 kepano (239), Meudon, France
Dec 25, 2005
Ruination was my second experience with Stone Brewing, that is to say I indeed experienced the ruinous effects of the Ruination IPA. As I’ve mentioned before my penchant is usually towards the less hoppy of beers, but I can make an exception especially for the exceptional - of any style. In this case I had been preparing all day for the buccal massacre, so Stone’s craft was not so much of a slaughter as it could have been. The appearance of this so-called monster seemed rather innocuous, even mundane. Under the soapy bubble bath of a head hid a clear tangerine-colored liquid. Every citrus fruit you can think of finds its way into the nose of this beer: orange, grapefruit and lime especially are enhanced by the aroma of pineapple, apricot, apple and pear. Quite tropical of a blend. Toasty biscuits and graham crackers sweeten the deal and provide a light malt backbone. In the mouth, Ruination bears more resemblance to its name and takes on an aggressive persona. The abrasive carbonation and dry mouthfeel make it difficult to find complexity in the flavor which thus limits it to heavily burnt toast and a slight grapefruit tang. I can see what people like in IPAs, but my preference goes to less hostile styles as I generally don’t equate beer and pain... Unless I’m going for a Century Club.
nathanvbs (3), Indiana, USA
does not count  Nov 10, 2009 This is such an excellent beer. It’s hoppy tongue slap is quite enjoyable. The flowery aroma is refreshing and finishes strong.
StinkBall (7), Asheville, USA
does not count Nov 9, 2009 Perfect hoppy aroma. Great head and color. Very light orange color. Could be a little darker but that’s being picky. Aroma lets you know you are in for something special. Ideal IPA aroma. Awesome taste. Lasting palate (there’s a reason this beer is called Ruination :) One of my all-time favorite IPAs. Which makes it one of my favorite overall beers. Could drink this all the time. Highly recommended for hop heads.
Oddefellowe (28), Tampa, Florida, USA
Nov 8, 2009 smells like hops. opaque amber. solid lacing with an inconsistant white head. strong hops and backseat malts, grapefruit and indistinguishable spices. awesome ipa.
Braincage1 (137), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Nov 4, 2009 Bottle. Hazy, light orange beer with a thin white head. Sweet honeyed aroma with some grape and orange to add complexity. Flavor starts...sweet honey paired with oranges and spices and finishes with a huge lasting bitter kick in the teeth. I enjoy the original flavors but the at first the aftertaste is almost too strong like having battery acid in your mouth...but then again, thats what you want in an IPA.
ricke (74), Malme, Sweden
Nov 3, 2009 Cloudy yellow color with a nice white head that settles a little to fast. Some lacings.
The smell is very hop forward, but still rather balanced. Lots of hop resins and citric notes. It goes a little perfumy, but not overly so. Hints of pine-needles. However, the hops seem a bit faded and have probably lost some definition since the bottling. The malts get through really well with a nice complementary caramel-like sweetness and aromas of white bread.
Loads of hop resins and grapefruit in the mouth. But again, the hops seem to be on a downward slope, so I guess this bottle isn’t completely fresh. A hint of tobacco and more floral and grassy hop notes. The malty backbone is fresh with a pleasant semi-sweet taste of caramel and white bread. The finish is very very bitter with lots of hop resins and pine-needles. The bitterness actually gets a little overpowering since the hop aromas doesn’t seem to hold up.
Medium body with a slightly sticky mouthfeel. Refreshing carbonation.
A very good DIPA with lots and lots of hops and complex flavors. Despite the massive bitterness in the finish it really manages to come off quite balanced. Too bad I suspect that this bottle was a little old.
Serving type: bottle
(Copy of old Beer Advocate review)
bsp77 (199), Minnesota, USA
Nov 2, 2009 Poured from bottle into Nonic Imperial Pint.
Slightly hazy orange-yellow with quickly forming and vanishing head, but leaves nice lacing behind.
Aroma of toasted malts and some citrus. Smells bitter, but fairly weak for a DIPA and weaker than the standard Stone IPA. Faint whiff of alcohol.
Somewhat sweet toasted malts, citrus hops, slight pine, and very high bitterness, especially at the aftertaste. Both sweeter and more bitter than the standard Stone IPA, but less actual flavor.
Medium body, pretty smooth, somewhat dry, moderate carbonation.
Nice, drinkable DIPA, especially considering the low abv (for a DIPA). However, the lack of true hop taste as opposed to simple bitterness will lead me to choosing others in the future.
This really seems more like a standard IPA with stronger bitterness and a slightly higher abv (really, 7.7% is not that high for a DIPA).
dekeq (35), New Jersey, USA
Nov 2, 2009 I poured it out into the glass and it produced a very nice golden color. Transparent characteristics with a fine white head. In my opinion, a great looking brew. Smell? First red flag. It smelled somewhat of oranges, but it seemed a little stronger than that - in a bad way. It was a little sweet but every time I kept smelling it I was reminded of orange cleaning product. Not pleasant. Taste? Second red flag. It had a very strong taste of hops with a strange fusion of oranges in it. Problem was that it tasted just like it smelled. It reminded me of cleaning solution and I did not enjoy it at all. I had two other people try it and they agreed with my conclusion. The texture was actually nice if you rule out the other characteristics. It was a pretty smooth beer with an interesting contrast of flavors. Although it was a little too sharp.
matthewjk (47), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Nov 1, 2009 Beautiful brew here. Beautiful golden color to the beautiful lingering hops make this one of the best IPAs I have ever had. First time around for me with this one and I hope it is not the last. I would rate this right up there with Dogfish Head’s 90 minute IPA.
|
View Statistics
