Stone Cali-Belgique IPA (Cali-België)

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

22 oz bomber from Jonathan Ron in Brielle. Still shocked I found this one since I had no idea it was coming to NJ, additionally this was the last one on the shelf. Pours a nice honey amber body with a bright white foamy head that has great retention. The body appears to be just a little watery or this might have been a 5. Aroma is dominated by the yeast, sort of peppery and spicey, with grainy bread, grapefruit citrus hops, fresh grass and citrus rinds. Medium to full dry body with strong carbonation that quickly disipates making you want another sip. Initial flavor is lots of grain and yeast, some flower and grass in the midtaste with bitter citrus rind in the finish. Nicely done but it’s hard to imagine that simply changing the yeast has changed a noraml Stone IPA this much. To bad just changing from three nights of drinking a week to two didn’t change my waistline as much.

Interesting twist on an IPA. Pale gold with a slight haze. Crisp up front, dry in the finish. Malts, hops and yeast seemed to blend together wonderfully. Malts had notes of sugar cookies, crackers and rock candy. Hops wafted with aromas of wildflower-filled meadows, faint perfume, twangy-tart citrus and orange peel. A grassy bitterness surfaced in the aftertaste, along with an earthy malt residue that lingered on the tongue. Alcohol was slightly warming in the back of the throat. I enjoyed this one.

Huge off-white head over a clear pale gold body. Fresh citrus hop aroma. The flavor combines the aroma of the hops in a Belgian golden ale just as I expected.

On tap @ Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens 01.04.09. Clear orange-kissed gold with a creamy low white head. Wonderful soft perfumey fruit and low resin aroma. Floral aromatic hop flavours dominate the palate, married to sweet malts. Resinous character present but low-key. Very bitter finish. A nice twist on a style that tends to rely heavily on Cascade in this part of America (...not that that is a bad thing!).

This stuff was not good. Very medicinal, almost bandaidy and phenolic. Very dry with a bit of spicy belgian yeast character. Nice try, but you missed on this one.

Well, this looks identical to Stone IPA. Light orange, almost yellow with a white head. The smell is immediately different, still very hoppy, bubblegum, and belgian yeast, spicy. The taste is bitter hops and not much else.The belgian influence is very subdued. This was interesting and I’ll always give a new Stone beer a fair shake but I won’t be returning to this. I could see if using Belgian yeast with the Stone IPA recipe made for a good beer but this just feels like a cheap gimmick. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 01-10-2009 23:37:04

Clear amber with a two finger cream color head. Still a small layer of head at the half way point and very nice fine lacings. Aroma is mostly ripe pear with a hint of citrus. Taste is bitter citrus hops with a rich malt backing. Carbonation is just right and the finish is bitter and dry with a bit of fruitiness in the background. Drinkability is limited only by price and the 6.9% abv. The Belgian yeast gives it a bit of a tang that makes this IPA more interesting than most.

bomber served in a tulip glass. pours a deep yellow with a half inch white head... nice Stone hop filled aroma with a nice blend of Belgian yeast and a bit of funk. very full body with quite a punch of bitterness up front. citrus hops and some light fruits. nice hoppy finish that is very well balanced with some Belgian spice. a very nice beer from Stone... they took their regular IPA (which is fantastic) and tweaked it with Belgian yeast - outstanding combo and a pleasure to drink.