I make this -- Tropical Little Thing -- the seventh Sierra Nevada "Little Thing" beer to come my way. It does at least share a few attributes in common with the original and, arguably, best Hazy Little Thing: it's an IPA and has a similar ABV at 7%. What makes it tropical? The can doesn't say, while the brewery simply suggests it should taste of mango, papaya and passionfruit, without suggesting any of them have been added. Has it all been done with Amarillo, Cascade, El Dorado, Sabro and Sultana hops? That seems ambitious.It's certainly hazy; almost completely opaque, and a glowing weissbier gold rather than the more typically modern beaten-egg yellow. The aroma does indeed suggest tropical fruit, although not a whole lot of it. This smells interesting: sweet, but calm and balanced too. There's a lot of heft to the body; a filling, almost warming, density. Carried on that is the hop-dominated flavour, and there's no sign of any fruit additives. Of the five named varieties, I hear Sabro the loudest, with its sharp pithiness. That's complemented by a gentler mandarin zest, and maybe a little pineapple and mango arriving late, but I wouldn't say it's the main feature. For such a heavy beer, the finish is very quick, and I would have liked the hops to hang around longer, doing more.
In general, though, it's pretty good. It doesn't quite deliver on the description given, but take it as a standard American hazy IPA from a large brewery and it's perfectly satisfactory. Anyone trying to decide between this and the similarly-described Juicy Little Thing should definitely pick this.
And the Little Things keep coming. Look out for Crisp Little Thing next, if and when it arrives here.