Reviewed: Sierra Nevada Dank Little Thing IPA
From Sierra Nevada Brewing – We rolled up a mix of sticky, floral, and tropical hops into this Dank Little Thing. Amarillo®, Chinook, and CTZ varieties help pack that resinous flavor and spark an aroma that fills a room. Stash it while you can before the next hazy IPA rotator hits.
Sierra Nevada Brewing – Dank Little Thing IPA – 12 oz. can poured into beer glass – 7.5% abv.
I haven’t wrote one of these things in a long while and I dearly miss it. I’m not sure what motivated me to do so, but I thought that sticking with the plan of reviewing a beer that’s widely available was just what was in order. While I enjoy beers big and small, rare and plentiful, Sierra Nevada has stayed in my rotation for a few simple reasons. They are very easy to buy, they have bottle and canned on dates for all their products, and in this economy, it’s the most affordable with a quality to price ratio being best in the craft space. Wish me luck as this is the first web based review I’ve written in a while. Big should out to GT Wharton who was the best in the industry at this, and our dear President Andy Carter who stepped in for a minute.
Appearance: Dank Little Thing pours a bright honey mustard yellow, very similar to the original Hazy Little Thing, and has that signature fluffy Sierra Nevada head. As you can see in the picture, it’s turbid as hazies get and maybe the most turbid shelfie hazie I’ve seen to date.
Aroma: Just gigantic aroma of fruity hops. Not as much resin or pine as the description would lead you to believe. Although this doesn’t smell like the modern Citra Mosaic type hazy, the CTZ and Amarillo give it a classic “dank aroma” they were probably going for. It can be smelled from a few feet away. I’m very impressed right away by this.
Taste: I always maintained original Hazy Little Thing and as a close second, Firestone Mind Haze did the best job at not being too sweet for a national store shelf hazy, and the only reason why I don’t skip them all together. For the reason this style of beer has a wide appeal, is the reason why I strongly prefer West Coast IPA. Dank Little Thing takes the alcohol by volume from 6.8% abv. to 7.5% abv, and thus comes off sweeter to me. The hop bitterness almost takes a back seat, which is very unusual for a Sierra Nevada hoppy beer. Unlike a West Coast IPA, which I need constraint with so that I don’t finish it in 3 gulps, this beer took me a while to get through.
Mouthfeel: Dank Little Thing feels full bodied, almost heavy on the palate. The carbonation is pretty subdued.
Overall: This beer has me confused after 4 of 6 in the six pack. I don’t think Sierra Nevada has made a more inviting beer from a aroma standpoint. I’ve experienced plenty of beers that tout DDH/Double Dry Hopped that haven’t come close to the magic this beer possesses. This is almost at Monkish levels of fruity hop aroma. While the beer wasn’t something I could crush and was too sweet for me, I found myself going back for more. Is the power of hop aroma that powerful? I guess so. It would have been interesting to see if Sierra Nevada could have kept that magic within the framework of the 6.8% abv base beer. Not every beer has to be for me. If you or your loved one loves Hazy IPA, this is the cream of the crop in terms of store bought Hazies. When I associate Dank with beer, it’s a throwback term that is obviously tied to a bag of potent weed. I that case, this beer is as advertised.
