Category Archives: USA

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone IPA

Thursday, 24 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6.9%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 77 IBUs. Hops – Magnum, Chinook and Centennial.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) To say that this gem of an IPA is “hoppy” would be putting it modestly, and modesty is definitely not one of our strong suits. So we used a totally immodest amount of hops to create big hop aromas, big hop flavors and loads of hop bitterness in this delicious brew. First the aroma delights, then the flavor moves one to rejoice aloud. In fact, it makes us feel downright poetic. We hope it moves you too!

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.64
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a bottled date of 21th July 2015 and an enjoy by date of 19th October 2015. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden copper colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and leaves nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Fainter than I expected but starts with tropical mango and pineapple before turning to pine, grass and citrus lemon zest.
Taste: There was none of the tropicalness from the smell, but strong lemon zest, hop bitterness, floral and grassiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: This was only just ok for me. It wasn’t bad and I would drink it again but for example I prefer Stone’s Go To IPA.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone Go To IPA

Wednesday, 23 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 4.5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: A vibrant hop-bursted session IPA.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Since Day One, we’ve been abundantly forthright and fully transparent about our lust for hops. It’s led us to craft man an IPA, most of them imperial – some intense for their time and all timeless in their intensity. For Stone Go To IPA, we are embracing our hop obsession in a new way, funnelling an abundance of lupulin-borne bitterness into a “session” IPA delivering all the fruity, piney character of a much bigger IPA. To accomplish this, we employed “hop bursting” a technique wherein an irrational amount of hops is added during the final phase of the brewing process to coax out extreme flavors and aromas while also imparting a burst of desirably pleasant bitterness. The result is an alpha-acid-rich beer that you can enjoy more of without missing out on the assertive hop character you, like us, crave. So, sit back and go two with your new everyday go-to IPA and bask along with us in the glory of the almighty hop.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a bottled date of 20th July 2015 and an enjoy by date of 18th October 2015. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but left a lot of spotty lacing.
Aroma: Very nice blend of tropical fruit, citrus and pine aromas. Strong mango, peach and apricot along with some light grapefruit and orange zest and hints of pine. Only a very light breadiness in the background.
Taste: Like the aroma, taste is tropical and citrus fruits. Mango and apricot to begin with followed by some orange and finishing with grapefruit bitterness which is lasting.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: A very nice IPA from Stone. The aromas are stunning and it is very easy to drink.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone Delicious IPA

Friday, 18 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7.7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Hops: Lemondrop and El Dorado.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) From the beginning, Stone has been obsessed with the mission of providing people access to bold, high-quality craft beer. After all, great beer is for everyone and anyone with the good taste to recognize it, not just a niche group like us uber beer geeks. So, when we developed this pleasantly bitter, deliciously citrusy hop-driven IPA, we took it as an opportunity to go a step further and do something we’d spent over a year researching and perfecting: create a beer that makes it possible for nearly everyone to experience our aggressive, no-holds-barred approach to craft brewing. It’s a flavourful, cutting-edge, modern-day IPA for everyone. Lemondrop and El Dorado hops provide plenty of fruity citrus character and a burst of hop zing that sings on the palate. We’re proud to present it to those who, so far, have only heard the legends.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.73
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a bottled date of 18th July 2015 and an enjoy by date of 16th October 2015. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear deep golden copper colour with a slightly less than two finger white head with good retention that leaves lots of lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical beginning with passion fruit, pineapple and apricot followed by hints of grapefruit, lemon zest and pine.
Taste: Considering the strong tropical aromas, I do not get any of the tropical fruits in the flavours. Instead, there’s lots of citrus lemon, lemon zest, hoppy pine and a lasting peppery aftertaste. There was also hints of bready and caramel malts.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: I loved the aroma of this beer. It’s strong tropicalness was just stunning. However, none of that tropical was in the taste and that kind of brought it back down to earth for me as the bitter citrus lemony and peppery taste was just ok.

4 - Good (buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Clown Shoes Beer, USA

Clown Shoes Galactica

Wednesday, 9 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Clown Shoes Beer
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mercury Brewing Co., Ipswich, MA.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Galactica, a hop staff wielding heroine patrols in karate kick mode through the heavens. Her mission: cosmic combat to promote good beer. Dry hopped with galaxy hops, a clean malt backbone enhances the dank and luscious IPA flavors.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.96
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Strangely no bottled on date considering all my other Clown Shoes beer show it on the neck.
Appearance: The beer poured a hazy dark orangey amber colour with a slightly more than one finger off-white head that leaves stringy lacing.
Aroma: Tropical fruits dominate especially peach and apricot with hints of mango, some citrus grapefruit and light caramel malts.
Taste: A backbone of nice light caramel malts, followed by floral and citrus hops, mainly grapefruit and pine but there’s also tropical hints with peach, apricot and mango. Finishes with a nice lasting bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was nice, as it wasn’t overly caramel-ly. A nicely balanced Double IPA.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Jack’s Abby Brewing, Lager - IPL (India Pale), USA

Jack’s Abby Hoponius Union

Tuesday, 8 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Jack’s Abby Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American IPL
Other Notes: 65 IBUs.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Hoponius Union harmoniously combines lager yeast fermentation and West Coast IPA hops. Our India style Pale Lager is like a traditional IPA but with a twist – it’s fermented cold and aged for extended periods. A blend of classic American hops creates a huge tropical fruit and citrusy hop aroma. A dry finish accentuates the pleasant bitterness and hop profile. Hoponius Union uses locally sourced ingredients.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a manufacturing date of 1st December 2014 and poured into a pint glass (although I’d consider using an IPA glass for this next time).
Appearance: The beer poured a slightly hazy golden orange colour with a less than one finger white head that leaves some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Mainly citrus zest hops followed by some tropical mango and light pepperiness.
Taste: Light caramel malt flavours followed by some nice bitter citrus and grassy hops… orange and piney finish.
Mouthfeel: Crisp and dry, light to medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: I am impressed. The world needs more lagers like this. It is far and away the best lager I’ve tried, and a very good example of what can and should be done with lagers.

words of another dreamy traveller