Tag Archives: stone

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

Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0

Wednesday, 7 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 8.5%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 100+ IBUs. Hops – Magnum, Nugget, Centennial, Simcoe, Citra and Azacca.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) When this double IPA first hit the scene in 2002, the hoppy beer landscape was far different that it is today. Ales offering an onslaught of resinous humulus lupulus were virtually unknown. Thankfully that is no longer the case. Terms such as “lupulin” and “IBU” are well established in the craft beer lexicon. And with the knowledge of all that hops have to offer comes the desire to go beyond bracing bitterness. Fortunately, Stone Ruination IPA has always been crafted to celebrate all facets of the hop – its beauty and poetry, its boldness and might. As craft beer has evolved, so too have techniques for extracting the best and the most out of hops. So we modernized Stone Ruination IPA, coaxing every last drop of piney, citrusy, tropical essence from the Centennial, Citra, Simcoe and Azacca hops that give this beer its incredible character. Join us in cheering this, the second stanza in our “Liquid Poem to the Glory of the Hop.”

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

Intro: A 22 fl oz bomber bottled on 17th July 2015 and with an enjoy by date of 15th October 2015. It was poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden orange colour with a two finger white head which dissipates quite quickly but leaves lots of sticky lacing.
Aroma: Clear tropical fruit aromas to start mainly of mango, papaya, peach and pineapple before settling on pine hop and some citrus orange peel.
Taste: Starts with citrus orange, orange peel, sweet mandarin, maybe even a little soapy. Towards the middle there is a hint of tropical fruits but not much before it quickly finishes with a lasting grapefruit bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: Great aromas coming from this beer and although I prefer less citrus orangeyness and more tropical fruit, this was still a very good DIPA that I would continue to drink.

4 - Good (buy), American Strong Ale, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co. (Arrogant Consortia), USA

Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale

Monday, 5 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. (Arrogant Consortia)
Country: USA
ABV: 7.2%
Style: American Strong Ale
Other Notes: IBU – classified. Hops – classified.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This is an aggressive ale. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory–maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it’s made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beverage will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you’re mouthing your words as you read this.

At Stone Brewing, we believe that pandering to the lowest common denominator represents the height of tyranny–a virtual form of keeping the consumer barefoot and stupid. Brought forth upon an unsuspecting public in 1997, Arrogant Bastard Ale openly challenged the tyrannical overlords who were brazenly attempting to keep Americans chained in the shackles of poor taste. As the progenitor of its style, Arrogant Bastard Ale has reveled in its unprecedented and uncompromising celebration of intensity. There have been many nods to Arrogant Bastard Ale…even outright attempts to copy it… but only one can ever embody the true nature of Liquid Arrogance!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.15
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 22 oz bomber with an enjoy by date of 9th October 2015 and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Poured a very nice clear dark copper amber colour with a one finger tanned head with low retention but leaves spotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong caramel malt aromas followed by maple syrup, toffee, almond and pineapple. There were also hints of minerals and also piney hops towards the finish.
Taste: Sweet-ish roasted caramel malts mixed with grapefruit and pine hop bitterness. The finish is a very nice long lasting bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Mid to full bodied with medium carbonation and nice light alcohol warmth.
Overall: I haven’t had the chance to try many American Strong Ales, but this one was really good. Great balance and the lasting bitterness at the end along with the light alcohol warmth make it really enjoyable.

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.

words of another dreamy traveller