197. Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

This is only my second beer from Sierra Nevada and overall I am not impressed. This is their Imperial IPA and I have been drinking a lot of Double/Imperial IPAs over the past couple of weeks and this one just does not stand up to those other West Coast IPAs and Sebago Brewing's Full Throttle. Color is nice with a thick white head after an aggressive pour, aroma has plenty of citrus hops but nothing too exciting. Taste is where this one loses me; some citrus, pine and grapefruit but also a fair amount of bitterness and quite sweet. The alcohol is hidden well as it is 10+% ABV but does not taste it. Maybe I am being too critical or I have simply had too many exceptional IPAs lately to really give this one a fair chance. 
Pros: Appearance

Cons: Sweet and bitter

Alcohol Content: 10.4% ABV
Calories: ???
IBU (Bitterness): 100
Rating:  
Brewers Website: Sierra Nevada

Brewers Description: A group of hop-heads and publicans challenged our Beer Camp brewers to push the extremes of whole-cone hop brewing. The result is this: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurricane of flavor. Simply put —Hoptimum: the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced. Aggressively hopped, dry-hopped, AND torpedoed with our exclusive new hop varieties for ultra-intense flavors and aromas.
Resinous "new-school" and exclusive hop varieties carry the bold and aromatic nose. The flavor follows the aroma with layers of aggressive hoppiness, featuring notes of grapefruit rind, rose, lilac, cedar, and tropical fruit—all culminating in a dry and lasting finish.