Stone 10th Anniversary IPA

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Escondido, California USA

The alcohol is not well hidden but I don’t mind, it has a grapefruit-laden intense bitterness along with a medium finish which is dry enough to please. The simcoe really comes out with this one.

poured an orange-copper hue with a fast fading head. A piney aroma with a small honey/citrus note. Flavor was a bold mix of hops, very piney hops, a nice scotch notes and some orange notes. A crisp full finish.

Bomber drunk on 10/3/06 and a few draught samples at Kennett Brewfest on 10/7/06
Lucid, rather thick-looking copper-bronze body has some brass and pale-gold tints. The white head is large and forms well, being quite dense and slow to recede. Some patches of lace remain behind as it ebbs away. The appearance, although there is no haze or sediment on the bottom, still looks bottle conditioned, the head being strong and the bubbles being medium-small. However, as purportedly it is not, something else must be the culprit for this much-better-than-average appearance for a non-bottle conditioned beer.
But before getting to that, I’m greeted by damp lychee and white grapefruit in the nose, with a bit of resin slowly creeping in. Heavy sugar cookies linger in the back, dulling the hop appeal, somewhat, but some lime zestiness makes a brief appearance towards the end, transitioning in to esters of alcohol/fusels and some pieces of light caramel stickiness. Hops come off as powerfully bitter, from the nose, not having that light, airy, lively aromatic pungency of some of the top-class DIPAs. Lots of leafiness, and though you can sense some light tropical fruits, it’s not particularly strong or lasting. Though I appreciate that there is no medium or dark malt getting in the way, the hops just don’t seem vibrant and varied, which I find is utterly mandatory in this style. As the beer warms, the alcohol becomes more and more apparent, lending a sharpness to the finish.
Right away in flavor, however, I can see what is creating the head. A huge amount of dextrinous sugars coat the palate, not really providing much flavor, as expected, but giving that chewy, thick mouthfeel. Limes, mangoes, grapefruits and sharp pine resin wallop the palate in to submission with the massive bitterness. Carbonation is low, lending more power to the thickness of the mouthfeel. If this thing was bursting with flavorful hops and had some more complex malt character, it might be more apt in working with the thick, dextrinous texture, but as is, it’s just fatiguing from all sides. The hops drive home bitterness and acidity, without much complexity of flavor and the malt is just a monotonous sugar cookie flavor. All this, without even mentioning the alcohol, which is just punishing on the finish. Other than the obnoxious alcohol, I think it’s a success for Stone, as this over-the-top character is what defines them and what many find attractive about their beers. Not so for me, but that’s ok.

Pours orange-amber with a one-finger white head. Incredibly resinous aroma, like Pine-Sol with added citrus. The smell advertises a hop bomb, but a firm foundation of bready and caramel-ly malts is somewhere in there. Interesting vanilla aroma, as well; almost smells like this one saw oak somewhere along the line. The flavor is very...different. I was expecting a hop flavor along the lines of Ruination or even Stone’s regular IPA, but the Summits and Simcoes give it a unique taste. The big grapefruit flavor mixes with alcohol that’s a tad too strong in the middle, and the finish is all citrusy bitterness. Except for the initial shock when the citrus meets the alcohol, this one’s great.

This was shared with ross. Thanks. This beer has had a bit of mixed review but for the record, I like it alot. The aroma is one of the better parts of this beer citrus and piney it smells great. The pour is orange-red with a off white head. Taste is full of citruis fruit and pine, told ross it tasted alot like a grapefruit with a kick of hops. I think this beer is right on and a great drink maybe even refreshing.

I loved it!!! Thin lacy head with aromas of honey and orange. Pours a murky amber in the glass. Mouthfeel is light to medium and coats the mouth with a long lingering finish that sails on for 15 - 20 seconds. Thanks OldRaspy for recommending it!!!

An orange peel, lemon, and vanilla aroma. Nice! A yellowish/orange appearance. A good dose of malt is present in this beer. The flavor is somewhat bitter with some lemons, grapefruit, apples, and alcohol. The finish offers an alcohol burn with some bitterness on the tounge. I enjoyed it.

Mellon orange pour with a very thin white lace. Aroma is sharp resiny hops and just a touch of alcohol. Flavor is heavy hops, but not enough malt to make this beer truely great.

RERATE: 6 Months Old. Aroma is significantly diminished. Very little hop aroma at all. Flavor is also changed considerably. The malt has come out quite a bit. Sweet and sticky with only a slight bitterness in the finish. Still a very tasty but significantly lesser beer. 5/3/7/4/16