Stone Cali-Belgique IPA (Cali-België)

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

(bottle) Clear light orange body and a medium white head with lots of lace. Aroma is strong with floral and fruity notes - orange, grapefruit, pine, wood, spice. Flavor is moderately sweet but also very bitter - it seems to undulate between the two, which is kinda odd but cool. Medium bodied.

Bottle shared by heykevin. Poured a clear light orange color with a white head. Nice Belgian IPA aroma reminiscent of flower blossom, citrus fruits, and flaky pastry. Light to medium bodied with moderate bitterness. Dry-ish with orange peel, pine, grapefruit, and pale malt flavors. The bitterness lingered after the finish.

2008. Pours a sparkling clear, pale orange color with a brilliant white, moderately full, creamy head which has great longevity and leaves drippy lace. Nose is awesome; Belgain estery yeast bringing peach notes and clove, light grapefruit, orange peel, resinous pine. The Belgian yeast notes and the strong American hop presence actually worked well together in the aroma. The flavor is nice but the Belgian and American notes clashed a bit more; yeast is still estery with more banana, hints at tropical fruit, some pepper spice, and light clove. Other notes of resinous pine, orange peel, and faint grass. Palate is moderately light, a bit watery, and lively; two contrasting styles of palates competing didn’t work well. Finishes fairly long with lingering yeast and some bitter notes of pine and grass. The beer benefits most from its nose which was amazing, but other aspects competed and contrasted. The Belgain aspects overpowered the clean, fresh American hop notes but still an interesting beer and nice attempt from Stone.

22 oz "Cali-Beligique" bottle. Pours a golden color with a foamy white head. Aroma is a bit more mild than I first expected, but incredibly good - with a full hoppy aroma with pine, grapefruit, floral characters. Flavor is more malty than I expected as well, but compliments the hop character quite well. Very refreshing and alcohol content is not over the top, allowing the flavor of the beer itself to not be overwhelmed with too much warmth.

22oz bottle. Pours clear golden in color with tan head. Aroma sweet, floral hops, yeasty and spicy. Taste yeasty, lemon and citrus hops with bitter finish.

Ok, this is up to now probably the best aromatics I’ve encountered in a beer. Damn. The combination of yeast and hops in the nose is what I want my wife to wear as perfume. Fresh on the vine goodness. Lush violet floral character in the sip, some astringency to the bitterness. I’ll buy this again for the aroma alone.

22 oz. bottle. Enjoy by: 02/09/09. "Cali-Belgie" bottle. A clear, golden pour with a light-tan head. Powerfully hoppy aroma with TONS of grapefruits, pine needles, Golden Delicious apples, bananas, and a tangy funkiness. Thin to medium-bodied. A bit of caramel malty sweetness, Golden Delicious apples, and bananas upfront. Ample spiciness in there too. Finishes with lots of citrusy, grapefruity tangy dryness. Quite tasty.

Bottle. Pours a clear orange with a thick, foamy white head. Crisp, bitter hops aroma, with citrus and pine. Taste starts bitter with a hint of sweeter citrus fruits, before huge bitter hops kick in. Lingering crisp bitterness. Really nice IPA.