Stone India Pale Ale (IPA)

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

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.

From tap. Pours clear and golden orange with a lacing white head. Crisp peach and grapefruity hops aroma. Flavour is dense grapefruit and pine wood hoppy flavour. Mild sweet and fruity. Goes into a nice mellow and fruity hops finish yet with a solid bitterness.

Poured it just now, sitting in front of me. Initial smell is hops but not very strong, Appearance is cloudy dark, orange red with a thin white head. Flavor is rather weak with some hops. Palate is smooth and leaves a small bitterness. Two sips, not very impressed but its not bad. This is balanced but like, no complexity to it. I need to try this again another day and rerate it, I’m thinking my senses are attuned tonight. Rerate...yeah, its beautiful.

Bomber. Pours clears golden orange leaving thin white film of head. Can smell it from 2 feet away. Huge aroma of floral and citrus hops with a touch of pine, orange and lemon. Flavor is floral hops, citurs and pine with touch of malt. Flavor does not match the intensity of the aroma, but still packs big hop punch. Drinkablility is scary as this IPA is perfectly balanced.

Exactly what I’m looking for in a great IPA. The floral, citrusy hops burst out of the bottle on the initial whiff, and the flavor is there to back it up. Nice orange/amber color, with a decent head. Beautiful lingering bitterness.