Stone India Pale Ale (IPA)

Clear golden lagerish color with a finger of white head. Grapefruit, floral hops and smooth cool malt aroma. Almost buttery, it coats the tongue just slightly and delivers a great hop finish. Bitter but fruity and bright. Enjoyable, dare I say more so than Ruination? Though it would be a preference of the night.

Great Great IPA, I’m not a huge IPA fan, but this one def rises above many others that I’ve had. Its got a fresh hoppy aroma and great deep golden appearance. The burst of hop flavor is smoothed by a citrus aftertaste. Very drinkable!!

Rich pineapple and cream aroma with malty background, some citrus and flowers. Golden yellow with a white foamy head. Fresh citrus and pineapple flavors, sweet up front with a bitter duration. Medium rich palate, not too heavy. Good duration and flavors stick to the tongue. Slight woodiness. Just rich enough and with good fresh flavors makes this IPA solid and drinkable.

Bottle. I’m surprised it took me this long to get around to trying this. Nice yellowish golden color with a pillow of white head. Floral and pine hops dominate the nose similar to Ruination. Flavor is bitter balanced finely with good malt. Leaves a great mild bitter aftertaste for about a minute then disappears for the next sip. Moderate carbonation, medium bodied, crisp and refreshing. This has everything I expect from a good quality IPA.

On tap at San Diego downtown Courtyard Marriot hotel bar. Bar tender told me he fought to get Stone IPA on tap for 6 months, so I salute him. Pine and grapefruit aroma. Pours orange with persistant white head. Excellent lacing on the glass. Not much malt flavor, but rich, complex pine and grapefuit hop bitterness. Surprisingly restrained for Stone, and very drinkable. Excellent IPA.

Bottle. This is a great IPA. Compared to Stone’s Ruination, it is a little more restrained (though make no mistake, this is just compared to its big brother. This is a big hoppy IPA.) and a little less balanced, with the hop bitterness lacking as full a malt backbone to balance it out. Pours golden topped by a thin white head, leaves some lacing on the glass. Citrus hops on the nose, with some slight tropical notes. Big citrus hop flavor, with pine coming in, atop a light malt backbone. Huge bitter end. Very good, looking forward towards Stone being available here.

12 oz bottle. Pours golden orange with a 2 cm iff white foamy head that is mostly diminishing. Aroma of hops: mostly sweet, a little piney and resins. Initial taste is citrusy sweet. Flavor balances out and becomes very dry on the aftertaste, which lasts for a long time. Light to moderate carbonation, hint of alcohol, light to medium body, and tons of lacing. Great beer, very drinkable.

Sampled at 08vt brewers fest. Pours a gold/orange color with a white head. Aroma of citrusand floral hops, pine, lemon and a touch of sweet malt essence. Flavor is floral and citrus hops, grapefruit, pine, light caramel and has a nice malt background. Medium to full bodied with a dry and bitter finish.