Bandwagons west

Did we really need another extension to Sierra Nevada's "Little Thing" series? Especially since this one is called Juicy Little Thing: wasn't juiciness the whole point of the original, and still best, Hazy Little Thing? As we all know by now, yeast technology has moved on, hop optimisation is the name of the biochemical game these days, and Sierra Nevada has no intention of being left behind.

The beer is 6.5% ABV, so only subtly different from the original's strength. It positively glows in the glass, a radiant tropical-sunset orange. For all the haze and purported juice there's not much of an aroma, and what's there is on the savoury side. The flavour is very dull. It had been in the can for a little over two months, which shouldn't be enough to kill hop subtlety altogether so I can only conclude there wasn't much to start with. In place of juice I found a sickly orange cordial, dried onion and a sort of stale plasticky twang, like you might find in a cheap and nasty German lager. It's very disappointing but is at least in keeping with most of the other secondary Little Things by being not worth drinking. One can rarely fault Sierra Nevada's consistency.

Another unfathomably fashionable IPA sub-style is cold IPA, and the brewery has given their fabulous Torpedo the lager yeast treatment to create Cold Torpedo. "Ultra-crisp and clean for peak drinkability" goes the blurb. Drinkability is not what I come to resin-bomb Torpedo for, so I was wary. Is this another ill-advised and unnecessary brand extension? I'm going to say "no". It is undoubtedly lighter than real Torpedo, and paler too, but the high-octane hop explosion is retained, and a certain amount of crispness suits it. It's still bitter and resinous, but without the weighty malt backing you get more of the fruity side: pith and zest, not just the oils. Lime and grapefruit gives way to apricot and cantaloupe. It's still a powerhouse, but on a more advanced and complex level. It makes for an interesting companion piece to Torpedo, which is what brand extensions ought to be.

Still, if Sierra Nevada are going to insist on chasing passé IPA trends, how about throwing us a black one now and again?