Stone Coast 420 IPA

Brewed by Sunday River Brewpub and Restaurant
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Bethel, Maine USA

Very cloudy dark orange body topped by a medium off-white head with medium retention. A sweet fruity orange-cake-like dessert body dominates the woody hops. Balance is towards the sweet malts which is unusual for an American IPA. The sweetness is not one of caramel flavour. Just plain sweet cake. The hops are woody but not the coniferous taste. Mixed with the sweet malts you end-up with some kind of a sweet cedar taste. Good. Interesting mainly because it is not another generic American IPA. Label says “we tried 419 batches before”. Not sure they should brag about it. I’m glad they don’t make pacemakers.

On tap at Willimantic Brewing. Coppery body with a tan head. Orange and caramel nose and flavors. Solid.

Pours dark amber with an ecru head. Aroma really reminds me of Mr. Bubble bubble bath, that really took me back. Pretty good hops that aren’t overpowering. Not bad and it is pretty drinkable.

This portrays the IPA category well. It is hoppy, fuckin dank, and swell. It is not as complex as some better IPAs though. I agree with the review below mine, "life is too short" to drink this beer. Drink the Great Divide Titan IPA, or the Smuttynose IPA, or Stone IPA, or Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA...as all of these cannot even receive a fuckin "reacharound" from this.

May 7, 2007; 12 oz. bottle. Cloudy apple-cidery pour; full & sticky lacing. As good as it looks, this is probably one of the more boring & nondescript IPAs I’ve tried in awhile. Fairly mild compared to the best of the style, although the bitterness is somewhat redeeming. Nowhere near a top tier IPA; and if this is the "flagship" of the brewery, I have some concern for the fleet. Will probably pass on this in the future -- too many better ones out there, and life is too short.

eh. not very citrusy at all, not much in the way of aroma, far too malty for my taste. nuttyness in there as well. not a favorite.

Very much a run-of-the-mill IPA, probably less IBU’s than a smuttynose but still nice and bitter. Didnt really taste the other flavors and spices since they are very light and the alchol is higher than a normal ipa.

Sunday River IPA, tasted at the brewpub in Bethel:
This was nowhere near what I was used to in the 420 IPA that was brewed and bottled in Portland. Lean caramel, balanced out by resinous, spicy hops and their bitterness, but the flavors were not polished or all that pleasant. From 3.8 to 3.1.


Stone Coast 420 IPA: My Bottom Line:
Kaleidoscopic hoppiness colours this lovely American IPA with its many citrusy, wooden, earthy, and spicy hues. Caramel highlights swim beneath this perfumy hoppiness so that the humble hop lover finds solace for a few moments.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam sits atop the unfiltered bronzed orange.
-Light soapiness in the nose doesn’t bother, and actually adds to the hops’ complexity.
-Carbonation is perfect, big-bubbled, sparse and merely supporting.
-Its resinous and spicy bitterness is strong, but knows when to let go.

Bottle; no date.