Stone Ruination IPA

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

Bottle shared with hophead22...Pours a pretty golden color with a thin white head.. Great piney hop smell.. Doesn’t seem like a 100+ ibu beer, I thought it had great balance to it.. Tasty DIPA

Light clear copper pour with a big three finger head. Great hops aroma, big IPA taste (100+ IBU) but you can still taste the malt. Time for a hops nap.

This is one of the IPA’s I have had I would put up against any of the Dogfish Head IPA’s, and still be torn between the two brands. This is a stellar IPA. Great Hops, great flavor, appearance. Pours hazy, with a little head. Tastes so good to a hophead. Great IPA!

It poured a hazy golden liquid with a small foam. Smelled of grassy hops and grapefruit. The first taste got my mouth looking like an ass. This beer is so bitter that it made my ass-hairs curl up in a fetus position. Since I love really bitter beers Ive always wondered how far you can push it before it goes over the edge. Well I think Stone has crossed that edge, this was a bit to much for me. But I was in a bit of a rush and think I need to try it again to give it a second chance. Update 2009-09-13: I re-tested this beer and this time the bitterness wasn’t so bad at all. Very enjoyable and I have decided to change my score slightly.

wow... wow! wow!!! the bottle description does not lie.. this beer will truly ruin your taste buds!! I recommend this beer to everyone, yep everyone... for the sole purpose of comparison.. on a scale from 1-10 this baby delivers a 10 on bitterness... with over 100 ibu’s ruination is a great barometer for rating the bitterness of a beer. Only the true counisour will drink this beer and enjoy it. I hated it!!! I shared a $7.00 12oz bottle with a friend, 6 oz was all i could handle!!!!! Try it for sure...

I poured a bomber into my pint glass and it produced a two finger white head that settled to a thick lace. The body of the brew was a clear golden-orange in color. Huge aromas of hop’s floral and citrusy fill your head. The flavor is hugely piney and bitter citrus. This one is oily and slick feeling in the mouth. It really is hoppy but it is drinkable. I easily put away the bomber I don’t know if I could drink more than one at a time but I suppose it would be great with buffalo wings.

I don’t think my stomach likes this one very much. Take a white grapefruit, don’t peel it off and take a bite... That will give you an idea of the taste of that beer. I’m barely exagerating. There are some almost undistinguishable subtilities but the grapefruit shatters them. Nevertheless, I must admit that I am impressed by the simple fact that they bottled this audacious brew. This beer is probably one of the most bitter beers I had and it is also the most beautiful marketing design of any beer I saw. I’m happy that all you hop-head freaks like it so much... But to my tastebuds, it is a little too much. ADDED: I bought a 6-pack and the last one was the one I enjoyed the most; maybe my tastebuds are getting used to such high IBU beers. Excellent hop-trip, I’ll buy some more one day... But I live so far away!

Pours a pale, orange-golden with a thick creamy head that keeps on building. Hop bouquet is tremendous and exquisitely rounded. Piney spiciness upfront, followed by a wonderfully flowery fragrance, and held together with a twist of citrus. Flavor is immense and indeed ruinous. Very sweet and piney, candy-like, with a hint of orange. Perceived bitterness is actually quite mellow considering. A grassy, acrid character comes across which I’d attribute to dry-hopping. Malt profile is hard to detect. Relatively clean on the palate with an enveloping bitterness. A classic IPA and quite agreeable if you’re into the ridiculous. Myself, I prefer a more subtle, flowery hop dimension rather than something this robust.