Stone 4th Anniversary IPA

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Escondido, California USA

Thanks to cquiroga for sharing. This IPA has held up well. Dry, bitter & tasty, I would have loved to have tried it upon its release.

Semi-clouded copper color with an off-white lacey head. This has a good deal more hoppiness than the year older 3rd Anniversary IPA. Still has some oxidation in the aroma, but has aged quite well. Nice caramel malty body has a good hoppy bitterness and crisp finish. Smooth, enjoyable, and plenty drinkable. Many thanks to cquiroga for bringing this to the GABF RateBeer gathering!

Sampled October 2004, 4 years old
Thanks to cquiroga for sharing this rare bottle, you rock dude! Dark amber color, slightly less murky that Stone III. More hop presence, more of a citrus and punchy aroma though still aged and sour. Strong, BW-esque like the III, buttery, musty, old hop everywhere with the buttery sweet malts showing their age. Full bodied, with a mellow palate presentations, creamy almost... spicy yeast and butter pine hops in the finsih.

Enjoyed this a bit more than the 3rd, as I felt it held up a hell of a lot better. Taste had a bit more fruit to it although after all this time the hops fell. out. I could still taste some grapefruit as well as the bitter hops. Thanks again Chris.

Deep, almost cloudy, orange body and a tight silky head. Ultra malty with elements of rich, buttery nuts and stone fruit. Little hop presence. I could see this being a very fine beer about two years ago. Different malt profile, but neither better nor worse than Stone 3rd. Thanks to cquiroga for sharing another dinosaur in a bottle.

Stone vertical in DavidP’s room, GABF weekend... Poured a cloudy brownish gold color with a large white head and nice lacing on the glass. Spicy, citrus hop aroma. A nice tropical fruitiness in the aroma. Taste was oxidized, though not as bad as the 3rd Ann. Sweet tropical fruitiness (melons) and more bitterness than the 3rd as well. Also just a tad past its peak, but still a rare opportunity to try these!

Has a strong hops taste. It’s okay. I was not that crazy over it. Has a slight head and bitterness.

9/1/04. Poured out of 22 oz. bottle, bought at Stuffed Sandwich in San Gabriel, CA 9/1/04. An awesome treat for a birthday surprise. Special thanks to Sam at the Stuffed Sandwich for pulling this out and to my momma for buying it! Hazy muddy orange-amber color. Slight, dense head that disappears quickly. For a 4-year-old IPA, I’m impressed that it’s there at all! Rocky, with light lacing and lumpy clusters of head all over. Nose is very malty for an IPA, mostly of light caramel. Flavor has mellowed a ton, nicely round and pretty smooth. The mouthfeel is really nice. Thick and silky. A bit of acidity and a big, dark and dirty hop shock at the end. Drying and dirty finish, long and lightly growing into a lovely warm glow. Some pine and a bit of a minty herbal undertaste. Aged grapefruit rind and citrus. Quite nice overall, but I remember it being better when I had it on draft last summer at Stuffed Sandwich (even much better than the 5th Anniversary at the time, but this bottle was not nearly as good). Still nice, and I’m delighted to have tried it again. Better than the sum of its parts.