Stone Cali-Belgique IPA (Cali-België)

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

Bottle from utobeer at home at far too late in the night. Alround rating: See like i dont mind drinkign this and theres things about it i like, ie the citrus hop character and drinkablity, however the idea of mixing a clean dry style such as ipa with a very much unclean mouth coating style like belgian ale, is never going to really work. Its interesting to try somethign different but iv got the ipa in the fridge and id rather just have that.

Pours a crystal clear golden amber with a small soapy head that remains active throughout with sporadic bubbles rising to the top. No lacing to speak of. The aroma has the earthy sweetness of the Belgian yeast with some citrus hops in the form of apricot and lemon. There is also a bit of the bubblegum sweetness as well. The hops are much more prominent in the taste with a huge bitter hop kick up front that lingers throughout the sip. There is Belgian yeast and bits of bready malt in the background, but the hops really star in the taste. The mouthfeel is dry and crisp with a pleasant bitterness in the finish. The carbonation is decent and complements the bitterness well on the palate. This is an interesting take on a Belgian IPA and one where the aroma belied the amount of hop bitterness in the taste. An original and tasty beer from Stone.

22oz bottle. Pours a bright, clear copper-orange color; thin off-white head with fine-bubbled lacing; nice-looking, very bright pour. Dense hop character in the aroma of passion fruit, citrus, lime, and minerals, with an estery, honeyed Belgian core; pleasantly integrated and nicely hopped. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: mineral and citrus fruit and passion fruit hoppiness upfront, with a very solid malt core of honey, Belgian sugars, and white pepper; a bit sharply carbonated, but otherwise quite good and seamless. A very solidly done hoppy Belgian hybrid. Lengthy finish: lasting mineral bitterness, light honey, and dry white pepper end.

Growler from Stone courtesy of Homerwantsbeer. Pours a clear gold with not much head. Aroma is mostly yeast with a bit of hop thrown in. Flavor is also very yeasty, but has a hint of pepper and finishes with hops. Didn’t care much for this one. A rare miss for the Gargoyle Gang.

Draft @ Falling Rock, Danver. Pours clear yellow color with slight short lived white head. Nose is full of citrus hops, spinces and yeast. Flavors are restrained with hops, fresh bread and spices. A decent beer but it didn’t live up to my hopes.

bottle thanks again to Kan for sharing. pours hazy gold with white head, nose of spice, herbal, floral, and phenolic. flavor has some spice, herbs, flowers, dough, a bit sticky body with some bitterness in the finish. decent.

Thanks to Homerwantsbeer for sharing a growler from the brewpub. This brew is a clear pale yellow color with a minimal bone white head that recedes quickly. Spotty lacing on the glass. The aroma is citrusy hops and yeast along with some spices. Medium body with sweet yeast, citrus and hops flavors. The finish is alternatingly yeasty and hoppy, with a resiny hops aftertaste. Sometimes you strike gold when you try something like this, and sometimes you crash and burn. While this beer falls somewhere between those extremes, I always appreciate that Stone is willing to try new beers like this.

Bottle from Joey at South Bay. Pours gold clear with a huge white head. Aroma of fruit, yeast, faint hop. Taste is a little different, kind of like a tripel with hop. This seems to be a trendy style right now, and this was probably my least favorite of all yeasty hoppy beers I’ve had. LeFreak is much better IMO. This beer tasted a little soapy. Not too appealing. Mouth is like a tripel, very light. Finish is mildly bitter.