palate. If you are a hops head, this one is pretty good. I enjoyed it.

12oz bottle, at Beer Bistro in suit-heavy downtown Toronto - funny that they get this here, but we out in Western Canada have yet to see nada from this Cali brewery.

This beer pours a crystal clear, medium copper amber colour, with two fingers of puffy, chunky, and somewhat creamy off-white head, which leaves a pleasant array of cobwebbed lace around the glass as it slowly and evenly recedes.

It smells, quite frankly, of fresh pine needles dipped in caramel pudding, with a touch of generic tropical fruit notes, and perhaps a sense of yeasty alcohol. The taste is more robust citrus (blood orange and white grapefruit), a still heady and bordering on, but not quite dank pine needle and cone astringency, unheralded, but stand-up caramel/toffee malt, mixed exotic fruit notes, and maybe a bit of dulcet warming alcohol.

The carbonation is moderate in its enjoyably supportive and playful frothiness, the body a kind of sticky, yet full medium weight, and generally smooth, maybe a few localized hops tripping things up a bit, but not that sexy airy creaminess, no how! It finishes well off-dry, both the curmudgeon-like caramel malt, and the enjoyably testy leafy, piney, and citrusy hops closing up shop, but not without a rather long lead warning.

Overall, a very tasty bridge between IPA and DIPA, where the hoppiness remains a palate seducing constant, and surely that little bit of extra ABV intends no harm. I know that the 'torpedo' in question here has nothing to do with the military, but damn, Sierra Nevada, you done sunk my battleship!

One of my "go to" beverages - especially at $14 a 12er when on sale (no - not old beer - today it is 3 weeks in the bottle) A great example of an American IIPA and yet another killer brew from SN.
No sense in me repeating what millions of other have said and I am not into "foo-foo" beer reviews so I will just leave it at that.
Although ABV is not reaIly a double IPA - I do like to have one of these about 45 minutes before bedtime :)

This is not wine (thankfully)
It is beer
It is good beer
You should drink good beer

One of my go to beers. Mostly just drink straight from the bottle but when poured it has a deep amber color, thick head that leaves nice lacing on the glass , very appealing smell with citrus/fruit notes and tastes great in just about any setting. Might be strong for some but it is a great all around beer.

Nice IPA with possibly the best price point for product ratio. A tad skunky perhaps but when I want to scratch my IPA itch, a liter of this does the job often.
Thin head but good lacing. Great mouth feel. Taste/smell is mostly piney, with as others state many subtle undertones. Not too bitter unless uninitiated to IPA's.

Clean and pure grapefruit hop nose, very inviting and with hints of sweet lemon in the nose.

Nice creamy mouthfeel of lemon-pine resin hops. A creamy hop flavor and not the "hop bomb" otherwise expected but very nice and clearly a drink of quality. Very drinkable and an all around pleasant quality IPA that shows just the right amount of bitterness. Pure hop grapefruit flavors, character and finish.

I don't mind extreme hops (which this is just short of) but this is very nice in a readily available and very well priced hoppy beer.

Bought at the Beer Shop in East Longmeadow, MA and served in a pint glass. The beer has a burnt orange-light brown appearance with good head retention (started out with a big head but dissipated) and patchy lacing on the sides. Really absorbing aromas of fresh, grassy hops mixed with spiced bread and ripe citrus fruits. Taste pretty much follows the smell with more of that ripe citrusness showing and a sharp touch of those hops. Great body to this drink; generally smooth with a solid carbonation. Overall, this is a great IPA.

Seems to me the going rate for an "augmented" or double IPA these days is around $10-$12/six. I just found this at $10, which is great, but having regular SV right next to it made no sense to me. Put is this way: SV P/A is the SV Lite of this much better beer.

Someone below uses the term "white grapefruit flesh" and that is right on. Big bit bite of the grapefruit, nice malt wave, and pine on the finish.

I would venture to say if English bitter is not your taste, this beer may not be for you.

From what I can see, this should be SV's flagship beer. At $10, it's a steel; at $12, try Stone, Victory, or Double Bastard instead.

A: The beer is slightly hazy light copper in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high dense beige head that quickly died down but for the most part left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface as well as lacy rings down the sides of the glass.
S: There are moderate aromas of pine resin hops in the nose along with some hints of citrus.
T: Like the smell, the taste is very hoppy and is filled with piney flavors and a moderate amount of bitterness; it also has some hints of caramel malts. The bitterness really stands out in the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied and a bit sticky on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. There is a light to moderate amount of dryness in the finish.
O: The beer isn’t that difficult to drink considering its strength because the alcohol is well hidden from the taste and the bitterness from the hops does not overpower your palate.