Stone Cali-Belgique IPA (Cali-België)

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Escondido, California USA

According to the requisite stream-of-consciousness weirdness on the bottle, this is Stone’s standard IPA fermented with Belgian yeast. Straw, honey, spice, and a little bit of medicine taste. The finish has that candy character that you get from most Belgians but it’s not overpowering. It’s not a mind-bending assault on the senses like the similarly made Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA, but it’s very drinkable. It went well with the Buffalo buffalo burger I grilled for dinner. I would like it a lot more if it were $8.99 or $9.99 for a six-pack instead of $6.99 for a bomber.

A delicate aroma balance here with a higher, clean grapefruit and that malt-liquor-ish sweet chemical strain you’d expect from belgian yeast. Balance is key with the flavor, tho it almost seems like the beligan influence softens the hop bite. Citrus, white sugar & alcohol, But its hard to say if this is a hoppy belgian golden or a yeasty, two steps from the edge IPA. Doesn’t matter. As a home brewer who tries to mix belgian and west coast styles, I applaud the achievement hear. Texture just a little off , not as crisp as I’d expect from either style. Yellow with the slightest blush & a frothy white head.

22oz - Amber, white creamy head. Soft sweet spiced banana nose rides softer currents of honeyed citrus. Candied pear and citrus spice flavors round with a nice peppery hop tone. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, bittersweet finish. Love the creative hybrid styles these days, and this one is no exception. Very well done...

I really wanted to like this one, but in the end, it felt thin and not all that hoppy. I like the idea, in fact I’ve even brewed one of these myself, but I just couldn’t get into it.

22 oz bomber from Jonathan Ron in Brielle. Still shocked I found this one since I had no idea it was coming to NJ, additionally this was the last one on the shelf. Pours a nice honey amber body with a bright white foamy head that has great retention. The body appears to be just a little watery or this might have been a 5. Aroma is dominated by the yeast, sort of peppery and spicey, with grainy bread, grapefruit citrus hops, fresh grass and citrus rinds. Medium to full dry body with strong carbonation that quickly disipates making you want another sip. Initial flavor is lots of grain and yeast, some flower and grass in the midtaste with bitter citrus rind in the finish. Nicely done but it’s hard to imagine that simply changing the yeast has changed a noraml Stone IPA this much. To bad just changing from three nights of drinking a week to two didn’t change my waistline as much.

Interesting twist on an IPA. Pale gold with a slight haze. Crisp up front, dry in the finish. Malts, hops and yeast seemed to blend together wonderfully. Malts had notes of sugar cookies, crackers and rock candy. Hops wafted with aromas of wildflower-filled meadows, faint perfume, twangy-tart citrus and orange peel. A grassy bitterness surfaced in the aftertaste, along with an earthy malt residue that lingered on the tongue. Alcohol was slightly warming in the back of the throat. I enjoyed this one.

Huge off-white head over a clear pale gold body. Fresh citrus hop aroma. The flavor combines the aroma of the hops in a Belgian golden ale just as I expected.

On tap @ Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens 01.04.09. Clear orange-kissed gold with a creamy low white head. Wonderful soft perfumey fruit and low resin aroma. Floral aromatic hop flavours dominate the palate, married to sweet malts. Resinous character present but low-key. Very bitter finish. A nice twist on a style that tends to rely heavily on Cascade in this part of America (...not that that is a bad thing!).