Sierra Nevada’s newest offering, the Hop Hunter IPA, is a treasure. It’s unlike most IPAs in that it’s quite hoppy without being bitter. They get that hoppiness from what they call “farm distilled hop oil.”

If you’re wondering what that means, they take hops right there on the farm and steam them to get the essential oils. So they are, in fact, “distilling” the hops on the farm. Hence, “farm distilled hop oil.” They add that oil in the beer after fermenting, so the hops don’t go through the chemical change to make the beer so bitter.

They also use hops like in a regular beer, so there is still some bitterness to the Hop Hunter IPA, but it comes in at 60 BTU, which isn’t that bitter. And the hop flavor is intense.

The beer is malty with a funky citrus grass flavor and a lingering sweetness that makes me want to keep on drinking. I’m a fan of the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (the gold standard in American pale ales) as well as Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo, and this one is kind of a cross between the two. Funky, sweet, malty, delicious.

I hope they keep making it, and my grocery store keeps stocking it. As it is, I bought the last 12-pack they had.

For good reason.