Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA Clone Recipe
Sierra Nevada created this IPA with the use of a “Hop Torpedo”, a device that was developed to aid dry hopping.
Previously, the brewery had been using nylon sacks to dry hop their beers, securing them to the fermenter. After pulling them out after the dry hopping period, Sierra Nevada found that there where still dry spots in the pellet hops. This was of course, not very efficient and the maximum amount of flavour and aroma wasn’t being extracted from the hops.
The brewery fabricated a “hop torpedo” that was essentially a stainless steel tube that is packed with whole leaf hops. Fermenting beer is pumped through the torpedo and back through to the fermenting vessel. The speed, time and temperature of the circulation allows a fairly good degree of control for extracting hop flavour.
Torpedo Extra IPA was Sierra Nevadas first year-round IPA and was released in 2009. Hop shortages meant the beer had to be allocated and demand has outpaced supply ever since.
Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA Recipe
Recipe Details
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 L | 60 min | 63.5 IBUs | 21.2 EBC | 1.072 | 1.018 | 7.2 % |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pale Malt (2 Row) US | 5.898 kg | 91 |
| Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L | 583.3 g | 9 |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Form | Alpha % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnum | 28 g | 60 min | Boil | Leaf | 12 |
| Magnum | 28 g | 30 min | Boil | Leaf | 12 |
| Crystal | 28 g | 5 min | Boil | Leaf | 3.5 |
| Magnum | 28 g | 5 min | Boil | Leaf | 12 |
| Citra | 18 g | 5 days | Dry Hop | Leaf | 12 |
| Crystal | 18 g | 5 days | Dry Hop | Leaf | 3.5 |
| Magnum | 18 g | 5 days | Dry Hop | Leaf | 12 |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Ale (WLP001) | White Labs | 77% | 20°C - 22.78°C |
Mash
| Step | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Mash In | 68°C | 75 min |
Download
| Download this recipe's BeerXML file |
Sierra Nevadas Home Brew Roots
Ken Grossman the founder of Sierra Nevada Brewery started out as a home brewer.
Starting in the 1970’s learning how to brew through to starting a Home Brew shop and managing to stock hops that at the time would have been difficult for home brewers to source.
In the 80’s Sierra Nevada brewery was born. Ken Grossman had to fabricate most of the brewery equipment and refrigeration himself as microbreweries were rare at the time. With the ethos of brewing beers, he wanted to drink himself the brewery made him a billionaire.
His autobiography and the story of Sierra Nevada is well worth a read.
Malt Extract Version
To brew a malt extract version of this beer substitute the pale malt for one the following:
5.24kg (11.55lb) Pale Liquid Malt Extract
or
4.4kg (9.67lb) Pale Dry Malt Extract
Steep the crystal malt in a grain bag for 20 minutes, add a third of the malt extract at the start of the boil and the remaining 2/3rds a few minutes before the end of the boil.
Recipe Notes
This recipe is sourced from a few locations.
- Sierra Nevadas own website lists the ingredients and a few of the beers measurements.
- A Home Brew Talk Forum post from a user that got in touch with the brewery.
- A Brew Your Own article that is now behind a paywall. This forum post details the recipe from BYO’s site.
Sierra Nevada brew this beer using a hop torpedo which is not going to be possible for the majority of home brewers. A simple dry hop addition will have to do.
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