Stone India Pale Ale (IPA)

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

12oz bottle. Pours translucent golden orange with a fluffy white head. Fantastic aroma of citrus and grassy hops. The taste is big hops with a light malt backing. Lost of pine and resin with notes of grapefruit and caramel. Pleasant lingering bitter aftertaste. Excellent.

Pours a nice copper color with a foamy head. Heavy hop aroma. Lemons, grapefruit, pine and some flowers seem to make up the majority of this beer. Quite sure this is over-rated. Taste is a mixed up mess IMO. The flavors seem to run around all crazy like and never quite come together. Good beer, but not a great beer.

bottle. bitter. pretty straightforward ipa. not as good as founders centennial ipa or bell’s two hearted.

Bottle. This is golden orange in the glass with a half inch white head, medium carbonation. There’s loads of pine in the aroma, fresh pink grapefruit, sliced apricot, lime juice and zest. The body is medium, coating, slightly oily. There are waves of lacing on the glass. Malt and hops are really well balanced in this. I taste lots of pink grapefruit, pine, wood, fresh sliced avocado in the hops; the bitterness is strong and inviting. Finishes fairly long.

The best IPA out there, at least in my experience. Yes, hoppy, a little citrus note, yet overall, balanced and finishes smooth. Just an outstanding overall beer.

A dazzling sunset of golden orange hues is topped by scattered clouds of white fluff which refuse to secede to the setting sun which fills my glass. Rays of her bouquet tickle my nose, bursting into a bouquet of orange, melon, nectarines, lemon, grapefruit, wet hop oils and grass. Sprinkles of joy dance in the apple of my eye which has been wholly captivated by the Stone IPA. Romantic illusions aside, how she tastes could make or break our union and with faint trepidation, I take deeply of her nectar. Sparkling bright with a body that immediately sticks to and coats all open surfaces. Orange nectar and nectarine juice linger while lemon and cut grass revitalize my tastebuds. Succulent summer melon creeps into her palate while my mouth waters after each drying finish. She is a perfectly played one-two punch of delicate sweetness followed by a strong crisp bitter hop presence while a hint of toasty malts support her performance from the shadows. Each mouth-watering quaff shortens our time together, shared by bitter-sweet sticky memories of orange, melon, hop oils and pine, lemon and grapefruit. Highly sessionable, my glass has long been empty while only pleasant memories remain.

Stone is now three-for-three in the success department, but I expected no less. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I have a 6th sense for beers, and maybe I do, but that many Stone fanatics can’t be wrong. Stone Brewing has brought this year to a wonderful close for me and no matter your hop preference, their IPA is just right for you.

Wow, the bitterness is perfect. Very drinkable. An accessible IPA that contains all of the characteristics of a good IPA, full of hops, amber color, hints of citrus, and intense flavor.