Stone India Pale Ale (IPA)

Basically a less intense version of Stone Ruination (the IPA I compare everything to nowadays). Clear golden color with a foamy white head. Simcoe/Amarillo hops on the aroma. Hoppy and bitter yet smooth with sweet caramel malt. Medium bodied and crisp. Satisfies without kicking your ass.

A- Pours a clear light orange hue; large creamy white head that is mostly sustaining; moderate lacing throughout S- Nose is dominated by citrusy hops and slight pine tones, classic west coast IPA. . . T- Crisp and smooth taste; subtle hops initially followed quickly by citrus tones; aftertaste is rather short-lasting and the hops are not quite as bitter as similar IPAs; slight maltiness that is nicely balanced M- Smooth and watery mouthfeel; nice creaminess and lively carbonation D- This is a great example of a west coast IPA that is easy-drinking and full of hoppy goodness that is far from overwhelming.

Great beer, not sure how much difference there is between this and the ruination IPA. I think I like the slightly stronger ruination better than this. Very strong and full flavored. The finish was bitter, but the taste was not as bitter. Crisp and well carbonated. Light bodied and highly drinkable.

[Bottle] Pours bright hazy orange with a small white head. Stone usually does a good job with big, hoppy aromas, and although this isn’t their best example of it, it is still enjoyable. It does fade after the initial blast, but there is still a lot of citrus (especially lemon zest), honey, some malt and a strange herbal scent. The taste was really not as bitter as I had expected. There was grapefruit in the finish, but that was after some solid malt, and a strange semi-sweetness that I couldn’t identify. Meium mouthfeel with a long, dry finish. Not bad. A very solid, clean, well made IPA that did not blow me away, but was fairly impressive nonetheless.

On draft at Cooper’s, Manayunk. Poured light, clear orange with white head. Sweet, hoppy citrus flavor. Slightly spicy. Thin. Fairly simple but strongly representative of the style.

Bottle. Pours a clear light yellow amber color. A little lighter in color than I generally like in my IPAs. Medium large white foam head. Piles of citrus hops on the nose backed up with a sweet malt. Soft pine background. Medium body but almost empty in the middle. Finishes lighter than the aroma would suggest with a lingering grapefruit bitterness.

pours a slightly hazy golden color with a foamy white head that dissipates quickly. aroma has lots of grapefruit, some pineapple, a touch of spice, and the faintest hin of some doughy maltiness. flavor has some maltiness...pilsner malt?...up front with spicy grapefruit overlapping it. mouthfeel is smooth with a lingering fruity and dry aftertaste. very nice but not the best ipa i’ve had.

smells very much like centennial hops a little piney pretty good aroma. pours a nice color and tastes pretty balanced with the centennial hops coming through, the only thing i would say is that i’m not the biggest fan of centennial they just don’t have the kick.