Stone 4th Anniversary IPA

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

This may be my favorite stone beer of all-time.... It’s a shame I only had 2 bottles. Pours a deep golden orange with aromas similar to a barleywine.... Hops smelled old, but appetizing and aromas of bananas were also there. Flavors of old hops, a little vanilla, with a wonderful mouth feel. I am glad that this brew stood up to age as it did, because I had an 03.03.03 the other night that changed for the worst.

Sickboy hooked this up, gangsta style...with an amber orange pour and a surprisingly thick ass head, this monster put forth a brilliantly aged rumcake aroma with liqour drenched caramel overtones...flavors were wrapped in sweetness and drenched in alcohol...like alcoholic apricots just slightly spiced...still had an evident hoppy flair over the aged malt...the mouthfeel was extremely chewy. This one was meant for aging...This should have been the Vertical epic beer because this one kicks the 02’s ass. (Point deducted, as second bottle did not live up to the first)

Bottle (Sept 2000). Has a murky but bright amber/orange body, and a small creamy off-white head with nice soapy lacing. Aroma is what seems to be stale hops, strawberry, brown sugar, and white wine hints. Taste is soapy hops, leathery hops, and some caramel. It is warming and has a creamy texture. You can tell it is aged, but it is still very good!

Bottle. Cloudy orange-tan body. The aroma has candied oranges, leather, pear and orange rind. Lots of musty, cheesy hops. The flavor has an aged quality, meaning the predominant flavor (hops of course!) has that same mustiness. Otherwise there’s grapefruit, maple wood, and some gentle caramel. This beer is very enjoyable, I like how age has made it a smooth drink as well as giving it interesting charactersistics. Thanks to Jason for sharing his bottle!

Citrus and mild pine aroma with some hints of grass. Poured cloudy orange/red with a medium tan head that didn't last. Flavor was strong citrus and pine with bitter hop trailing. Full thick mouth feel and nice dry hop bite.

This Stone IPA is quite hoppy and has a yellow color it is has more hops flavor than the third and is quite strong. For people who like hops this is a very good beer to drink.

Had on draught at Stuffed Sandwich on July 25th, 2003 - Day 25 of Blake's Beer Month™
This hoppy beer lives up to the name of Stone Anniversary IPA as it features a very hoppy aroma and flavor. Pours with a orange/yellow coloring and a good amount of carbonation. The Head is white and mostly diminishing, but the lacing is good. The flavor is of hops, malt, and a bit more alcohol flavoring than the 3rd Anniversary. Finishes with a hop bite which lingers for a while (a nice feature of the Stone brews). Another nice addition to the Anniversary line, but of the 3rd - 5th Annivesary IPAs, the 3rd is the best...unfortunately, impossible to find.

very hoppy, malty and syrupy. alcohol seems to be non existent--until it hits you later.