Stone Brewing Co - Suede Imperial Porter

Evening all! Hope everyone is enjoying their week. Wednesday night and the wife has taken over the TV. I need to occupy myself so I figure it's as good a time as any to post a new review. Makes sense, right?

Tonight I'm drinking the latest collaboration beer from Stone Brewing Co. This is their Suede an Imperial Porter brewed in collaboration with 10 Barrel brewing and Blue Jacket brewing featuring Calendula Flowers, Jasmine and Honey. I'm sorry, what? An Imperial Porter with what I can only describe as tea spices? Interesting to say the least... and maybe slightly odd sounding. This is 9.6% abv so at least it's not lacking in that the department. Coming from Stone, that's not a surprise in the least. So let's get Suede poured and I'll give you my thoughts.

Suede pours out incredibly dark pretty much pitch black. If I hold my phone light up to it I'm maybe seeing a little bit of a dark brown... but it's so dark I'd call it black. Yeah, this beer is black. There's about a finger of a foamy, frothy beige head which I got after a pretty vigorous pour, more vigorous than I usually pour. It dissipates pretty quickly and leaves behind a very thick lacing. Incredibly sticky looking and slightly soapy. This looks like pretty straight forward Imperial Porter. Let's get the nose.

Big roast coming through right away. Some cocoa nibs, dark chocolate following right behind. But right after that I get a big blast of earthy floral characters. Those flowers are surprisingly present and holding their own on the nose. There's the slightest bit of spice as well. Maybe from the Jasmine. I'm also getting a sweetness that's most likely from the honey. It's doing a nice job of cutting that roasty note I picked up at first impression. This is a very good smelling porter and these additions of calendula, jasmine and honey have me intrigued. Only one thing left to do!

Right away I get that floral sort of earthy bitterness. It has to be from the flowers and whatever hops they used in this. Coupled with the Jasmine the beer is definitely not what I expected. The spices and floral notes really linger on the front and middle of the palate. Sides of the palate I'm getting some sweetness but very subtle. Back end of this I get a blast of those dark chocolates and bitter chocolate I got on the nose. They don't linger very long. The lingering taste I get more than anything is jasmine. Very tea like. Very subtle and smooth. Honestly if I closed my eyes I'd think I might be drinking tea! The longer I let the flavors linger I pick up more honey sweetness and a lot more tea character. So interesting!

So overall, I like this a lot. It's not what I was expecting at all from this latest collaboration from Stone. I was expecting a big, sort of in your face porter and I'm really left looking for that. This is really jasmine, calendula, honey forward. More so than I would have ever guessed. I can honestly say I've never had a beer like this. There's no hint of that 9.6% that the bottle boasts which makes this a pretty dangerous drinking beer. Body wise this reminds me a lot of an English porter. Not like a lot of the imperial porters brewed here in the states. Get this if you can. It's worth it.

Rating: A

Stone Brewing Co. - Götterdämmerung IPA (17th Anniversary IPA)

Hey guys. It's Sunday night and tonight's beer review is a little bittersweet. If you're a fan of craft beer then I'm sure you heard the news about the accident at Stone Brewing on Saturday 8/24. I thought it was only fitting to drink a Stone beer in honor of the Stone family member who lost their life.

So tonight I'm drinking the 17th Anniversary IPA from Stone, their Gotterdammerung IPA. This is a 9.5% abv DIPA that is brewed with German hops and Pilsner malt. Seems totally different than most the other hop bombs Stone is known for. So let's get this one opened and do some drinking.

The Gotterdammerung pours out a nice golden color. A bit darker than a Pilsner. Completely see through with a little bit of carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass. There was about a finger of a foamy white head. Good retention time and a nice frothy lacing left behind on the glass. This looks like a very refreshing IPA. Let's get the nose.

First thing I pick up is a nice earthy, floral hop bitterness. There's some hints of lemon peel, bitter grapefruit, pine and maybe some ripe peach like characters. I'm picking up some nice grassy notes. But really the floral notes are very much the highlight here. Big and in your face bitterness. Definitely not what I was expecting from this one after what I read about it. I was expecting more of those Pilsner characters. There's a sweet, almost caramel like sweetness lingering about. This is really just a great smelling IPA. Let's see how this one tastes.

Wow. First thing on the Gotterdammerung is a big citrus note. Big orange, tangerine like characters. That's immediately followed up by a big floral bitterness. Earthy, maybe slightly spicy. I swear there's almost like a rye spice in here. Sides of the palate there's that ripe peach juice that just floods the jowls. Back of the palate you get more of that citrus. Grapefruit, lemon bitterness. This beer finishes incredibly dry. For 9.5% there's next to no hint of alcohol. It is so well masked making this a very dangerously drinkable beer.

As the beer warms a bit you get more of the alcohol warmth down the chest. You also get more lemon and lemongrass notes. Very surprising beer and very good.

So overall, this is just an awesome beer. Great hops, great mouth feel. Everything about this beer is fantastic. Stone once again knocks this one out of the park. Get this if you can. It should be available but consider it very limited. Probably a good chance this is the only time we'll see it unless enough of us request it be put back into production.

Rating: A+

Cheers to Stone and cheers to the Stone family during this most difficult time.

Stone Brewing Company - Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout

WHEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATON!!!!!!!

Ok, now that I've got that out of the way I guess I should introduce tonight's beer or else that's just going to seem totally random. Tonight I'm drinking the 2nd most recent Stone collaboration beer. This is a beer brewed by Greg Koch (Stone), Drew Curtis (Fark.com) and Wil Wheaton (ST:TNG, Stand By Me, etc, etc Nerd, author... he does it all). This is an Imperial Stout brewed with pecans, wheat, rye and one quarter of this beer is aged in bourbon barrels.

Btw, this is my Beer of the Month for July. I know, it's a couple days late but oh well. Oh, this is also 13% abv and I believe is the strongest beer Stone Brewing has brewed up. So, it's a big fucking beer with a lot of interesting ingredients. I've had a bottle of this before but I wanted to revisit it again and really give a review. So, let's get into the w00tstout and see how it looks, smells, and tastes!

The w00tstout pours out a jet black. There's no light shining through. This is just a dark, black hole of an abyss. There was maybe a half a finger of beige/brown head which only formed because I did the most vigorous pour I've ever done. It dissipates very, very quickly and leaves behind very little lacing. A bit of a soapy film like texture to it but that's it. This is one big, intimidating looking beer. Let's get the nose on this one.

First thing is a quick waft of bourbon like booze and an immediate slap in the face of chocolate covered raisin. Dark fruits, figs, dates maybe even a slight plum character. I'm definitely picking up those pecans. This very much reminds me of a pecan pie, like bourbon soaked pecans baked into a pie. For only being a quarter aged in the bourbon barrels that character shines brightly. Lots of sweet vanilla, caramel. There's some subtle rye spice mixed in with the sweetness. I think the wheat is adding a bit of earthiness to the beer as well. But really, the stand out on the nose is the bourbon and pecans. As it warms there's a bit more alcohol shining through. 13% that shouldn't be a surprise. Alright, let's see how the w00tstout tastes!

Wow. This is such an excellent tasting beer. Right away there's that raisin character. Not as much chocolate as I picked up on the nose. Quite a bit of dates, fig adding a nice bit of chewiness. This beer just absolutely coats the entire mouth. Middle of the mouth and sides of the palate I get a lot of pecan and rye with that wheat. Seriously, it's like the aftertaste you get from eating a slice of pecan pie. Everything about this is awesome. Back end of the palate you get caramel sweetness. Lots of creaminess. The alcohol is only really noticeable for a brief moment as the beer hits the palate but then fades away quickly. Not much of a burn or heat as it goes down in the chest.

So overall, this is just a fantastic beer. For being 13% it's dangerously drinkable. The first bottle I had was a bit of a hot mess but this one is definitely bordering on perfection. I'd say pick up a couple and drink one fresh and age one for a bit to see how the flavors develop. I've got no complaints about this beer. Excellent collaboration from Stone, Drew and Wil.

Rating: A

Here's my wife giving the w00tstout a try! 

Stone Brewing Company - R&R Coconut IPA

Happy IPA day!

Honestly though, aren't most days IPA days? Especially in the Summer time? I know for me this time of year is pretty much 100% IPA all the time. Oddly enough, it's been pretty mild here temperature wise so far this summer, so a nice porter or even stout is good... Ok, I'm rambing. Sorry.

Tonight I'm drinking the latest collaboration beer from Stone. This is R&R Coconut IPA which is brewed in partnership with maybe my favorite local brewery, Rip Current Brewing Company, and home brewers and winners of the most recent Stone home brew competition, Ryan and Robert (hence the R&R). This is a 7.7% abv IPA brewed with coconut. So without further stalling, let's get this one opened up and see how it tastes.

R&R pours out a very nice golden color, very much see through with some subtle carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass. There was about a finger of a foamy white head that really didn't stick around very long. The lacing isn't anything crazy. It's very soapy and thin. This looks like a pretty standard IPA. Nothing too crazy. Let's get the nose.

First thing I get is some big tropical fruits, pineapple, mango. A lot of melon, cantaloupe, water melon, honeydew. There's some really nice caramel like sweetness behind those initial fruits. There's some floral, earthy bitterness. I'm not picking up a lot of coconut on the nose. Next to none. The melon character is very much dominating everything else on this one. This is a very sweet smelling IPA. Not a lot of crazy bitterness which seems to reign supreme in Stone IPAs. Let's see if we can pick up some of that coconut once we get to drinking.

Right away you get the melon characters. Cantaloupe, water melon, honeydew, etc. It's very strong and really tastes like I just ate a piece of fruit. A little bit of the caramel sweetness we picked up on the nose. Sides of the palate there's a ton of bitterness. This is definitely a Stone IPA! Lingering flavors in the middle of the mouth, more of the melon character. Back end this finishes pretty try, very clean finish. As the beer warms slightly I actually do get a bit of Coconut but it's incredibly subtle. I mean, if this wasn't called Coconut IPA I wouldn't think it's there.

So overall, I'm kind of torn. I had this on draft at the Brewery and I thought it was fantastic. Lots of coconut, not much bitterness. Was definitely a step away from the usual Stone beer. With that being said, from the bottle I think this sort of falls short. There's next to no coconut in this from the bottle. The hop variety is excellent. I definitely enjoy this for that more than anything. I'd suggest getting this on draft if you can and then try the bottle, or try the bottle but if you don't like it, give draft a chance. On draft this was excellent. Bottle, it's just an ok IPA.

Rating: B

Here's my wife trying the R&R at Stone this past Monday. 

My "cellar"

Sometimes when I come home from work I get warnings. Today, my wife picked me up from work and her Brother was in the back seat. Now, this could mean a couple things which of course, I fear the worst.

The first thing, which isn't bad, is that we've got dinner plans. I love to eat. I love going out to eat. When he's with us it usually means we go out for sushi. Again, I love sushi. But alas, this wasn't why he was in the car, which ultimately leads me to the worse of the scenarios.

The second thing usually involves a lot of moving of furniture. I've come home from work before and literally had everything in the place completely moved, on opposite ends of the apartment, to the point where I have to walk outside and walk back in because I think I've just randomly walked into someone else's home.

Luckily, today didn't involve anything really moving. It did however, involve a pretty big mess where my kitchen table sits and next to where I store my "cellared" beers. Now mind you, I don't have too many beers I'm holding on to, but still, I've got some. I've wanted to keep these in better condition than just a cabinet with no temperature control.

See, being in an apartment, bringing in a new piece of furniture isn't always easy. Obviously, you're crunched for space as it is. We've got a bar cabinet next to the dining table which I've started using. Anyway, my wife and her brother went over to Lowe's and picked up a sheet of insulation and cut it down to size. Below are a few pictures. It's nothing crazy or overly elaborate, but it's pretty damn awesome none the less. Hopefully this helps keep my beer in decent shape for when I eventually decide to crack some of them open.

Here's the beginning. Just a small cabinet with a shelf and the beers I'm currently holding on to. Here's what I've got in there so far:

Firestone Walker - Parabola

Firestone Walker - Sucaba

Sierra Nevada -  Bigfoot (3)

The Bruery -  Autumn Maple

The Bruery - Melange 3

Rip Current - Vanilla Rescue Buoy 

New Belgium  - Cascara Quad (Lips of Faith)

Iron Fist - Dark Days

Deschutes - Black Butte XXV

Stone - Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout (2)

My BiL measuring pieces out. He's good at math. My wife, not so much. 

Work in progress. The books are to keep the sheets down helping the glue dry. I'm only planning on using the top shelf for now. Bottom shelf maybe if I get carried away. 

So yeah, came home to a nice surprise. I don't like to spend a ton of money on beer even though I spend too much as it is. This will at least make it easier for me to make a few extra purchases here and there to add to the stash. I've got a few in mind already. Specifically, an AleSmith Old Ale and a couple more w00tstouts. 

Stone Brewing Co. - RuinTen IPA

What's up everybody?! It's the first of the month and I'm jumping into this month full steam ahead, hitting the ground running. What's that mean? Well, I've got a bunch of "new" beers in my fridge right now that I'm planning on reviewing for the blog. Hopefully you'll come along for the ride.

Tonight I'm drinking the latest release from Stone Brewing Co, this is their RuinTen which is their 10th anniversary salute to Stone Ruination. Originally released last year as sort of a one off kind of thing, Stone is planning to release this annually to the masses. They spoke and Stone listened. Kudos to Stone for making their fans happy (just like they did with Sublimely Self Righteous). So let's get into the beer and see how it holds up to the hype.

Ruinten pours out a very clear auburn/amber color. Maybe some golden hues on the sides of the glass but this is definitely a beautiful amber color. There is a ton of carbonation billowing up from the bottom of the glass. The pour left behind a real nice finger and a half of foamy, almost silky, white head. It sticks around for a little while and leaves behind a nice soapy white lacing. This looks like a really nice DIPA. Let's get the nose.

Right away, big dank hops. Just really aggressive and in your face hops. That's followed up by an immediate smack of citrus. Big grapefruit and tangerine. A lot of a syrupy kind of peach juice is right there with the citrus, holding hands while it pretty much uppercuts your sense of smell. There's some nice pine needle coming through to sort of clear out the remnants of your nostrils after the citrus and peach assault. You get some onion and garlic to coincide with the sweetness of the peaches. This just smells like a really awesome DIPA. I'm tired of typing. I'm drinking now. 

Yep. First thing you get is a MASSIVE amount of hop bitterness. This is a palate destroyer. No doubt about it. The bitterness just floods the mouth leaving everything else in it's wake. Sides of the palate you get the citrus. Big tangerine and orange. A nice grapefruit lingering as well. The peach syrupy sweetness sort of picks up where the hop assault left off. It does a nice job of kind of cleaning the palate out. Sort of like a street sweeper, just sweeping aside all that is not worthy. RuinTen finishes very dry and leaves behind more bitterness. This is one seriously heavy beer. Little bit of alcohol on the back end with a nice warming sensation down the chest. But just really great shit here from Stone.

So honestly, this might be my favorite hoppy beer from Stone. I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of their IPA and I'm so-so with regular Ruination. It's not that they aren't good, but just not my personal favorites. This however, is just fucking amazing. Honestly, this might be one of the most bitter, hop assaults I've had in recent memory. And while it's an all out assault on the tastebuds and nostrils, it really is well balanced. It's not just one dimensional like say an Arrogant Bastard. RuinTen is just incredible stuff and Stone absolutely fucking killed it with this beer. GET THIS IF YOU CAN.

Rating: A+

Stone Brewing Co. - Espresso Imperial Russian Stout

It's finally Friday! I don't know about the rest of you but this weekend has been absolutely shitty. It seemed to have dragged on forever and it just seemed to be filled with a little bit extra bullshit. Clearly, someone wanted us to suffer this week.

But enough about the week! It's the weekend! Time to let loose. Time to crack open some beers and wake up tomorrow not knowing our own names or where we left our pants. OK. Maybe that's just me. Oh well.

So tonight I'm drinking another "odd year" release from Stone. One of my previous reviews was the Smoked Old Guardian. Tonight we've got the Espresso Imperial Russian Stout which is just like the name says. It's their awesome IRS brewed with Espresso. So let's get this opened and get into it!

The Espresso IRS comes in at 11% abv and poured out a pitch black color with a really creamy looking slightly mocha head. Not as dark as some but definitely not white or even off white. There was about 2 fingers worth and it's sticking around nicely. Once it starts to dissipate it leaves behind a really sticky lacing. This looks like a really nice russian stout. Let's get the nose.

First thing I notice on this beer is the espresso. It's very prominent up front. It's not over powering though but you can't miss it. Right behind that I'm getting some nice chocolate malt characters and some regular coffee. There's quite a bit of dark fruits here too. Most notably, figs and dates. I'm picking up more chocolate. Bitter dark chocolate, creamy milk chocolate, maybe some cocoa nibs too. I'm picking up a slight hint of alcohol. At 11% that's nothing surprising. This beer smells fantastic. Let's do some drinking guys.

Right away you get hit with espresso, just like the nose. It's rich and bitter. I like it a lot. That bitterness lingers throughout the entire mouth. Exactly how it should be. There's a creamy chocolate I'm picking up that does a nice job getting that bitterness all the way across the palate. I'm getting some darker chocolate in the middle of the mouth. Just a lot of espresso bitterness throughout. It's really nice. Back end I'm picking up some tobacco and dates. There's a slight nutty character at the back end. Sort of reminds me of a walnut flavor. It's pretty over powered by the espresso bitterness but as things settle I'm getting hints of that nutty character.

Overall, this is really nice. I've seen a few reviews on Youtube and read a few things here and there about people getting bottles that are very subtle on the espresso. Honestly, this bottle is not lacking the espresso at all. It really makes the Stone IRS a different beer. I'm a big fan of the regular IRS and this is right there with it. This is totally different though. The Espresso in my bottle just really transforms this beer. So needless to say, pick this up if you can find it. Shouldn't be too difficult.

Rating: A

Stone Brewing Co - Double Bastard

I've got a confession to make.

I've never had a Double Bastard. I've had Arrogant Bastard a bunch. Hell, Oaked Arrogant Bastard is one of my favorite beers ever. I've even had Lucky Basartd. But for all the times I've had these beers, I've never put a Double Bastard in my cart to take home and enjoy.

But tonight, THAT ALL CHANGES!! That's right, tonight we're drinking the one, the only, Double Bastard by Stone Brewing Co!

I don't really need to get into too many details. It's Double Bastard. Pretty sure if you are a craft beer fan, you have seen it, heard about it, had it, loved it, maybe hated it... so enough psychobabble, let's get this bastard poured.

Double Bastard pours out perfectly ruby red with a finger bordering on finger and a half of a white, rocky head. The head on this thing lingers for a long time. It's still in the glass right now as I'm typing this. There's been a slight retention and it's leaving behind a very thick and sticky lacing. There is a lot of carbonation coming up from the bottom of the glass. DB is pretty clear. This is a really nice looking beer.

Let's get the nose on the DB. Getting a ton of caramel and vanilla. A lot of a sweeter malt character. I'm picking up some molasses character as well. Honestly if I was to smell this without knowing what it was, I'd think it was a barleywine. There's some dark fruits in here. Raisins and figs along with some cherries. There's a very slight hop bitterness. It's not nearly as strong as I was expecting for both being a Stone Beer and part of the Arrogant Bastard line. I do pick up some of the bitter grapefruit but it's very much hidden by the caramel and malt characters.

The taste on the DB is really nice. There's immediately some hop bitterness. That's quickly followed up by some caramel and vanilla notes. I'm getting some nice molasses character here too. Reminds me a bit of a gingerbread without the spicy character of the ginger. Middle of the tongue there's a kind of sugary bread like character. I'm getting a lot more bitterness here than on the nose that's for sure. Back end of this I'm getting some roasted characters, maybe an espresso, kind of earthy note. A bit of a tobacco character here too. I really like this beer.

So overall, I have to say this is easily my 2nd favorite Bastard. Oaked AB is one of my top 5 beers. Double Bastard is really good stuff though. I'm very impressed. I'm sort of surprised at how balanced this beer is. It's not over powering as I had figured it would be. It's got good body, good hop characters that I didn't get as much on the nose but once you get into this beer, they are definitely there.

Rating: A (very solid A)

Wife... well, you should know by now.

Stone Brewing - Old Guardian (Oak Smoked)

I'm going to be honest here for a minute. Right from the start, pure honesty because that's the kind of guy I am. Honest.

I fucking love Barleywines. I absolutely fucking love them. 

So late winter when the breweries start dropping their yearly barleywine releases I get excited. I anticipate the new Bigfoot, the new Sucaba, the new Old Ruffian, the new... Old Guardian.

That's right. Tonight I'm drinking another Stone release (two Stone reviews in a row, wtf?!), the 2013 Old Guardian. But this isn't your regular Old Guardian. Oh no, tonight, we've got the Oak Smoked Old Guardian. Needless to say, we're not fucking around with this barleywine. Let's get it poured!

The 2013 Old Guardian pours out an absolutely beautiful ruby red with about a half finger of a completely white head that is sticking around for what seems like a fucking eternity. As it gets absorbed back into itself it leaves behind a real nice sticky lacing all around the glass. It looks like Spiderman made an appearance. Luckily, he didn't steal my beer. There is quite a bit of carbonation on this beer streaming up from the bottom of the glass. The beer is very see through with some nice chill haze on the glass. It looks like a real nice barleywine. I mean, about as good as a barleywine can look... which is real nice... nice, right?

The first thing I get on the nose of this beer is campfire smoke. There is no doubt about it, this is a smoked beer. And it's very pleasant. I've never had a smoked barleywine. I'm getting a nice malty character coming through behind the smoke. Big surprise I know, it's a barleywine! If there wasn't a malt character then something would seriously be wrong. I'm getting a bit of a dark fruit character, maybe some plums. Also getting some cherries. Cherry pie filling, cherry juice. It's not too sweet. Smells real fresh. I'm getting some sweet raisins, maybe even a sugary raisin character. There's almost a quad like character coming through with the dark fruits, the sugary fruits and the sweet malts. Smells really great. Let's drink up!

Right away I'm getting sweet malts and some dark fruit. Surprisingly enough, not a lot of smoke right away. I'm tasting the cherry juice like characters for sure. Middle of the mouth you get the hop bitterness that is a trademark of pretty much all Stone beers. It's not in your face like an IPA, but the bitterness is there. You get that campfire smoke flavor here as well. It's not overpowering and not as strong as the nose. I'm a bit surprised. I thought it'd be the first thing I was hit with. Back end of this beer you get a lot of earthy, wood like characters. It's definitely from the Oak. It's very nice. There is a lot of a charred wood here. More smoke. The slightest, and I mean slightest, bit of alcohol on the back end. At 11.4% abv it's to be expected I think. It doesn't take away from anything on this beer though.

Overall, this is a really solid beer from Stone. I'm not the biggest Old Guardian fan. I find it to often be a bit too hoppy. The oak/smoke in this beer is real nice at cutting the hop bite that I've always found in the OG. I'd be very interested in trying the barrel aged version of this which I believe just came out as well. For the price (I think I paid $11 for it) I'd say it's well worth it. If you like Barleywines and smoked beers, this is for you. I'd like to try this with a little age on it. Maybe try it again in December and again later in 2014.

Rating: A-

Wife hated it. Said it sucked. Not a fan of smoke/campfire. She's lame. More for us!

Stone Brewing Co - Enjoy By 04.01.13 IPA

Hey gang! Saturday Night here in San Diego after a really nice, warm day here. Spent a little time at a local brewery and then decided to stop by the liquor store for some evening provisions.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the most recent Stone Enjoy By IPA. I grabbed one right away and figured it would make a great review beer. So, surprise here we are. This is actually the first time I've seen one of the Enjoy By beers. I know they're incredibly popular so maybe they were on the shelves and I was too slow to get them? I don't know, but I do know I've finally found one.

So enough rambling, let's get this beer poured and Enjoy the Enjoy by!

Enjoy By pours out a really nice crystal clear golden yellow. Maybe there's a slight bit of orange in there too. It's definitely golden though. There is a nice finger's worth of a white head with some very tight white bubbles. It fades out pretty quickly and leaves behind a soapy looking film on the glass. Not much of a lace. Looks like a fairly standard DIPA.

The nose on Enjoy By is pretty nice. Right away big pine needle coming through. There's a big hop dankness as well. I'm getting a bit of a garlic and onion dankness as well. There's some of your typical grapefruit. Quite a bit of papaya and maybe some mango coming out as well. There's a slight malty character as well. It's fairly sweet and help cut some of that dankness that punches you in the nose immediately when you get that first whiff. There is no alcohol on the nose at all. Those hops and tropical fruits do a great job hiding the 9.4%.

Let's stop smelling this and start drinking!

Right away you get that dank bitterness. Big onions and some garlic. That makes it's way to the middle of the mouth where it fades a bit and some of those tropical fruits arrive. Papaya and Mango for sure. I'm not getting a ton of the tropical fruits though. The dank onion and garlic flavors are so strong in this beer. While there is a bit of that tropical fruit, it's very subtle. This beer finishes very dry, with a lot of lingering dankness....

Speaking of lingering... it's been a few minutes since my last sip and I feel like I've eaten onions. It's not horrible or anything, just very... dank. I can't really think of another word to describe it.

Overall, this beer is ok at best. It's not bad by any means. I've had fresher tasting IPA before. I like the idea of an "Enjoy By" beer. Stone is notorious for hoppy beers. This is certainly no different. Unfortunately I can't compare it to the other Enjoy By beers to see how they changed over the last 6 months or so. Stone makes incredible beers and compared to the Stone beers I've had, I'd say this drops the ball a bit.

Rating: C+ B-

Wife hated it. Not worst she's had but definitely up there.