Stone Cali-Belgique IPA (Cali-België)

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Escondido, California USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

By far, my favorite Stone creation to date. The Belgian effect smoothes out excess bitterness and complements the IPA so comfortably that it accomplishes all the flavor with scary smooth drinkability.

Big bottle from Dan. Pours a hazy yellow-gold, with two fingers of pillowy head. Aroma is pine, tropical fruity hops and a definite Belgian twang. Definitely a lychee and apricot thing going on as well. Taste is perfectly balanced, surprisingly sweet on the way in but balanced brilliantly with bitterness. Pine, floral and tropical fruit hop character, but with a great Belgian hit just as it goes down the throat. Banana and lychee stuff going on as well. Medium-bodied, this is right up my street. Win.

Bottle from Tap East, Stratford City. Pours a golden orange with a high carbonation leaving a small creamy white head. Aroma is astonishing, pine and citrussy lemon zest, sweet white grapejuice and lychee. It’s incredibly fresh. Tangy and slick on the palate, it washes over the tongue bringing a fruity bitterness. There is a fresh lychee and sweet white grapejuice flavour that fills the mouth, drying to a roasted pineapple that has fresh grassy notes. Pure sweet nectar..

Aroma is extremely piney/leafy pines. Appearance is beautiful gold with a very thin foam top. Taste is large leafy and herby hops with a light malty base. Pleasant carbonation and crisp, refreshing taste. Overall, this is an incredible brew with a bitter hop bite. I’d give this a A+ rating.

Pours a foggy golden with a thin just off-white head. Aroma is citrus, pine, Belgian yeast, wood, vanilla, earth. Taste is dry, hoppy, Belgian yeast, some spice, grassy, earthy, slightly sweet, bitter finish. Mild drinkability. Well crafted but I’m not sure it works for me especially. I can appreciate this, but I see no reason to alter the Stone IPA, particularly in making it a Belgian style. Still, well-done even if not to my particular liking.

DRAFT at Fish Bar in Chicago. Pours foggy golden with frothy head...recedes quickly. Interesting mix of hoppy and sour nose. Sour taste dominates altho the hops fight thru periodically... an interesting mixture; will try again when I can get a full pour....FB is a little light with their pours.

Nice nose, quite hoppy with some mint hints. Bright color, very inviting. Excellent texture: not too rich for maximum drinkability (this can be dangerous...). Sharp floral and fruity finish with just enough bitterness.

In an attempt to "catch up" on my Beers of 2012 project, I am revisiting some old favorites. The Cali-Belgie from Stone Brewing is one that I’ve often labeled as my favorite from this West Coast Hop-head brewery. I had never been much of a hop-head myself and frequently found the beers from Stone a little too intense for my preference. I think my tastes have changed pretty drastically over the past few months, so Sara and I are revisiting this interesting little guy. Stone Cali-Belgie is a twist on one of their old favorites. The brewers take their traditional IPA recipe but substitute a strain of Belgian yeast, giving just a little something ’extra.’ The Cali-Belgie pours out a bright golden color with lots of soft, fluffy white foam. Foam is bountiful at first but fades slowly leaving just a small amount of lacing on the side of my Chimay glass. The aromas of this IPA are far more interesting than I remember! There is definitely some mild hops present but they’re much softer style than Stone is usually known for. The hops aromas are dominated by the floral/lightly citrus style hops without being too in-your-face or pungent. There is also a very interesting banana quality to it, very reminiscent of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. On the palate I’m really surprised by how sweet this "IPA" is! Now don’t get me wrong, there is a significant amount of hops on the tongue, but like the nose suspected its a very soft, smooth, and floral hops character. The citrus & banana component is uncanny! It tastes almost as if you were just chewing some Juicy Fruit and took a sip of a Stone IPA, it is absolutely wild! During the time it took for us to work on this bottle of Cali-Belgie, we also had a few customers inquire about our half-full glasses. One guy was originally going to buy Bud Light but wanted to try something new. After just a couple sips of the Cali-Belgie he was converted. There are few things more satisfying than converting a Bud Light drinker to serious craft beer!