Stone IPA: Pure Hops, Pure Joy
Written: Oct 11 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Hop aroma, hop flavor, hop aftertaste....did I mention "hops"?
Cons: No cons -- just bottles.
The Bottom Line: This is one of the biggest, boldest IPAs in America. Compare it head to head to whatever IPA you currently think is the boldest, then see who wins...
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Stone Ipa 22oz |
If I go by the calendar, it should be the time for sampling those delicious Oktoberfest beers, but I've had this hankering for huge hop signatures lately, and I seem to be pulling more India Pale Ales off the shelf than just about any other style. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I think most beer drinkers would agree with me that no matter what month, day, hour, or minute it might be, it's always the right time for a pint of IPA!
With that philosophy in mind, I'd like to pop open a bottle of an IPA that's getting a lot of mindshare among beer cognoscienti lately -- Stone IPA.
Before I pop open the lid though, I'd like to reflect for a sec on just what it is that I expect this beer (or any other IPA) to represent.
What an India Pale Ale Should Be...
Lots of beers are labeled "India Pale Ale" or "IPA", and what they should have in common is big, bold hop signature. The best IPAs have, in my view, big hop aroma, big hop flavor, and a long lingering hop bitterness. I want hops, hops, and then more hops.
The style may have originated with English breweries making big, hoppy beers that could withstand a trip to India, but today's big English brewers usually make anemic tasting IPAs. In my opinion, the very, very best IPAs available today are those from American craft brewers.
What IPAs have in common is the ability to celebrate the wonderful range of bitter flavors and aromas that hops bring to beer. The beers are balanced with a firm, clean malt body, and they can range from normal gravity (12 Plato) to a fairly substantial body (16 Plato or so). While some brewers think a hopping rate in the 30-40 IBU range is acceptable for an IPA, I find it woefully inadequate, preferring those beers that hop to 50, 60, 70 IBUs or more...I like my hops...
But now, without further ado, let's pop the lid and this bad boy and take a peek underneath...
A Big Glass of Big Ale...
A beer class for every style. For IPAs, I think a basic pint glass shows off the brew like no other kind of glassware, so hand me that opener and...Pssssttt!
Appearance:
Deep golden color with some light orange highlights -- probably around 7-8 on the SRM scale. Good clarity too. The beer pours with a vigorous head, and it leaves a satisfying trail of lace down the side of the glass. A very nice looking glass of beer.
Aroma:
MMmmmmm....smell that grapefruit! It's the wonderful signature scent of American hops -- especially the big "C" varieties (cascade, centennial, columbus). The scent coming off this beer is a little bit floral too, but it also carries an unmistakable whiff of sweet caramel malt, which is a great counterpoint because it combines with the hops to make the beer smell like a glass of sweetened ruby red grapefruit juice (One of my favorite breakfast beverages -- mostly because it reminds me of beer...hmmm. That's sort of a Catch-22 situation.)
Don't bother looking for much else besides hops in this one -- the grapefruit aroma is so bold that it totally overwhelms any subtle nuances that might have been contributed by the fermenation.
Flavor:
Big and bold. Of course the huge hop flavor is there right off the bat, and of course it carries a savagely deep bitter aftertaste that just refuses to go away (reminds me of my mother-in-law's last visit...) That aftertaste is a wonderful experience, but I can't help think that maybe it's a touch harsher than I'd really like with something of a woody edge to it.
This beer isn't just big in the hops department -- there's a big body to back it up. The beer clocks in at 6.9 percent alcohol by volume, so it's obviously brewed to something like 18 degrees Plato. Lots of sugars, lots of calories. Lots of complexity to back up the hops.
It seems to me like this beer feels a tad heavier on the palate than some other IPAs of this caliber. I'd be curious to know what the terminal gravity spec is for this beer because it tastes like it would be as much as a degree or two higher than some of its smoother bodied brethren. Pure speculation, you understand, I'm just trying to convey what my tongue is telling me...
Overall Impression:
An excellent IPA -- nice and hoppy with assertiveness written bold all over it. I even love doing a burp after enjoying a glass because the burp smells like Cascades hops -- and there's really no better scent in the world than Cascades if you're a beer lover who truly, truly loves all things humulus and lupulus...
Of course I'll have another...
About Stone Brewing
Stone Brewing Company is the brainchild of California brewers Steve Wagner and Greg Koch who opened their microbrewery in an industrial park in San Marcos in 1996. The brewery has developed a reputation among beer lovers for their big, assertively flavored ales, particularly their Arrogant Bavtard Ale. They also make a variation on that beer called Double Bavtard Ale, which clocks in at 10% alcohol -- a huge beer.
As always, official info about the brewery and its beers is on the web at: www.stonebrew.com
Last Sip...
I can't help but compare this beer to Victory Hop Devil, which I've currently got stashed away in the beer fridge (and which I just reviewed here a couple weeks ago). The lingering aftertaste of the Devil is still on my tongue, so I'm happy to put it up against the gargoyle of Stone IPA.
It's a tough competition since both are big, in-your-face IPAs. But in a side-by-side shootout, I have to give the nod to Hop Devil. Actually, Hop Devil definitely got the drop on Stone and won the shootout handily. The difference between the two is balance. In some ways it strikes me as ludicrous to talk about balance in a discussion of IPAs because by nature the beers aren't supposed to be balanced. They're supposed to be aggressive. They're the dobermans of the beer world, and balance is a concept that goes right to the heart of sophistication and elegance. Dobermans aren't elegant, and neither are IPAs.
But Hop Devil somehow manages to pull off a semblance of balance in what is still, most certainly, an immensely hopped ale. Stone doesn't even seem to really worry about it. They've got the body and the malt to body-check the hops, but the beer also tastes like the body is there. While I know that Hop Devil has it too, it comes across smoother on my tongue -- kind of like the way a brew like Duvel manages to seduce you into thinking it's tamer than it really is.
Anyway, great beers! Stone has a solidly brewed IPA here that they should be proud to pour, and Stone's loyal cadre of drinkers have a great treat in store for them every time they pop open a bottle.
Make no mistake, Stone is a great IPA. Personally, I don't include it among the 3 or 4 brands I consider to be "world class models", but it's darn close!
Anyway, this review is running long and I have more beer to drink. So until next time, see you in the pub. As always, look for me as far away from the Lite tap as possible.
Recommended:
Yes
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