Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

david18

New York

3.5/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This was my review of the bottle version:

I liked this beer a lot but didn't really see why Stone made it. They have a number of strong ales, some weaker (Arrogant Bastard), some stonger (Double Bastard). This beer is a little darker in color than both and I think a little less hoppy. It's also darker.

I would definitely get it again but just don't understand why they're introducing this style.

---

It wasn't the best beer I'd had. Not interesting enough to justify the high Alcohol by volume and too strong to drink as a refresher.

Serving type: on-tap

05-11-2011 14:16:59 | More by david18

chugalug06

Colorado

2.15/5  rDev -49.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Personally, I thought this brew was one of the most offensive brews i've ever had... Very strong and upfront booze flavor with hidden hop. For the style, I was looking for hover hopped goodness, none was to be found.

The strong black booze was severely over taking and was very hard to get through. I almost sent back the brew once served. Way too over done; it seems Stone is going more and more this route with their brews :( I wonder if the keg lines have been cleaned recently...

Fairly decent out of the bottle, but no bueno per draft...

C at best, had I been at home... This one would have ended as a drain pour.

Serving type: on-tap

04-28-2011 23:07:12 | More by chugalug06

colts9016

Idaho

4.35/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a snifter at 47 degree, drank at Marcellars.

Appearance: A very nice 2 finger head that has good retention and the color is a medium tan.The head is foamy and cream with some lacing on the glass. The color of the beer is opaque with dark brown highlight. The clarity is nonexistent, however there is some carbonation bubbles visible on the side of the glass.

Nose: A very rich roasted malt, chocolate, espresso, and a very night toasty note. There are note of phenols and yeast. The hops is strong and more flavorful than the bottle. The hops are floral bouquet, pine, and grapefruit.

Taste: A very strong malt backbone with flavors of chocolate, espresso, and a rounded toasty note. There are note of phenols, yeast, and a touch of solvent. The hops is floral, pine, and grapefruit.

The mouth feel is carbonated, astringent, and coating.

Overall: The body of the beer is medium and the finish is medium full. This beer is so much better on tap than in the bottle.

Serving type: on-tap

04-16-2011 02:48:20 | More by colts9016

tigg924

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass at Avenue pub, New Orleans

Appearance: 1/2 inch head, black in color, opaque

Smell: caramel and pine hops

Taste: big pine hops, charred malt, and a bit of cream

Mouthfeel: medium carbonation, medium body, sweet with a bitter aftertaste

Drinkability: I could have a couple over a long night. I like the nice deep charred malt and pine--my favorite ipa flavor. One of the better in style, yet I think I would reach for others in style first.

Serving type: on-tap

04-01-2011 14:58:10 | More by tigg924

pdoran10

Minnesota

4.3/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours out a slightly translucent black color with two fingers of off white head that leave some pretty ridiculous lacing.

Smell is big pine and slight acidic alcohol.

Alcohol heat doesn't come through in the taste. I get pineapple, pine, and grapefruit from the hops, with a slight roast and a big biscuity body from the malt.

Mouthfeel is substantial with moderate carbonation. Well made here.

Really supreme beer. I don't even like this style but somehow they melded flavors so well here that I'm really diggin drinking this.

Serving type: on-tap

03-29-2011 05:06:20 | More by pdoran10

JDizzle

Indiana

4.22/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served from a Growler from Party Town in Florence, KY

The appearance is a deep dark, reddish old ale that doesn't let a lot of light through. The head is wonderful and thick with an off white color that hangs around for the whole glass. Lacing drags down the glass all the way.

The smell is of strong hops with a citrus backdrop and a little roasteg malt.

This beer taste like an DIPA with attitude that will keep you coming back for more. This is such a great beer that should be in 6'ers!! Think- dark DIPA!

This is very drikable beer that suprised me from the way it looks and catagorized.? One of my favorites from STONE. A slightly sweet Double IPA that lives up to the score.

Serving type: on-tap

03-24-2011 01:27:00 | More by JDizzle

oldsailor

Nevada

4/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Extremely dark, smooth body and just enough head to make this a very good beer. At first try I was surprised by the hoppiness of the beer as it's not a taste I typically attribute to dark black beers. Quality of the ingredients definitely shows in this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

03-20-2011 03:24:08 | More by oldsailor

ToAzwethinkweizm

Maryland

4.33/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Date: 11 March 2011
Glass: Standard pint glass
Type: On-tap, 12fl oz

Drank on-tap at Gilly's in Rockville, MD to celebrate my new job offer. Taken from notes:

Appearance: Black in color, beige head, strong 2-finger head, stays strong for very long. Rather sticky lacing. Perfect appearance.

Smell: Rather fresh pine hops! Grapefruit heavy on the back end of the aroma.

Taste: Super-fresh pine with slight bitter citrus at the end of the taste. Malts are pale and provide a great backbone for the fresh hops. Bitterness is moderate in taste.

Mouthfeel: Delicious hop resins and bitterness are sooo fresh. Bitterness is pleasant and sticky.

Drinkability: Very drinkable....a real palate buster (in a good way). You won't want to spoil your palate with another beer after this one.

Serving type: on-tap

03-13-2011 01:05:17 | More by ToAzwethinkweizm

gatornation

Minnesota

4.45/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

served on tap

A- served in stone pint glass it was dark black/brown with a really fresh tan 1 finger head loads of sticky lacing as i drank this one

S- was some cocoa ,chocolate, some toffee, citrus hops

T- was outstanding it had some roasted malt with toffee ,mix in some creamy chocolate,some floral citrus hops,, a little fruit wow so fresh so tasty

M- is is full but its easy to drink with lots of stout tastes mixed with an ipa

D- so easy to drink this high ABV black ipa its stouts flavors mixed with citrus hops makes for an outstanding brew

Serving type: on-tap

03-02-2011 22:25:36 | More by gatornation

thedoubler55

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pitch black, about a finger of tan head, Bit of lacing as well.

S-I think a bit of everything, chocolate, as well as coffee, hops and malts.

T: Taste as the nose, perfect blend, great bitterness that gets taken away by the malts.

M: Medium, great combination of everything.

D:Very drinkable, great great brew, would love to have this again.

Serving type: on-tap

02-28-2011 02:48:16 | More by thedoubler55

NorCalYeti

California

3.5/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

taste- roasted malts, sweet, well-balanced hop/malt finish, sour toast

color- chestnut, deep brown

clarity- appears clear but too hard to tell because it's dark

smell- roasted malt, chocolate

body- medium-length finish

appearance- flat with a little off-white ring of carbonation

notes and comments- i wouldn't characterize this as a double ipa as it was billed at the festival

beer spy- double ipa festival, bistro, hayward ca, 2/12/11, 6 oz. glass

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2011 01:13:04 | More by NorCalYeti

joshuasamantha

California

4.53/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Had on tap, In bottle and growler form from the Stone Brewery- literaly one of the best beers ever, another home run for the guys at stone its like an arrogant bastard IPA strong american strong ale characters very hoppy and citrus-ee ha anyways as dark as midnight and very strong a good beer with bbq meats overall a definate A if you haven't tried it you need to...that is all....

Serving type: on-tap

02-14-2011 03:48:01 | More by joshuasamantha

mltobin

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Served on-tap at The Moan and Dove.

Appearance is a dark brown with a one finger tan head, which leaves some nice lacing. The smell is sweet with grapefruit, quite a punch of hops, toffee as well. Upon sipping this black ipa from Stone, the same flavors from the nose are there & in a very balanced fashion. I also tasted some chocolate and coffee in the finish. MF is medium, smoother than I expected going in. Drinkability also gets a thumbs up with this beer, another winner from Stone.

Serving type: on-tap

02-13-2011 00:41:07 | More by mltobin

KTCamm

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served on tap at Coalhouse Pizza in Stamford CT. All beers served in 16 oz mason jars.

Pours dark black, wisps of off white foam, but otherwise very clear. Smell and taste are roasted, get the sensation of a stout with a little more IPA hop backbone. Residual bitter. More stout than IPA though. Good beer, full of flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

02-13-2011 00:35:05 | More by KTCamm

Urbancaver

Ohio

4/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a dark brown. Very dark with reddish hints. Tons of hops on the nose. Piney and grapefruit primarily. Hops hint first on the tonue. Pine first and foremost and then lots of citrus/grapefruit. Pretty impressive how hoppy it is given the darkness. Light and highly drinkable

Serving type: on-tap

02-12-2011 05:11:51 | More by Urbancaver

SFrankBrew

South Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Very dark, almost black with some lacing that hangs around down the glass. Roasty malts - like a porter, pretty much - with a hint of the hop assault. Black IPA is a perfect description of this beer. The hops are prominent and persistent throughout the palate. Upfront, the first impression is of a porter, with the chocolate/roasted malt flavor. Then the hops come in and dominate; the dry hopping is especially prominent in this one. The hop flavor in this beer is AMAZING-seriously like having a glass of fresh hops. This is a thick, velvety beer and the lingering hop taste does have a tongue-drying effect. Overall, a fantastic beer.

Serving type: on-tap

02-10-2011 14:03:07 | More by SFrankBrew

HopMasterFlex

California

4.43/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is a go to beer for me. When the 11th anniversary came out I must have drank 20 bottles. It was my first time with a black ipa and frankly I never looked back. Though I feel the 11th was better than the sublimely I was still stoked to have it available year round. It bours black with a root beer hue. The head is an inviting tan. Smell is pure hops and I love it. The subtle toasted malt are present as well. This beer is the definition of an iba. The color is black bit it drinks like an ipa. Super hoppy and delicious. Nothing bad to say about this other than the smaller batch of the 11th was better. I still have 4 bottles of the 11th and I drank one the other day. The profile is completely different as you'd expect. The piney hop flavors are gone and the malt flavors are huge, it's almost choclatey. It is a completely different beer but still delicious!

Serving type: on-tap

02-03-2011 07:17:28 | More by HopMasterFlex

treznor

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served on tap at Pizza Paradiso (DC).

Appearance: Extremely black. Held up to a light a couple feet away a bit of light penetrates, but that's it. Dark ivory head. Fairly heavy lacing as it goes down.

Smell: Quite hoppy.

Taste: Bit of a punch in the mouth if you're think Black Ale (like 1554) instead of Black IPA. A bit smoother than you'd probably expect for a Stone IPA, with almost a bit of molasses in there.

Drinkability: Might be difficult to drink to many as it is quite hoppy, but I'd love to start the night with 1 or 2 to get things going. Will set quite the bar to measure up to though!

Serving type: on-tap

01-19-2011 02:01:07 | More by treznor

NefariousR

Texas

4.25/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Had on tap.

A - Dark brown, nearly black. Poured a 1.5-2 finger light tan head with lots of foam.
S - Very strong grapefruit aroma - probably the strongest of any beer I've smelled. Rounded by piny hops and a bit of more sweet fruits.
T - Hoppy with strong, oily pine flavors. Rounded out with a fruity, floral assortment of flavors.
M - Medium-bodied and sticky. Slightly warm in the after-taste.
D - Fantastic beer; another great from Stone. A good balance to their typical uber-hoppy fare (not to say that this isn't hoppy). However, I found this to be more balanced than a lot of their other beers.

Serving type: on-tap

01-15-2011 02:17:22 | More by NefariousR

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.65/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured on tap at the Stone Brewery into a pint glass. The beer is a dark brown, glassy, thick coloring. The beer has a 1 inch creamy, thick head. The nose is hop heavy, with a light malty note that helps to balance it. The taste is made pretty sharp by the increased carbonation, and the hop-malt blend does not balance well. The unbalance continues into the finish, where the hops and malt flavors are very strong and not complimenting. The beer is light and sharp in mouth, despite the boldness of the flavors. This was not a pleasant beer to drink.

On a side note, after reading some of the other reviews, and knowing my preference for IPAs, including black IPAs, I wonder if the keg was at it's end, or perhaps it was a dirty line, or some outstanding circumstance like those, because this beer was surprisinly unenjoyable. I will absolutely try it again at some point to make sure this tasting wasn't an exception to the rule.

Serving type: on-tap

01-02-2011 22:35:38 | More by GarthDanielson

fsimcox

California

4.05/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in an 8oz tulip glass.

Poured a deep, dark black. Big tan fluffy head that dissipates surprisingly quickly to a thin tan layer! Very nice lacing down the entire glass.

Smells of hops, some grapefruit and a hint of roast malt. Very nice, and not overpowering.

Creamy hops up front, with a slightly bitter finish, some grapefruit at the end, and a hint of grapefruit aftertaste. Some carbonation in the back.

Mouth feel is creamy. With an all around hop presence.

Overall a wonderful IPA well worth a second glass.

Serving type: on-tap

12-29-2010 14:23:27 | More by fsimcox

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Wow, what a great beer! It combines citrusy and piney hops with a deeply caramelish malt that's also a touch chocolatey and roasted.

It appears black in a full pint glass, but held to the light it reveals dark mahogany edges. The creamy tan head holds well, and it leaves some nice splatters of lace about the glass.

The nose is citrusy and piney over a hint of dark caramel. Quite nice!

In the mouth it's decidedly medium bodied with a standard carbonation level.

The flavor reveals the maltiness that's not quite found in the nose. It's almost like burnt-sugar: caramelish, and bit roasty, and even a touch smokey. There's an edge of dark chocolate to it as well. It's rich, but not 'super' rich; and it's complex, but not 'super' complex - it's just everything it needs to be because it's really just acting as the perfect 'dark' springboard for the hops.

With any other malt base I'm sure these particular hops would be displayed in a different fashion, but here they're piney, resinous, and minty with a citrus edge that expresses orange, lemon, and red fruits as well. I think the roasted and dark chocolatey side of the malt develops the mintiness by combining with the pine-like qualities; and the citrus is slightly subdued, but still comes through towards the middle and end as a refreshing splash that pulls you away into a little something different. Atop a golden or amber malt I'm sure the hops would be more emboldened, and more citrusy, piney, and fruity (like fruity pebbles?), but here they're more reigned in. And what that all leads to is a really interesting beer from the first whiff to the elegant, lingering finish. In fact, I get the most smokey edge out of it after it's been gone for a minute or so.

Regarding drinkability, the alcohol at 8.7% by volume is never noticeable. You might feel it, but you won't taste it. And I think the subdued complexity and interesting 'bright points' make it remarkably compelling. It's brilliantly balanced at its core, and superbly studded with hops. Quite possibly my favorite beer from Stone.

Serving type: on-tap

12-23-2010 00:00:53 | More by NeroFiddled

beerwolf77

Wisconsin

4.15/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Draft pint at Romans'.

A: Pitch black with a solid two fingers of light mocha hued head. Solid retention. Thick lace.

S: Bitter black coffee with a hint of citrus fruit. Moderate roast malt and touch of dark chocolate. Interesting for sure.

T: Again strong black coffee comes to mind. It has the hoppy kick of an IPA yet the dark malt blankets it with a smoothness. Leaving me with a tug of war in my mouth. Again unique.

M: Full creamy body. Low carbonation. Almost nitro feeling.

D: Overall an enjoyable beer. Nice to have something that's outside the usual spectrum of beers.

Serving type: on-tap

10-14-2010 14:26:02 | More by beerwolf77

Chico1985

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

I've had this a few times. Took some notes last week at Sierra Grille, almost forgot I had them.

Pours just about black with a 2-finger tan head. Thick ring and slight cap retain, leaves nice walls of lacing on the glass.

Smell/taste - Huge grapefruit and pine, very hoppy. Backed by roasted malt/cocoa/some caramel, some earthy notes in the scent. Some alcohol.

Mouthfeel is nice, creamy, decent thickness.

This is a good beer but a little typical-tasting coming from Stone in my opinion.

Serving type: on-tap

10-09-2010 13:22:38 | More by Chico1985

nickhiller

Texas

3.83/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: pitch black with a thick tan head and lacing galore.

S: sharp, almost acrid, hops. They smell extremely fresh and strong and give off an almost vegetable or plant smell. A little bit of roast in there as well.

T: dry, hoppy, bitter and extremely alcoholic--in fact too much alcohol on the front for my taste buds--it kind of takes away from the other flavors. Scorching alcohol burns down to the core, probably good on a bitter cold day. Speaking of bitterness, there's a lot of that on the finish as well. I'm not getting much in the way of complexity though and barely any malty sweetness.

M: well carbonated and pretty dry for how full bodied it is.

D: pretty good. The only other CDA I've had is the Deschutes Hop in the Dark, which I liked a lot, so I'm definitely into the style. The Deschutes version was more complex I seem to remember, and not as relentlessly bitter and alcoholic. Still I'd certainly have another if offered.

Serving type: on-tap

10-08-2010 20:31:33 | More by nickhiller