Stone Brewing Co. Announces New 4-Packs

Tags

Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Stone Brewing Co. 4-packs, Stone Ruination IPA, stone sublimely self-righteous ale

Stone Brewing Co. this week announced that they would be releasing Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, their Black IPA previously limited to draft and 22oz bottles in 12oz 4-packs. They will also be transitioning Stone Ruination IPA and OAKED Arrogant Bastard from 12oz 6-packs to 12oz 4-packs.

It will be nice to have the 8.7% ABV Sublimely Self-Righteous available in 12oz bottles for those times you don’t want or need to drink an entire 22oz. And personally I think that removing two bottles and dropping the price a bit from Oaked Arrogant Bastard and Ruination should help with sticker shock as well a bit. Speaking of price, Stone tells me price per bottle for Ruination and Oaked Arrogant Bastard isn’t changing.

As you’ve probably noticed beer prices tend fluctuate from store to store, I’ve seen the 6-packs going for anywhere from $15 to as high as $16.50 which works out to $2.50-$2.75 per 12 ounce bottle. Keeping the price per bottle the same would equate to $10 or $11 4-packs, which sounds about right as Stone PR Specialist Sabrina LoPiccolo said in an email that they should retail for the same price as 6-packs of Stone Pale Ale, Stone IPA and Stone Levitation Ale, commonly between $10 and $11.

(As an aside, does this mean that if a particular store charges more for say Stone IPA 6-packs than they do for Levitation Al 6-packs they’re just making more profit on the IPA?)

Ruination and Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale will continue to be available 22oz bombers as well, but in my mind look much less attractive price-wise now. I don’t know that I’ve ever bought a 6-pack of Ruination, but I’ve picked up plenty of 22oz bottles of it over the years. But the 4-pack, at a lower cost per ounce and in smaller servings seems like a much better way to go. It’s far easier to drink two 12oz bottles than it is to only drink half a bomber depending on your mood.

4-packs for Sublimely Self-Righteous should be hitting shelves very soon (if not already) and the 6-packs of Ruination and Oaked AB will be coming out as current 6-pack inventory runs out. Which means if you’re still seeing 6-packs a few months from now you might want to take a good look at the date stamps on the bottles.

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Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA

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Stone Ruination IPA, Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA

That Stone Brewing Co. decided to brew a stronger (10.8% ABV), hoppier (110 IBUs) version of their Stone Ruination IPA in honor of it’s tenth anniversary shouldn’t surprise anyone. Bigger isn’t always better in my opinion though, and while Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA certainly isn’t bad, now that I’ve tried it I’ll be reaching for the more subdued original Ruination next time that hop craving comes calling.

Note: Stone Brewing Co. provided this bottle of Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA as a promotional sample free of charge, but that in now way biased my opinion of it.

San Diego Beer News Roundup

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All Day IPA, Dogfish Head / Victory / Stone Saison Du BUFF, Founders Brewing San Diego, Green Flash bottled on dates, Green Flash date codes, Ken Schmidt, Ken Schmidt / Iron Fist / Stone Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout, Ken Schmidt / Maui / Stone Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter, Stone Company Store Pasadena, Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA, Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers, Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean

Apologies for the lack of posts lately. Things have been busy outside of beer blogging.

The 2012 Craft Brewers Conference and World Beer Cup have come and gone. San Diego brewers didn’t do as well as two years ago at the WBC, but our local brewers still brought home a handful of awards. The full winners list can be seen here.

Earlier this week Green Flash Brewing Company posted a picture to their Facebook page of a bottle of West Coast IPA with a bottled on date. Until now it’s been hard to know for sure just how long that bottle of Green Flash beer had been sitting on a shelf, but once these new bottles with dates start getting out into stores it should be easy enough to tell exactly when the beer was bottled. I have to admit, the lack of bottle dates has kept me from buying Green Flash beers on more than one occasion (usually at larger stores, places like Trader Joes, where I don’t know how long the beer has been sitting around). I see more four packs of fresh West Coast IPA in my future.

For the last few weeks beers from Michigan’s Founders Brewing Company have been turning up at various bars, restaurants and even a few bottle shops around town. Founders hasn’t distributed in California in the past, and unfortunately this looks like it is only temporary. The beers started showing up around town during the CBC in early May, according to The Full Pint, Founders has a temporary 60 day license for distribution here, which will end next month after the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival. Some people have speculated that Founders could be using this time as a way to test the market, but so far there is no indication that Founders is looking to distribute here on a regular basis. So if you see anything from Founders on tap at your favorite bar in the next few weeks it might be a good idea to order a pint. The stand out for me has been the All Day IPA, a 42 IBU, 4.7% ABV session IPA that tastes much hoppier than the IBU’s let on.

A thread on the BeerAdvocate Forums last week pointed out that Stone Brewing Co. is looking into opening some sort of tasting room and retail store in Pasadena. The post links to a PDF at the City of Pasadena website regarding a public hearing for a conditional use permit. The notice describes the space as being 2,071 square feet including a 363 square foot outdoor patio which would have on-site tasting of beer and off-site (to go) sales. No word on exactly what this will be, but it sounds a lot like the Stone Company Store South Park and the in progress Stone Company Store Oceanside. The public hearing was held last week and it looks like the recommendation was to approve the permit.

Speaking of Stone Brewing Co., they have a number of special releases coming out in the next few months:

Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA will make it’s debut Sunday, June 10th with a special release party at Henry’s Pub downtown. It’s described as an amped up version of Stone Ruination IPA which clocks in at 10.8% ABV with extra dosings of Columbus and Centennial hops as well as Citra and Centennial for dry hoping. 22oz bottles should start hitting store shelves the next day.

Stone’s version of the second release of Dogfish Head / Victory / Stone Saison du BUFF was rebrewed in early May when Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione and Victory Brewing Company’s Bill Covaleski were in town and is set to be released Monday June 18th on draft and in 12oz bottles. I was a big fan of the original Stone brewed version released about two years ago, but recently picked up a bottle of the new release of the Dogfish Head version and was pretty disappointed. The herbs (the beer is brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) were way too over the top for my tastes. I typically like herb-y beers, but couldn’t finish a 12oz of this one. Here’s to hoping that I find the Stone version more palatable.

Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Bean and Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers are also being released in 12oz bottles on Monday June 18th. Stone has been brewing both of these as occasional draft only beers for a few years now, so it’s nice to see them make it into bottles. Stone says “It’s a one-time only bottled release, unless we decide to change our minds later.”

Last but not least, Ken Schmidt / Iron Fist / Stone Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout was brewed a few weeks ago and is expected to be released on draft and in 12oz bottles sometime in early July. Ken Schmidt was the top prize at the Stone March Madness Homebrew Competition which earned him the right to brew his beer at Stone as a collaboration with them and another brewer of his choice. If the name Ken Schmidt sounds familiar it’s because he was also the winner of the original Stone March Madness Homebrew Competition a few years ago, which brought us Ken Schmidt / Maui / Stone Kona Coffee, Macadamia, Coconut Porter

New Stone Company Store Coming to Oceanside

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Stone Brewing Co. Oceanside, Stone Company Store, Stone Company Store Oceanside, Stone Oceanside

The reader tips just keep on coming… After this morning’s post about Poor House Brewing Co. applying for a Type 23 license at a location on 30th St, a reader that would like to remain anonymous tipped me off that Stone Brewing Co. has set it’s sight on Oceanside.

Earlier this week Stone Brewing Co. applied for a Type 01 Beer Manufacturer license (the same type they have at the Stone Company Store South Park) for 310 N Tremont St in Oceanside. I’m not too familiar with Oceanside, but this location is just off the North Coast Highway near Mission Ave not far from museums, a movie theater and the Oceanside Pier. If I remember right from the last time I was up there the area has a lot of shops and restaurants and sees quite a bit of foot traffic, especially in the summer.

It’s unclear at this time if Stone will be brewing beer at this location or if it will operate like the South Park location with merchandise, bottle sales, growler fills and tasters. Based on the name on the license and the license type being the same as the South Park store I would bet the latter to be the case. At this point the details might not be set in Stone yet (pun intended) as it’s so early in the license application process that things could change at any moment.

If the license is approved and Stone opens this Stone Company Store in Oceanside it would be their third or fourth beer related location depending upon timing (they also operate Stone Farms). Escondido is home to the brewery, Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens restaurant, the original Stone Company Store and a hotel is in the works. Stone Company Store South Park opened on 30th St in June, 2011. Stone is currently working to open a second Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens in Liberty Station, which is planned to include a restaurant, 10 barrel brewhouse and Stone Company Store selling merchandise, growlers and beer.

I’ve emailed Stone for comment and will update this post if I get any more info.

Update: I heard back from Randy Clemens, Stone’s media guy, he confirmed that they are planning another Stone Company Store in Oceanside and are hoping for an early summer opening. It will be similar to the Stone Company Store South Park in that they won’t be brewing on site, but Clemens promises it won’t be cookie-cutter copy. He says they’re still in the early planning stages but hope to share some more details about what will differentiate the store in Oceanside in the coming weeks.

“Don’t Bro Me if You Don’t Know Me” – How Not To Build Community Around Local Craft Beer

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don't bro me if you don't know me, Neighborhood bottle shop, Stone Mixed Tape-GK & LU's Blend Vol. 1

3/10/12 See update with info from Arsalun Tafazoli at bottom of post.

I have no idea if this pint glass, adorned with the Neighborhood name and logo along with the Stone Brewing Co. name and gargoyle is a commentary by Neighborhood aimed at Sid Mikhail of Best Damn Beer Shop. If you know Sid you’ve probably been greeted by him with “Hey bro” at least once, it’s something he’s fairly well known for in the local beer community. I’ve had multiple people bring it up with me when talking about Best Damn Beer Shop. Granted some people don’t like it, some people find it a little odd, others just understand it’s the way the guy talks and don’t mind it (myself included).

Neighborhood recently had a fairly public dispute with Best Damn Beer Shop when they announced plans to open a tasting room and off-premise bottle shop near their current bar/restaurant at 8th and G St Downtown (which happens to be just a few blocks from Best Damn Beer Shop). You can read more about that here (and be sure to read the comments).

An email to Arsalun Tafazoli, owner of Neighborhood, asking about the glasses and if they are a commentary about Sid Mikhail was not returned. Neighborhood’s publicist who sent me the image of the glass and info about the night had this to say about it: “It’s just a Neighborhood saying that means just that. A quote from Arsalun I believe.”

I’m perfectly willing to admit that there’s a chance that this has nothing to do with Sid and Best Damn Beer Shop, if that is the case it is a most unfortunate coincidence. Previously Arsalun Tafazoli said his opening a bottle shop wasn’t about competition but rather about building community in craft beer. If that’s really what he’s after this certainly isn’t the way to do it. Arsalun is a smart guy, and pretty on top of things, it’s hard for me to imagine that even if it weren’t his intention he wouldn’t know that some people might see this as a comment about Sid at Best Damn Beer Shop given what’s gone on between the two businesses recently.

And just why is the glass co-branded with Stone Brewing Co.? The glasses will be given away Tuesday night (March 13th) with the purchase of any Stone Brewing Co. beer at Neighborhood, when they’ll also be releasing for the first time a new custom blend which they just got ABC and TTB approval for, Stone Mixed Tape-GK & LU’s Blend Vol. 1 will be on tap for the first time ever. It’s a blend of Stone Levitation Ale, Stone LeVariation Ale (Levitation w/ our Belgian yeast strain), Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, Stone Smoked Porter, Stone Cali-Belgique IPA, 2011 Stone Imperial Russian Stout and 2011 Stone BELGO Anise Imperial Russian Stout with added notes of sage, peppers, lemon thyme, and Citra hops.

In an email Greg Koch CEO of Stone Brewing Co. distanced the company from the glass and any potential bad blood between Neighborhood and Best Damn Beer Shop, “I’m not aware of the source of the “Bro” thing.  We were not part of the design process of the glass.  We are not part of any ‘spat,’ and I’m not aware that the glass is either.”

As for the beer I’ll say it sounds interesting — in both the I am really genuinely curious how that will taste sense of the word, as well as the way one might stretch out the first syllable when they say the word, innnnnteresting, to denote that they might have a few reservations about it. One way to find out how the blend works out is to try it, 6pm Tuesday at Neighborhood, Koch will be on hand to see how folks respond to it.

Update: Arsalun Tafazoli of Neighborhood wrote back to say this has nothing to do with Sid and Best Damn Beer Shop and that glasses were actually planned and made for a San Diego Beer Week event that had to be bumped due to scheduling conflicts. So it turns out that this is just a really unfortunate coincidence as I previously wrote could be the case. I asked around a bit before publishing this post yesterday and every one I talked to assumed this was aimed at Best Damn Beer Shop, so regardless of intention, I wasn’t the only person that interpreted it as such. Tafazoli’s email is below.

San Diego Brewed: Stone Brewing Co. Old Guardian

Tags

2012 Old Guardian, old guardian barleywine

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

I’m not a huge Barleywine fan, but enjoy them enough and try to have one from time to time. Stone Brewing Co.’s Old Guardian is probably one of the first I ever had (it was either Old Guardian or Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot). I was a bit fan of the Belgo Old Guardian last year, so much so that I don’t think I had the regular version at all.

From what I can recall Stone tweaks the recipe of Old Guardian from time to time, this year is no exception. “For 2012, we made a deliberate effort to move away from the English hop influence of the past few years,” Brewmaster Mitch Steele said in a press release. “We took out the East Kent Golding hops and used a blend of American Chinook, Calypso and Cascade, which gave strong hints of grapefruit and pine to the aroma and flavor.”

First off, this is a beer that needs to warm up. Take the bottle out of the refrigerator and let it sit out longer than you think is necessary. Don’t guzzle it down while it’s too cold or you’ll miss much of the flavor.

At 11% ABV it’s boozy, and at 85 IBUs it’s hoppy, but there’s so much rich flavor from the malts that, while I wouldn’t call it balanced, it all comes together pretty well.

I often don’t think much about food pairings, but a beer like this I knew needed something that could compliment it well. I picked up some Stilton Blue Cheese (which just so happened to be on the recommended pairing list, thank you Dr Bill). The Stilton complimented the beer perfectly, the rich, creamy cheese coats your mouth and starts to prepare your taste buds for the intense flavor to come. The beer washes the cheese away as you drink, perfectly transitioning from rich creamy cheese to big hoppy, malty beer.

I don’t remember it well enough from year’s past, but I have to say I think the aggressive American hops might be a bit much for me. Though surely many fans of super aggressive West Coast IPAs will enjoy it.

Note: Stone provided this bottle free of charge as a press sample, but 22oz bottles are on the shelves at better beer shops where Stone is distributed (including Bottlecraft)

San Diego Brewed: Stone Brewing Co. Levitation Ale

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Levitation Ale, san diego session beer, session beers, stone session beer

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

I’ve recently taken up running as a hobby (I’ve always been fairly active, cycling quite a bit, but have never been a runner) and decided I’d like to run a half marathon this year. While I’m still early in my training all this running has had some effects, both good and bad on my beer drinking. When my iPhone GPS app tells me I’ve burnt 800 calories on a run I take that as a free pass to drink an extra beer (or three). But it also means that after a long day at work when I want to crack open a beer I just can’t bring myself to drinking a big high ABV beer (which often come in 22oz bottles) because I know what that will do to my morale when the alarm goes off at 6am and it’s time to go out for a run. Thus, I’ve gotten a lot more interested in “session beers”.

While some beer geeks could argue about exactly what makes up a session beer for hours, I roughly define them as beers under 5% ABV, the word “session” comes into play because one could drink a handful of pints over a few hours during a “drinking session” and due to the low ABV still be able to walk out of the bar without being too drunk.

So it was one night after work, knowing I had to get up early, face the cold morning and go for a jog that I passed over the bottle of Pliny the Elder in the fridge for Stone Brewing Co.’s Levitation Ale. Levitation is a 4.4% ABV amber or red ale that I’ve had a handful of times in the past, but often pass up in favor of something with just a bit more kick.

Levitation Ale took the GABF Gold for American Style Amber/Red Ale in 2007 while competing against 67 other beers, which is an impressive feat considering many of those other beers were higher ABV so in some senses the brewers had more to work with.

I’ll just come right out and say I wasn’t too impressed with Levitation Ale. It wasn’t a bad beer, I just kept thinking of all the beers I’d enjoy more, sitting mere feet away in the refrigerator. (That said I was thanking myself in the morning when I got up before the sun that I didn’t drink any of those other beers, many of which are twice as strong as Levitation).

It’s got a toasty and earthy smell, a little sweet and a little hoppy that prepares you well for what’s in store. The taste is similar, it’s sweet malts up front think bread and toast as well as a bit more sweetness like caramel. Then the hop bitterness kicks in. This is actually where I was most disappointed, the finish was bitter as hell, with almost no hop flavor. There weren’t any of those delicious pine, citrus, tropical fruit or floral flavors so often tasted in a beer, just plenty of bitterness.

I will say that Levitation Ale had a great body and mouthfeel for being such a low ABV beer. It never felt thin or watery, and had I not known it was 4.4% ABV I doubt I would have guessed it was that low.

Levitation Ale does serve a purpose, it’s great those for those times when for whatever reason you can’t drink higher ABV craft beer (and you certainly wouldn’t be caught dead with a Bud Light) but compared to other craft beers it just doesn’t stand up. All things being equal though, it’s a fantastic sub 4.5% ABV beer.

Levitation Ale is pretty widely available around San Diego County (and other places you can find Stone’s beer). I picked this single 12oz bottle up at Bottlecraft for $1.55, usually it’s sold in 12oz 6-packs.

New York Times San Diego for Beer

If you’re reading this blog it’s not news to you that San Diego is known for beer, but it’s nice to get some national recognition.

In the recent The 45 Places to Go in 2012 list in the New York Times Travel section San Diego gets a mention at spot number fourteen, but not for our near perfect weather, sunny beaches or delicious Mexican food. Instead they point out what makes San Diego really great: our brewers and beer culture.

Even in times of tight budgets, finely crafted beer remains a relatively approachable luxury, and few American regions have more brewing momentum than San Diego County. Maybe it’s time, then, to think about building a beer safari in the land of sunshine, fish tacos and hopped-up American IPAs.

On the brewery side Karl Strauss, Stone Brewing Co. and Hess Brewing get shoutouts. On the retail/bar side our friends at Bottlecraft along with the Pizza Port Bottleshop get mentiioned with Hamilton’s Tavern, O’Brien’s Pub and Local Habit.

And no talk of San Diego beer would be complete without mentioning San Diego Beer Week.

It’s worth noting that San Diego is one of only four US cities to make the worldly list. I don’t know how many people follow the recommendations of the NY Times Travel section when planning their vacations, but I’d be willing to be beer tourism is still on the upswing in this fine town of ours.

A Beer Lover’s Guide to New Year’s Eve in San Diego

New Year’s Eve and beer (well alcohol in general) seem to go hand in hand. As such, there are plenty of beer related New Year’s eve happenings in San Diego this upcoming Saturday night.

If staying at home is your thing

Starting Friday and going through 6pm Saturday Stone Brewing Co. will be releasing various beers from the past year at their Growler Fill Year in Review. Both the Stone Store in Escondido and South Park will be filling growler’s with limited and special release beers from the past year.

If going all out is your thing

Stone Brewing Co.’s New Years Eve Party at the Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens is the place to be. It’s not cheap (tickets will set you back $175) but it includes buffet dinner, live music, complimentary beer and a brewhouse dance party. Yes, you read that right, a brewhouse dance party.

If going to sleep early is your thing

Ring in the New Year with the Belgian’s at 3pm Pacific Time at Blind Lady Ale House. There will be a ton of great Belgian beer on tap of course. They’ll be open until 10pm if you decide to party a few hours into the (Belgian) New Year.

If you love Pizza Port but live in North Park

Head down to Toronado where starting at 11:30am and going through the night they’ll be filling all their taps with beers from all four Pizza Port locations. They say they’ll be posting the tap list to their website soon, but we expect there will be plenty of great beers no matter what they have.

If you want a cozy sit down dinner with great beer

Alpine Beer Co.’s Pub is the place to be. They’ll be serving a three course dinner with two beer (or wine) pairings for $35.95 which includes ‘Beeramisu’ Made with Captain Stout for dessert. Alpine Beer Co.’s pub is pretty small, so be prepared for it to possibly be a little crowded, but don’t let that deter you.

Didn’t find anything that sounded good here? Check out San Diego CityBeat’s comprehensive New Year’s Eve guide.

San Diego Brewed: The Alchemist / Ninkasi / Stone More Brown Than Black IPA

Tags

brown ipa, The Alchemist / Ninkasi / Stone More Brown Than Black IPA

San Diego Brewed is sponsored by Bottlecraft.

Bottlecraft is a retail shop and tasting room in Little Italy showcasing local, domestic and international craft beers. They offer hundreds of beers for your enjoyment in their onsite tasting room or to-go, as well as daily beer flights, events, glassware, merchandise, and gifts. Open Noon-10pm seven days a week. 2161 India Street, San Diego, CA 92101.

The Alchemist / Ninkasi / Stone More Brown Than Black IPA is Stone Brewing Co.’s latest collaboration, and to me at least, it sort of flew under the radar until recently. I had heard about it a few months ago, then forgot all about it until a promotional sample from Stone showed up late last week.

Not knowing much about it until recently I had no idea that proceeds from sales will go to the Waterbury Good Neighbor Fund, a non-profit aiding families affected by Hurricane Irene. Hurricane Irene you might remember did massive destruction in Vermont (and other parts of the East Coast). The Alchemist brewery, which I wasn’t too familiar with until the hurricane is based in Vermont.

Looking over the ingredient list one thing stood out: “Super Galena hop extract for bittering.” Many craft brewers are experimenting with hop extract (and others have been using it for some time now, I believe Pliny the Elder uses some hop extract). I couldn’t remember hearing about Stone using hop extract before so I asked and Brewmaster Mitch Steele confirmed this was their first time. I’ll let Mitch explain:

The Alchemist / Ninkasi / Stone More Brown Than Black IPA is indeed our first release using hop extract. We’ve experimented with extract before, but have never been compelled to use it on any sort of regular basis. John Kimmich from The Alchemist actually suggested it, since he uses it in some of his beers. The fact is, a lot of the best Double IPAs are brewed with hop extract, which allows for what some feel is a cleaner bitterness. The lack of hop leaf material means that you can get more wort out of the brewhouse too, since less trub is formed. It is a little difficult to work with and messy though, which is one reason we don’t use it more, but it was fun to experiment with it in this beer! I think it turned out great.”

 

Black IPAs aren’t my favorite style, but I’m starting to get used to them. No longer do I get startled by a deliciously hoppy smelling black beer. The same can’t be said about brown beers. Pouring The Alchemist / Ninkasi / Stone More Brown Than Black IPA it looked like any other brown ale. But upon first whiff it was obvious this was no regular brown ale. Maybe it was the huge disconnect between what I expected based on the color and what my senses detected, but this was one of the best smelling beers I’ve come across. Huge piney hops. When people call a beer “dank” this is what they mean.

The taste is mostly hops as well, just like the smell lets on, huge piney hops, some citrusy orange/grapefruit hops. The hops really shine here, there isn’t a ton of malt, though a bit of roasted malt and maybe a hint of chocolate malt come through, the roast is far more subdued than many Black IPAs.

I’ll admit, I hope the “Brown IPA style” doesn’t catch on, but this one is another solid collaboration from Stone. I’ll certainly be picking up a few more bottles of this before it’s hoppy time runs out.