Stone 10th Anniversary IPA - Stone Brewing Co.

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Stone 10th Anniversary IPA pours a beautiful clear copper color with a flurry of small bubbles floating slowly flowing to the surface from the bottom. The color is bright and almost glows in the glass. On top a thick, creamy one fingered width light tan head forms. The foam slowly disolves to a thick ring around the beer and leaves behind a good amount of netted lace on the side of the glass.

The aroma is very hoppy with a strong orange citrus, some fruity notes of cherry and a medicine alcohol smell mixed in.

Each sip of this medium to full bodied beer feels syrupy and chewy. The flavor has lots of pine, orange citrus and lemon zest. A sweet caramel malt with hints of cherry help balance out all the hops. It finishes dry with an alcohol/medicine flavor which gives a mild burn when swallowed. Once gone some of the cherry, orange citrus and medicine flavors linger on the palate.

This is a beautiful beer with an intense flavor. Reminds me of a barleywine, but with a bit more balance. I'll have to revist this beer in a year or two to see if the alcohol flavors mellow out.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2007 18:03:08 | More by WanderingFool

ThreeWiseMen

California

3.85/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Acquired in a recent swap with Swimsum. Thanks Brent!

Poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: Cloudy, orange-amber body with thin, fizzy-ish, off-white head. Body looks thick and oily; shows just a bit of carbonation within. Head dissipates to bubbly splotches pretty quickly, and drags no lacing. Reminds me of FW Unfiltered DBA a lot, but with added body and cloudiness.

Smell: Lots of cascade hops in this one. Caramel, pine, citrus, hop oils, booze, yeast, and a sturdy malt backbone. I bet the aromatics were much juicier and hoppier when fresh, but this still smells quite good.

Taste: Biscuit-like malt and tons of cascade hop resin. Bitterness has probably fallen out quite a bit over the past two years (certainly tastes like it), but this is still pretty bitterness that remains is still pretty strong. I can imagine this was a total hop-bomb in it's heyday. Pine, sea salt, maybe some wood and spice. Rich boozy character appears midway through and provides some nice heat on the back end.

Mouthfeel: Oily with low carbonation. Hot, dry, and bitter(ish). Pretty hefty DIPA. Leaves sugary coating on the lips.

Drinkability: Very cool to see what two years of age will do to a massive imperial IPA. I liked this one, though it was a definite sipper. Large amount of heat and fairly heavy body made this one drink a bit like hard alcohol.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2009 15:01:11 | More by ThreeWiseMen

eballard

Washington

3.88/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer pours an amber color with a light lace head. A strong spicy smell with a clear IPA hops smell. This beer has a sweet hops spice taste with a heavy malt flavor. This is a very strong IPA made for IPA lovers. If you’re light of heart I would not recommend it but if you love a well blended IPA with a nice strong hops spice Id recommend this one. The mouth feel is a bit heavy but the finish is fairly clean. In all this is a great 10th Anniversary IPA. Strong and flavorful, truly this is a testament to a hard working breweries first decade.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2006 22:14:17 | More by eballard

granger10

Wisconsin

3.88/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Brighter amber color with a thinnish egg white head. Strong hoppy fruitiness in the aroma. A touch of alcohol twinges the nostrils as well. Very resiny. Flavor is sweeter than I was expecting. Caramel flavors at first. Good creaminess on the mouthfeel. Some resiny flavors but not piney more just green hops. Gets fruitier farther down. A bit hot but not too bad. Nothing too great about this beer. I don't quite get all the hype. Solid but I was expecting to be blown away. Maybe age will help but I don't really think so. Good is as far as I'll go. Still, it's good.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2006 00:05:46 | More by granger10

dbalsock

Vermont

3.88/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: The color was exceptional, a brilliant mahogany with an off white head. The only drawback was the lack of head retention.

Smell: This was pretty normal with no unattractive scents. Piney and grapefruity hops mainly.

Taste: A very thick backbone of malts supported the intricate hop layering. Piney hops, grapefruity hops, and more sutble plantish hops all came together in this festival of flavor. The malt could have been intricately woven, however, and provided a standard sweetness.

Mouthfeel: I found this brew to glide easily around the palate. The alcohol wasn't present and the bitterness quite enjoyable.

Drinkability: I can't find any reason to say why this isn't so drinkable for me... the lack of alcoholic taste makes it easy to drink, but it was so intricate in other respects that just drinking a bomber took me almost an hour and a half. There are more drinkable dipas out there, but this one is still smooth and succulent.

Notes: Sorry lpayette, I never found this in a store... just a restaurant :(

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2006 03:38:56 | More by dbalsock

PeprSprYoFace

California

3.88/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Got a growler of this last night at Stone. Drank a glass today. Poured it into my Old Guardian Barley Wine glass since I heard it was drinking like a BW.

Appearance: poured like a barleywine with little head but some good lacing.

Smell: Smelled of bananas and citrius it smelled awesome

Taste: tastes like a barley wine with a slight thickness and smoothness but intense and sweet at the same time.

Mouthfeel: slightly thick like a barley wine and feels like one as well

Drinkability: could not drink this stuff all night but it was very good but could prob drink no more than two glasses.

Serving type: growler

05-26-2008 02:09:11 | More by PeprSprYoFace

jhammerly

Nebraska

3.9/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

After finally finding and getting this beer, I can sit down and enjoy it. This is one beer that I have been anticipating since I ordered it.

Poured from a bomber into a Stone Levitation tulip-style glass. A copper body with a creamy, off-white head that retains quite well.

I smell a slight pine aroma under a very heavy pineapple scent. I never experienced this before and couldn't quite place it at first. A little unusual, but it works.

Very malty for an IPA. Has a lot of hop bitterness (of course).Also, the pineapple makes an appearance in the taste, though not strong, just a hint. This could be that it's in the nose already. Some notes of alcohol are present.

This is a full-bodied beer that is heavy on the tongue. I can handle a bomber, anymore would be too much. That doesn't mean that this isn't good, because it is. It's just so big, you don't need anymore.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2006 03:01:14 | More by jhammerly

phishgator

Florida

3.9/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured into a goblet from a 22 oz bomber. This the beer is a deep golden color with a moderate white foamy head. The aroma is floral hops. The taste is a little bit of heat from the alcohol and tongue numbing bitterness from the hops. Once you start this one you need to not need your taste buds for the rest of the day. The body is a bit on the heavy side, but it still goes down smooth. The overpowering hops (bitterness) on this brew might not be what some are use to, but if you are than drink to your hearts content.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2006 20:16:28 | More by phishgator

LarryV

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This beer has an aroma like hop perfume. Big, bold, brashy. Color is a beautiful orange-amber. Poured without much fanfare, just a light lacing of foam. Taste is like a slice of grapefruit with a sweet malt backbone and hints of tangerine. There's also an underlying mustiness. A good beer, perhaps slightly over the top in the hops balance. I'll let my last bottle age for a bit, I think 6 months might be just what this bad boy needs.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2006 22:37:29 | More by LarryV

leftmindedrighty

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22oz bomber poured into a tulip glass

Smell is not its shining feature, its smells very hot, but hoppy.

Taste, thankfully, does not follow suit. Still a little hot, but with a solid hop flavor, on the oily side, but very solid. This brew is a little hot, but with the malt and hops washing over the tongue, its just a beautiful thing.

Overall, I'm glad I drank this sooner rather than later. I will still be keeping one bottle in the cellar for at least another 9 months, but its mostly for S&G's. We'll see what happens then. If you can find this, buy and drink it right away.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2007 01:06:46 | More by leftmindedrighty

Enola

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Obtained several bottles through trades with several BA's. Thanks guys.

This beer is a lighter orange that is clouded a slight bit. The head is thick and there is a good amount of lacing. The beer actually looks like a pale ale. Not as dark as typical for a DIPA. The smell is bannannas, pine scent and citrus. The alcohol is evident. The taste is hoppy and very sweet. A blend of fruit tastes are hidden in this brew. The mouthfeel is smooth with a little alcohol burn. This is a big beer. A sipper for sure. One should be carefull with a bomber if this stuff. This is not really what I was expecting, but good at any rate. It will be interesting to see how this beer changes over time. Another fine brew from Stone.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2007 21:54:03 | More by Enola

callmescraps

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Just dragged this guy up from the cellar. Let's see how it goes.

Appearance - Nice, beautiful copper with a solid half inch of head. Some real nice lacing to boot.

Smell - Real nice hop with some definite fruit, almost orange and some candy apple.

Taste - Comes up with that hoppy goodness up front. Followed by some sweet maltiness with a serious alcohol kicker. This shit will get you drunk. Frankly, this is reminiscent of a good barleywine, which is hardly a bad thing.

Mouthfeel - Creamy goodness with lots of nice carbonation. Pretty thick but not heavy.

Drinkability - I like it, I even quite like it, but I'll call it a day after this one bomber. Plenty of kick, that's for sure.

Overall this was a pleasant experience. This is solid, hoppy, serious IPA-ness. If you are looking for a good IPA, this should be on the short list.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2008 21:10:48 | More by callmescraps

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a tulip.

Pours a nice copper color with a small white head that diminishes pretty quickly. A bit murky. Average lacing. The nose brings forward a pretty heavy amount of bread, brown sugar, and caramel. A bit nutty as well. A bit doughy. The flavor continues on this path with a really nice amount of brown-sugar sweetness as well as light dark fruits and a bit of sherry character, likely from oxidation. Flavor is fairly lasting and the moderate sweetness carries things through nicely. Bitterness is light at this point, though still there. Medium body. This has really moved toward an english barleywine and it was quite enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2011 12:00:08 | More by Thorpe429

jmz62565

Connecticut

3.93/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear amber honey color with a huge three finger tan foamy head. A very impressive looking beer. The smell is a strong citrus grapefruit aroma that's both pungent and pleasing. The taste is a crisp bitter hop explosion. Citrus flavors abound,grapefruit?, with a creamy texture. The hop bitterness,however, is extreme making this a little hard to drink. A very good sipping beer,but a little hard to take in a big pint glass. Cellar aging might help. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2006 22:49:21 | More by jmz62565

Padron4KM

Arizona

3.93/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bomber.

Hazy burnt orange with a thick orange cream head.
Head diminishes at a medium pace and settles to a half inch cap. Rings of sticky lace coat the glass.

Aroma is fruity, piney, woody, and alcohol.

Flavor is caramel over grapefruit. A little sweet at first, then the hops kick in. Piney, grapefruity, resiny. Still, enough maltiness to keep it from getting out of control. A touch of alcohol burn on the way down.

Finish starts out a little sticky sweet, but ends up lip tingling bitter. One for the cellar for sure.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2006 05:41:22 | More by Padron4KM

Gmann

New York

3.93/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Out of the bomber. Pours a slighty hazy brownish copper color with an above average head that left awesome lacing on the glass. The smell is piney with hints of orange. Has a smokey grapefruit flavor, piney, a tad too sweet. I am on the fence on whether or not I like a sweet IPA; I think I prefer a little less sweetness. This brew does pack some flavor and noticable alcohol presence. Good feel, moderate body, the bitterness and sweetness null each other. A very good brew, a bit too sugary for my IPA preference.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2007 03:09:40 | More by Gmann

auntfloyd

New York

3.95/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served from a 22 oz bomber into a Stone IPA specialty glass. Like many (most? all?) people reading and writing reviews of this beer, I am a total Stone fan, and also a huge IPA fan. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to see this available in my area.

Stone 10th Anniversary IPA pours a very hazy bright amber color with one finger of white head and decent lacing.

The nose is spicy sweet fruit (pineapple and grapefruit are most apparent) and sugar.

The taste... well, in true Stone fashion, this is a huge tasting beer. Rather sweet, with a piney hop flavor at front, with a sweet, almost sugary malt backbone; finishing strong with bitterness and alcohol. Definite alcohol notes, which is not a surprise as this beer is brewed at 10% abv.

Mouthfeel is somewhat is slick, much like Stone's Ruination IPA, and not altogether pleasant, as this beer is rather spicy and strong.

This is by no means an easy-drinking beer; that said you would be crazy to want to crack open more than one bomber of this brew at a time. This is a very strong ale, and should be savored, so as far as I am concerned it is certainly drinkable enough. That said, there is something to be said for being crazy.

At the end of the day, this is a good Stone IPA. If you like Stone's regular IPAs, you should try this one. If you like DIPAs in general, you should try this one. This is such a quintessentially Stone beer that it is almost moot to review it: they pretty much never screw up, and Stone fans will continue to love to big ales they brew, and everyone else will not. That said, this is a limited release, so try if you're remotely interested, try it if you can find it. Otherwise, leave it for those of us who are :)

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2006 23:51:48 | More by auntfloyd

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Wafting aroma greets me, a barleywine aroma in there. A great bubblyhead, lace in the glass is abundant. Its c-hoppy and it remiods me of a barleywine, some cross-style. Aggressive carbonation, and big in every way. Full mouthfeel and balanced not as bitter as expected from hop city.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2006 02:58:00 | More by northyorksammy

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is a clear, somewhat amber, attractive beer. The head is solid, but modest. It’s got a wonderful fruity aroma…lots of citrus, pine, and wood in the aroma. The smell is certainly centered on hops, but there’s also a nice malt quality to the beer. The alcohol, surprisingly, is fairly well hidden in the smell. The taste is warming and slightly sweet. There’s a touch of hotness, but it lasts only a brief moment. Lots of hops kick in by the mid-taste. It’s surprisingly drinkable for the alcohol concentration. Fairly smooth, with a full-to-moderate body.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2007 00:12:20 | More by Suds

drseamus

New York

3.95/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Wasatch for the bottle.

A: Rich red body with a nice off-white head. Pours a bit syrupy.

S: The aroma is still pretty strong, even with a year plus on the bottle. It's very sweet with piney notes and a touch of citrus.

T: The flavor is pretty sweet as well with decent bitterness. The hop flavor is mostly piney with a hint of orange though. It leaves a lasting bitterness.

M: Pretty heavy on the tongue. It is a bit syrupy and there isn't much carbonation left.

D: Not too shabby, but probably on the downhill.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2008 23:53:12 | More by drseamus

ndekke39

Ohio

3.98/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Split a 22 oz. bomber with two good friends. No freshness date on the bottle. Poured a welcoming honey/caramel color, lightly cloudy and with a small, light brown head. Smell dominated by really strong hops and grapefruit. Hints of pine, too, but the grapefruit really comes through. Taste is hoppyx3. The grapefruit shows up as well - sort of a bitter citrusy flavor. The hops are wonderful, although they don't travel as well as some IPAs, and they linger for a while. The mouthfeel is very creamy for an IPA, which I really like. Overall a great sipping beer, but the heavy hops slow you down.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2006 15:59:49 | More by ndekke39

MiScusi

California

3.98/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance is just as I expected, although I do not get much head, or retention. The color is a clear burnt orange-copper and what little head had been there was a light tan.

Aroma is sweet, with some resiny hops.

The taste has a lingering sweetness that is combined with a fairly mild bitterness, which fades into hop oils (a little grassy) and alcohol in the aftertaste. This DIPA is balanced very nicely by the malts.

Mouthfeel is very slick like a light syrup. The carbonation is towards the lower end.

Nobody is going to have a session with these, but the glass you have in front of you will be very drinkable in the sense that you will enjoy it the whole way through.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2006 18:51:30 | More by MiScusi

warriorsoul

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A bright copper color, slightly hazy with a full finger of bright white head with a very aggressive pour...gotta earn your head with this one. Fades pretty darn fast with some spotty lacing left behind.
Huge bouquet up front...boatload of citrus, pine and orange peel.
Tremendous hop profile...accompanied by a touch of alcohol, but well masked when served slightly colder than room temperature.
The malty sweetness, while heavy, is taken over by the overly dry back end...finishes very clean with just a hint of citrus remaining on the pallet.
Mouthfeel is pretty darn thick and the carbonation is where I like to see it. Not a sipper, but by no means a session brew either...will be feeling just right after this bomber.
Overall, a great job by a new brewer to Stone...look forward to many more of his makings.
Fantastic brew to celebrate 10 years!!

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2006 00:07:41 | More by warriorsoul

NJpadreFan

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Stone- 10th Aniversary

Appearance- Dark orange with a big thick head. Heavy lacing on the glass.
Smell- Strong citrus and pine hops. Slight alcohol presence too.
Taste- Big chewy pine cone and orange/ grapefruit rind hops. Alcohol eventually kicks in.
Mouthfeel- Nice and dry with a big citrus bitterness. The strong 10% alcohol kicks in at th end.

Overall- This was a very tasty IPA. The alcohol is very noticeable at the end, but otherwise a very good 1! Find it and enjoy!!

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2006 20:50:22 | More by NJpadreFan

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle purchased as a single from Julio's, Marlboro, MA. Labvel #5 of 10.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1" tan head over the clear copper brew. Head fades at a reasonable pace, with ample sticky lacing. Aroma is pungeant tangerines and a touch of pine, with lots of underlying sweetness. Flavor is syrupy to start, but quickly overpowered by the immensely fruity yet prickly hops character. Mouthfeel and drinkability are a bit limited just by the intensity of the flavors, at least for me. Probably this will not be such a problem after some subtle tongue-numbing sets in. Certainly an impressive beer for an impressive occassion.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2006 22:06:25 | More by ppoitras