Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Escondido, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Growler fill from the Stone brewery. I live only three miles from the brewery, but bottles of this disappeared there and at the local stores very quickly. I was fortunate to get the growler fill to sample this collaboration. Pours from growler a hazy golden straw color with two fingers of creamy white foam. Aroma has significant earthy hops with notes of bitter grapefruit, lemon oil, medicinal herbs, some dankness. Flavor has lots of hops (lemon, lesser grapefruit notes, herbs, fresh-cut grass) but also a really nice sencha green tea taste which emerges a bit later and blends very nicely with the hops. Though mostly absent in the nose, the nice creamy smoothness of the sencha really adds to the flavor and the palate here. The interesting hop profile (Pacifica, Amaris, Sorachi Ace) and the green tea make this a decidedly different brew, certainly for Stone or for any other brewery for that matter. It actually feels lighter than what you would expect...more like a regular IPA than a double. Anyway, another great collaboration coming from Stone. I lived in Japan for five years, and I am very happy to see Stone doing its part to help the situation there. Kanpai! (117, 598)

Draught, from last existing keg apparently. (Rating #800) Pours a deep, hazy straw, with a white head. Very hoppy, spicy, herbal aroma, Sorachi (?), grapefruit, nettles, yeast, mint, malt. Dry, medium body, high bitterness, balanced CO2. Hoppy, spicy taste, grapefruit, Sorachi, lime peel, yeast, kiwi, mint, tea leaves, bergamot. (2012-05-01)

Durhambeer scored me a bottle of this a while back - thanks, Bob! Fairly buoyant pour, golden-orange with a medium head. Strong citrus and pine in the nose, as one would expect, with a settled (not pungent) tea quality coming on late. Mouthfeel is quite smooth, no real heat despite the ABV. Tasted faded already and would have enjoyed this one uber-fresh. But the age did tend to accentuate the leafy flavors a bit, even if the ripe, bitter hops had subsided somewhat. Okay.

Interesting color... If I hold it up to the light, it looks lemon yellow. If I place it on the table it looks slight peach amber. Fruity citrus aroma. Equally interesting flavor notes of spicy pepper. The pepper really shows up in the aftertaste as it sits in the tongue. Overall, it’s an interesting brew. Very complex but drinkable.

From notes: Poured hazy orange-amber with a small, white head. Mild citrus hops aroma, with notes of tea and yeast. Perhaps a floral note too. Medium bosy, with maybe a very slight thickness. Taste is lemony, with a mild hops bitterness and maybe a touch of honey in the back. Mild pine notes in a slightly dry finish. Good, but was a touch disappointed. Was expecting more from the tea.

Bottle, Tan sandy color. Smells of slight hops and grass...taste is similar... dont taste much green tea, but its a very nice easy drinking 2XIPA

Bottle @ RBESG 2011 Grand Tasting at Dean Swift. Good hop aroma. Hoppy as hell but with a really good perfumed flavour. Good flavours. Good hops on end. One of the beers of the day.

Gedronken in Brussel bij moeder Lambic, Gele kleur, echt een hele erge groene thee smaak. Wel lekker.

Bottle from 16 Tons. Light orange in color with a moderate white head that faded quickly. Aroma of citrus fruits and herbal tea notes. Nice mix of grapefruit and herbal tea flavors with well hidden alcohol and a bitter finish. Nice beer for a great cause.

From notes. First reviewed 8/22/2011. On tap in a short stange at the Stone Tap Takeover at Acre. This has a light hazy golden color with a small white head that laces the glass nicely. The aroma has a green tea base, with a fair amount of lemon, some grapefruit hops, and some biscuity malt. The flavor is terrible. Medicinal flavor, fusel alcohol, green tea, sweet biscuity malt, and some lemon zest are pretty much a mess. Astringent and dry, the mouthfeel is not very good. It also has a light to medium body and medium carbonation. I could not really drink much of this at all. It is definitely the worst Stone beer I have ever had.

Bottle from Davis Beer Shoppe. Pours orange copper with a modest beige head and a citrus aroma. There is a hearty caramel malt flavor with residual green tea taste and a peppery mouthfeel. An interesting and unique brew that is worth trying.