Sierra Nevada "Hazy Little Thing" IPA

It just seems like it's wrong to have a brewery named Sierra Nevada that is not in Nevada. I get it. I understand that the Sierra Nevada mountain range seems to loom over the small city of Chico, California, but state names should mean something. I guess the names actually mean something if you go back in the history of the states and which ones might've been named after the shape of the state, the location of the state, some natural formation inside or along the state, but this isn't a geography blog. I'm just going to drink their beer.

The beer is certainly hazy enough for the moniker, and the orange beer doesn't produce as much head as similar beers might, but the head has staying power. The notably thick layer of bubbles completely covers the top of the beer. I had to go away for 10 minutes while I got something else done, and this foam hasn't moved. The aroma is a little tart, and it has citrus and tropical fruits just waiting to be enjoyed. 

First sip is gentile at first, but it rolls downhill and by the end has become a basket of fruit. That basket doesn't contain the sweetness of the fruit, as the sweetness is overtaken by the bitterness. I guess that's just the nature of hops, and there doesn't seem to be enough malt to hold back the bitterness. Of course, that's just in a sip, and sipping is not what we do around here.

Tip-in is orange, tangerine, and mango with very light carbonation tingle. The middle is sweet fruit meat that is both smooth and soothing. The finish causes a bit of a ruckus with dryness that is paired with bitterness before a bitter and slightly tart, fruity trail off.

Bottom Line: A perfectly serviceable workaday beer.

3.0/5