Stone Ruination IPA

Brewed by Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Escondido, California USA

I’m not a fan of perfect ratings, as I feel they’re often biased. But as I tried to find a fault with this brew, I came up empty-handed. Upon pouring, the color is a beautiful amber with neat, near-white head; the aroma just reeks of hops, and the flavor doesn’t disappoint. Almost absent malt flavor gives the hops a perfect level of bite with pine and citrus notes followed by a wonderfully crisp finish. 5 stars on all counts.

I am a huge fan of IPAs and Imperial IPAs. That being said, this is my all time favorite beer. Nothing compares to it in my eyes, hence the perfect rating. Can’t imagine myself giving a ’5’ rating to anything else. The only drawback is the cost. Where I live, this is $17+ for a six pack.

Very clear, golden color. Aroma herbal, spruce, not so much citrus. Taste extremely bitter. Medium body, sticky, soft carbonation. Long bitter finish. Overall more bitter than I like. Seems like a made to beer to taste rather than drink. But definitely an interesting beer.

12 oz bottle. Pours a clear medium golden with a thick billowing white head. Aroma is so very citric and piney, really freshly hopped. So much so that when you get your nose in there the hops lightly sting the nostrils. The pine is forefront but the citric fruits keep it sweet along with a strong caramel character. Flavor starts, well, bitter, just more midly so, then continues to get more and more bitter until, damn, the finish is 99 percent bitterness with just a little flavor. The flavors are nice when present, nice earthy pine, hop residue, some citric though not as much as the aroma. Medium full body and a softer carbonation. I’d love this if the bitterness wasn’t so over the top in the finish, still a tasty Imp IPA

Dark orange and golden body with a slight dusting of a head. Floral and slightly citrus aroma with slight notes of lemon and grass. Aggressive flavor, very bitter but enjoyably so. Flavor is mainly characterized by floral and pine notes. Some subtle hay flavors also permeate. Finishes off with a slightly dry mouth feel.

Poured out of a tall boy, cloudy amber. Nice 3 finger head that wisps out to some lacing with foamage. Very strong aroma of earthy hops with a good bit of citrus thrown in. Good malt backbone leads to a sweet aroma as well. Very good bitterness down the back of the tougue. Leaves a very demanding presence. Doesn’t overwhelm like many double IPAs, very very good.

Pours a light orange, rests in the glass a medium-dark amber. Slight off-white head slowly disappears. Aroma: powerful citrus, powerful pine! Tangerine, grapefruit, spruce, white pine. Taste: Medium sweetness; bitterness is on the high side of medium; a pronounced tartness to this. Lemon peel comes to mind... a hint of sour fruitiness, countered by bitterness. Palate: Lively carbonation, medium body. Smooth texture. Finish takes a while. Bitterness lingers, tartness becomes perhaps a little more apparent then than in the mouth. Powerful! Next beer I had this night seemed watery compared to this. Leaves an impression! Will buy again.

(a few bottles at various times)

lct-gold, foamy-wh-head.

very piney-resiny-hops all the way through this beer, but hops are not citrusy or herbal or crazy-bitter. the malt is not very noticeable, but is obviously there with just enough presence to keep a leash on the hops. alchl is not very detectable in the aroma/flavor either.