Stone Cali-Belgique IPA (Cali-België)

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

Pours a highly filtered gold, with a soapy film and lace - aroma is mostly of light, juicy tropical fruits and earthy/pine-like hops, with some light belgian yeast phenols hiding underneath, adding a bit of depth - quite a light-bodied ale, but it has full carbonation in the mouth - very crisp malts and spicy bitterness - peppery hops throughout make it hard to distinguish the other characteristics of the beer - some citrus/tropical fruit flavors - the belgian influence is definitely there, but it is hard to make out, manifesting mostly in the form of light phenolic character that the hops never give way to - very dry, bitter, almost chalky in the finish - I like hoppy belgians, but when the hops don’t leave enough room for the complexities that belgian yeast can provide, it’s a little bit disappointing - meh, it’s still relatively tasty.

clear gold under a fluffy white head. mandarin orange hop aroma. flavor of citrus hops, pepper, malty body. belgian yeasty-ness. medium-full body.

Pours clear gold with a half inch head of white. Retention is short-lived and a partial skim coat remained throughout the glass. A few dots of lacework also. Aromatics lead off with a blend of grapefruit, apricots, spruce, and phenols. A hint of lemon and earthy pepper follow through. Fairly aromatic but not pungent or extremely floral. Medium bodied, crisp and drying. A very snappy mouthfeel. Ripe fruit, bitter citrus pith, and crisp malt start the pallet. Grapefruit, peach pits, lemon seeds, and pine resin. A firm, drying bitterness steps quickly forward, followed by some warming alcohol, clovey phenols, and a trace of bready malt. Finishes with a chaulky dryness, lingering bitterness, and fading tropical fruit with pine bark. Tasty..Of the three recent hoppy Belgians from Stone, this one is the the biggest all around. The VE ’08 is the most subdued with the hops, followed by the Collaboration, and then this one.

Thanks Walt for the bottle. Pours a clear gold with a very thin white head. Interesting aroma, but light. Belgian yeast, citrus, and some sugar. Flavor is slight sweet from the malt in the beginning but the hops overpower and there is some slick bitterness at the end. Interesting beer and I like the idea/style.

Bottle thanks to and shared with FunkyBrewster. Pours a clear yellow golden, looks more like a pilsner/lager, thin dense creamy white froth on top. Super piney resiny sappy spicy aroma, hint of sugary honey, really smells like ST Krampus, very green. Super resiny flavor with a very light maltiness, lightly woody, christmas tree like, light fruitiness. Again, similar to Krampus. Medium/light bodies with smooth creamy carbonation, lighter mouthful.

Bottle with Butters at the First Cellar Reduction. Pours a white head and dark gold color body. Fruity hop nose. Floral hop flavor with a balanced malty body.

22 oz. bottle courtesy of a trade with dkachur. Pours a hazy gold with a moderate linen white head that lasted until the end of the glass and left partial lace. Very pleasant aroma of oranges, lemons and Belgian yeast. There is some malt in the flavor initially, however this is quickly washed over by bitter grapefruit hops and some mild Belgian yeast lurking in the background. The flavor is less fruity than the aroma suggests. Bitter and dry at the finish. An interesting interpretation of the style.

Bomber. Gold color with a tight white head and excellent lacing. Apricoty IPA aroma, light citrus, and spicy. Definite belgian character in the sweetness. Fairly tame hop aroma as far as stone is concerned. There’s a sweet fresh herbal smell there also. Drinks much more like a typical IPA. Bitter grapefruity hops, little sweetness, light bodied. I enjoyed the aroma much more than the flavor. But, an enjoyable beer overall.