Stone Ruination IPA

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Escondido, California USA

Original review 2/5/2009... 22 oz. into Duvel tulip. BBD says...11/19/2008?! WTF? I just got this a couple of weeks ago. Let’s see how it fares; may review a fresher one soon. There’s always room for more Ruination... Pours a perfect butter creme 2-finger head with nice lacing and solid retention. Body is an excellent caramel/honey blend. Lighter than I remember...closer to its Stone IPA little sister. A bit of chill haze on this one. There’s a nice floral tone to the hops but it’s muted by huge caramel viscosity in the malt. Could be a function of time. Alcohol is subtle, but it’s there. Very enjoyable wafting scents. Well, the hops are there on the palate. More citrus emerges in taste, as well as some bitter grapefruit rind. Malt is huge and gelatinous...in a good way. A little lighter than I recall but solid nonetheless. Incredible balance, believe it or not. One word...silky. As huge as this is, this is not unbalanced, at least to me. The viscosity of the sweet caramel-tasty malt is cut perfectly with the poignant hop brightness of floral and mostly citrus feel. A slight tinge of earth is in there but it’s very negligent. This is pretty well perfect. This drinks well but there is a little weight on it - the grapefruit rind slows it down a touch, as does the huge viscous malt and slight boozy profile. Will look at this one periodically and soon get a fresher one to sample. Having said that, it’s still amazing and an all-time favorite.

clear amber/orange with frothy yellowish head. thick hop aroma, both the resinous musty type and some bright pineapple, grapefruit, pine, lychee. offensively bitter on the palate, but beyond that similar bright fruit flavors well balanced with thick sweet malt. this is very good -- not 100 percentile though. finish is bitter and very long. body is maybe just a bit thin.

Bottle poured into Sam Adams sort of reverse-tulip Pours a nice sunny golden light orange. Not a ton of foam, but that might be my fault. Nose is very citrusy with a good amount of pine and light maltiness. Not a ton up front, but still pretty full bodied. For some reason I’m having a hard time pin-pointing specific tastes except just that of a Stone beer. BIG bitterness and not a lot of alcohol sweetness. Crisp malt flavor with a LOT of citrusy pine. Tons of big bittering hops on the way down and somehow a moment later a bit of freshly milled crystal malt comes through. The only real "criticism" I have for this fabulous beer is that as with most double IPAs its "drinkability" is still somewhat limited. The humorous writing on the back of the bottle is not kidding about ruining your palate. Don’t expect to taste a whole lot in other beers for the rest of the night. Lift another Ruination instead! As always, this beer and brewery has lived up to its name and reputation. Although still not much really need be said about this beer but that it’s another gem from Stone. I’m ruined!

From Vin de Pays of Long Beach, CA. Sorry for the short review; poured a cloudy orange body beneath a large white head. The aroma was gigantic hop - nirvana. Taste was super hoppy, and the mouthfeel and finish were true to the style. A grand beer.

12oz. bottle from Total Beverage in Westminster, CO. Pours a honey gold with a thick, lacy off-white head. Nose of pine, hops, hops, more hops, and a bit of hops resin. Taste? You guessed it, hops. Strong piney and citrus notes from the various varieties. Obviously, a bitter start, middle, and finish. A good IPA, but not for the faint of heart.

Cask conditioned at The White Horse, Parsons Green, London. Clouded gold with no head. After the standard IPA this was completely over the top, very bitter and difficult to drink. Heavy, piney grapefruit, drying. Not great.

pours golden with a good head that fades to give good lacing. smells of lemons, pine, hops, and a little like sweet tarts. tasteslike hops, grapefruit/citrus, and grassy hops. adftertaste is dry bitter hops. good beer.

Keg, pours orange with a thin fast-clearing head. Loads of herby hops on the nose with hints of vanilla and orange, big chewy body with lots of drying bitterness and more grassy herby hops. Very nicely balanced.