Stone Levitation Ale

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Amber Ale
Escondido, California USA

12 oz. Nice amber pour with a tan head that slowly fades to white. Piney citrus aromas with some malt accenting. A pretty hoppy amber, some citrus and grass notes. Real good flavor for basicaly a light beer abv. Great drinkability, a good amber ale. The session beer to end all session beers.

5/18/2009: Stone Levitation Ale is a captivating dark amber color with a lasting head of frothy, beige-colored foam on top. This beer is almost the perfect session beer. It is low in alcohol with a lighter body, but is packed with quite a bit of flavor and character. It was plenty of roasty malt and barley flavor and just enough pine and fresh grapefruit citrus hops to keep it interesting. I like the toasted caramel and toffee maltiness and the fresh grapefruit hoppiness. This is well-balanced and is definitely one of those kinds of beers that really can’t get old no matter how many I could drink!

Draught (several pints) at the Winking Lizard Tavern (Bethel) in Columbus, Ohio. Rating #626 for this beer.

Bottle from Sam’s. Pours clear amber with one-finger off-white head. Clean, fresh citric hops on the nose. Mild pine. Wonderful nose. Similar taste, though with more malt and some tea-like notes. A bit thin on the palate, but hops bite back in the aftertaste. Lots of flavor for such low alcohol.

Enjoyed on tap in a pub glass. The beer pours a deep copper color. Notes of piney and citrusy hops come through in the nose; not as strong as in the 13th anniversary ale, but quite prevalent. The sales rep noted that Simcoe, Centennial, and Chinook were used in the bittering, flavoring, and aroma. Given its low abv, this was an eminently flavor-full and well-balanced beer. There was a nice hop complexity, a decent backbone of malt, and a clean finish. The only thing I would have liked would have been a little more character malt in the palate, and a slightley fuller mouthfeel. Overall, perhaps the best session beer I’ve ever had.

Really good stuff. Very nicely balanced with a sweet malt up front and a hop bitterness. Crisp and clean. Only 4.4%. My new summer beer.

Had this on tap at the Thirsty Monk on Friday night, but also picked some up at Bruisin’ which I am enjoying now. THIS is how you do an amber ale. So often I drink these styles and think about how hard it is to separate from the pack. Stone did it here with huge flavor, a tasty malty backbone topped with the perfect hoppy (not overwhelming) bite.

For a beer with alcohol this low this was really flavourful. It poured beautifully dark amber. Body is understandably light. THe trademark stone hops abound. Really good drinking, if it weren’t for the price here in Japan (about $6 US)

Sampled on draft at Smokin Joes in Pittsburgh PA this beer poured a dark caramel-amber color with a trace of a beige head. The aroma was fruity, nutty and had a caramel undertone. The flavor was bitter and had a slightly rough fruity and floral hop presence with a light sweet malty undertone and a touch of caramel and nut. The finish was medium length and full of fruity and floral hops. The mouthfeel was moderately thick. Subtle for a Stone product. Nicely done.