Stone Cali-Belgique IPA (Cali-België)

Bomber thanks to Stefanje. Pretty much an awesome looking bottle, probably my favorite stone bottle, anyway. Pours a very pretty reddish gold with dissipating head. Can smell the Belgian from a mile away with a little phenol and nice floral hops and the ocean. Taste is pretty clean, again phenolic with light clove-type notes and some smooth bitterness. I dig the Belgian influenced IPAs that are around, and this is no different. Nice and crisp with a subtle sweetness, clean and a touch tart. Very nice.

20090210 Bomber from Spirits RB. Impossibly clear, golden, the color of ShamWow, and with small, quickly fading white head. Tropical and citrus aromas, kiwi, light biscuit, moderate grape nuts, light cat piss. There’s definitely a Belgian note, but it’s pretty subtle and not quite clear what they’re getting at. On the palate, the Belgian influence is all but buried beneath sharp American hops. Light phenolic and peppery yeast doesn’t come through as much as it seems like it ought to across the meat of the beer, and mild hops mid way get a so so reception as the palate thins. Mostly quenching and clean, with fairly aggressive eff throughout and quick but sharp finishing bitterness, lingering astringency. Not quite what I expected, and the price tag was quite high for a Stone bomber at seven bucks. All tolled, one of my least favorite Stone brews in a while. That said, it’s still drinkable.

Draft at Kern River Brewing. Clear orange with a small off white head. Nose of citrus and piney hops with some cloves and corriander notes. Flavor was hoppy bitterness with some light spiciness. Finish light bitterness.

Style; glass: IPA; tulip 22 fl oz x 6.9% ABV = 151.8 / 60 = 2.53 beers * 150 C = 379.5 calories (est.) Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville for $7.99 Aroma: sweet, banana and cloves, some citrusy hops, pine, grass. Visuals: packaging is beautiful, though screen printing always seems to be coming off the bottle. It gives the brand a bit of crumbly marble style, though I wonder if it’s intentional? Perhaps the most brilliant IPA I’ve ever seen, absolutely crystal clear. Like the final scene in THX 1138, it’s that bright sunlight. Golden, pale, transparent, bright white head, sticky fresh Belgian lace. Carbonation is continuous. Taste: Delicious, sweet, and hoppy. A great blend, very much in the spirit of Chouffe’s Hobblon Dobblen (sp?). Expertly balanced, nice easygoing maltiness, great hops. Perhaps my favorite new session brew. Palate: Crisp, clean, and refreshing. A dream of fusion of two of my favorite styles. I hope they develop an imperial of this. Starts very sweet, crisp, middle has a bit of a burn and slight roastiness, finish is hops and bitterness with a salty sweet end note. Amazing. Overall: In terms of lighter brews and more reasonable ABVs, this is a clear winner, and easily my favorite IPA at the moment, and very much a favorite all around, though my top honor still goes to Mikkeller for Black. I’m going to get more, soon. Stone, just keep them coming, and please consider an imperial version of this. originally posted at: <a href="http://beercritic.wordpress.com/">http://beercritic.wordpress.com/

This is slightly a mess of a beer. Their IPA fermented with a house Belgian Strain. I don’t know where this strain originates, but is weird. The nose smells like bubblegum and cotton candy, with slight citrus from the hops. Mouthfeel is medium to thin, but the flavor tastes a little like soap, bubblegum, oranges and bannana. Really weird phenolics going on in this beer, needs to go back to the lab

As if I’d gone to heaven. California IPA meets Belgian yeast. A great mix of grapefruit-piney-banana. Amazingly well balanced in a "chewy hops" Belgian way.

Pours a deep golden color with a small amount of head. Aroma is Belgian hops and citrus. Taste is bitter citrus (grapefruit), some banana, and a little bit of spice in the aftertaste. Pretty good beer and the Belgian hops make it an interesting IPA.

This one is a totally different beer when cold versus when up to near room temperature. Light orange with a slim but lasting white head throughout. Initial aroma is Belgian yeast, some citric hops, pepper, and clove. As it warms, the yeast qualities fall back as well as the clove, replaced by warm tropical fruit oriented hops. Flavor when cold is frankly a train wreck. Spicy and heavily clove accented Belgian yeast clashing mightily with very bitter citric grapefruit hops. A war in the mouth. Once warmed, however, everything falls into line. Belgian yeast, with faint banana, clove, and pepper, mix quite amicably with an intricate layer of tropical fruit flavors and grapefruit. It all works. I will rate this "warm."