Stone Levitation Ale

Cask@GBBF. Clear amber color, small white head, some lace. Sweet and hoppy aroma: some lime, caramel. Hoppy (some cat pee), grass, alcohol, caramel. Long sweet hoppy aftertaste.

12 oz. single bottle from Total Wine in Huntersville, NC. Pours a nice sweet tea color with a thin head. Aroma is very sweet with brown sugar and hops. Taste is similar to the aroma with a bit of honey. A really nice amber ale.

Surprised at the low score. As far as amber ales go, this one is the bees knees. Pours a red tea colour with a thin off white lightly sticky head. Aroma is awesome, big caramel and burnt sugar, orange beer, and light notes of what I think is watermellon. Flavour is almost a spot on reflection of the aroma, ends on a citrus rind bitterness.

Bottle into a pint glass. A couple of fingers of medium bodied head. Smell is of mild hops and brown sugar. Mouthfeel is smooth and only mildly substantial. Mix of sweet and hoppy. Nothing is overpowering about this beer; not the hops, not the smell, not the malt and not the alcohol content. Overall, a nice session beer which I would happily have again, but it didn’t knock my socks off.

Draught at GBBF 2009. An amber coloured ale. Light hoppy aroma. Taste of hops, malt, honey. Decent low alcohol ale from Stone Brewing Co.

Poured from bottle. Hops and roast malt in aroma, Mahogany, with thick persistent tan head. Flavors of malt, nut, smoke. Grapefruit hops in aftertaste. Good finish. Sort of a hybrid, but I enjoyed it.

Bottle. Pours clear amber with a small white head. Aroma has some serious soapy, grapefruity hops, really delicious. Palate is light as expected, with allows much of the hop flavors to shine. This is my kind of red ale: clean, sharply hoppy, rounded with honey and a rich toasty flavor. Finishes with toasted, slightly chocolaty, hoppy bitterness. It is hoppy without being an IPA, it is malty without ever venturing near sweetness, it is complex without added ingredients or aging. Just a delicious, well-crafted ale, one that is making me increasingly aware that it is Stone’s “smaller” beers where they really shine.

Bottle from Half-Time. Pours a slightly hazy ruby red body with a medium sized tan head. Nice hoppy/malty aroma with some cherry notes. Medium bodied. Balanced hops and malts with some significant bitterness and spice. Somewhat of a thin finish. Yet another solid beer from Stone, even with the low ABV.