Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

bassmantin

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a very dark brown. I've never seen this dark a color from an IPA, and if the head weren't so big and light, I might think this were a stout or porter. One smell, however, quickly dispells any notion that this is anything other than a top-notch IPA. The dominant smell is grapefruit, and it is fantastic. I'm eagerly waiting for the head to die down; it's taking a few minutes, but I know this is going to be fantastic.

The taste is remarkably well-balanced. There is a nice malty sweetness up front and enough hops to secure the finish. This brew definitely does not leave you hanging. There's a nice little alcohol kick at the end. Highly recommended. Another great offering by Stone... although the bottle literature is a little less arrogant than I expected.

Update: I just drank this reissued as Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale. My initial review stands except my comment about the bottle literature. They redeemed themselves with the reissue!

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2007 03:03:40 | More by bassmantin

DrJay

Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Very dark brown, clear, with ruby/mahogany highlights. Fine, tan bubbles clung in sheets to the sides of the glass and formed a tight cap. Good head retention with spotty lacing throughout. Intense pine resin and grapefruit rind aroma up front, fruity citrus and a hint of sweet cocoa fill in the background. Very floral and fragrant. Solid bitterness, not overpowering, that tends to linger. Sweetness is just enough to provide some balance and has more of a chocolate/cocoa character than stright-up caramel, but the hops are still front and center - mostly grapefruit flesh fruitiness and a bit of pine. Light alcohol flavour in the finish, along with mild warmth. Medium bodied, a bit chewy with creamy carbonation. Very nice texture. This is great stuff, worthy of an anniversary celebration. The darker malts, even though they're fairly subtle, really pull things together and create a nice counterpoint for the hops.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2007 23:44:56 | More by DrJay

stereosforgeeks

Virginia

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

Appearance: Black with red highlights. Nice tan head. Plenty of retention and lacing.

Smell: Hops, grapefruit, pineapple, a little caramel malt, maybe some prunes.

Taste: Caramel malt with a bit of chocolate and coffee notes. The fruity hops are presnt mid sip and the coffee finishes it off. A little pine in the finish as well.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied. Ample carbonation.

Drinkability: POUR ME ANOTHER!

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2007 18:35:58 | More by stereosforgeeks

Murchmac

California

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

Wow. I've been waiting for a beer like this, to come into my life. A dark IPA? Has anyone done this? Pizza Port it looks like, but not to this extent. Maybe a southern california thing?

You can smell this beer coming a mile away. After pouring I smelt the cap and then immediately was beat up by the smell of coffee malt, citrus, and straight up hops.

Looks like a cross between old rasputin and saranac black forest. Lacy white frillies follow this beer down the pint glass.

This tastes out of this world. First taste is all over the place, malts, hops, a shot of alcohol, not much carbonation, but somewhere inbetween cask and high, if that makes any sense.

This beer keeps on keeping on, flavor explosions of chocolate, citrus, grain alcohol keep coming at you in different order with every sip you have.

Finsished strong, the gift that keeps on giving.

The 10th anniversary gave you a warm streak down the middle of your body, this one's warms it all over.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2007 04:18:05 | More by Murchmac

dedrinker

Kansas

4.3/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It looks like a porter; mostly black with a tan head. Smells like an imperial IPA, but with a faint roasted note hinting at Imperial Stout. Hops up front - Stone style. If I closed my eyes, the first few sips might taste like that of a fresh Ruination, but as the beer warms up in my mouth, the astringincy of roasted malts kick in, and I would have to open my eyes at this point. Now there is not a pronounced stout character as that would add too much malt to compete with the hops, so they have wisely chosen what kind and how much dark malts to use in order to achieve this. This will no doubt spark a new age of imperial Stout/ IPA hybrids (just three days before this was on the shelves in my area, I had tasted a bartender's blend of Old Rasputin and Two-Hearted Ale) and we will see who comes out with a more roasted version that still brings the hop aroma and flavor before it just becomes an Imperial Stout with too much hops. In the meanwhile it seems that Stone stands alone on a pedestal of glory here.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2007 04:17:29 | More by dedrinker

drumrboy22

Colorado

4.33/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22oz. bomber into a Westmalle chalice.

Dark brown color with a deep red around the edge. Light brown head that left lacing around the glass.

Aroma was not what I expected at all. Nice citrus aroma. Heavy grapefruit and floral aroma. Awesome.

Tasted like a DIPA with a strong malt backbone. Reminded me of Stone 10th a little bit. Long bitter finish.

Looks like a dubbel, but taste and aroma are all IPA. A great brew. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2007 04:17:17 | More by drumrboy22

jeffjfindley

California

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

Whoaaah. Black, with a breath of red transparency when held in front of the light. Head is splendid, and posesses enviable stamina. Leaves fine, feathery lacing. Smell is an absolute killer, exhibiting massive complexity in the malt. It has a sharpness to it that is reminiscent of cedar. Also evident are espresso and an absurd abundance of humulus lupulus. The flavor is equally massive and impressive, very woody, and with a great finish, that thankfully lingers until the next magnificent swig. Mouthfeel is layered, with great viscosity.

This year's VE scared the hell out of me. This beyond reaffirms my tremendous faith in this finest of breweries.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2007 03:53:29 | More by jeffjfindley

sinistermadman

Oregon

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

Deep black in color with a nice creamy nut colored head. Excellent retention with a lacing that coats the whole glass. Nice roasted barley malt aroma with an undercurrent of fresh hops. Taste starts with a solid malt front and quickly melds into hoppy citrus bitterness. Quite creamy and hoppy. For my taste the hop/malt balance is perfect. Warming sensation from the alcohol, but not to an extent where it impacts drinkability, which is very good. Resinous, full mouthfeel, but not too overbearing. Overall a solid brew. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2007 02:00:24 | More by sinistermadman

SwillBilly

Virginia

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

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a Duvel tulip.

Appearance: Pours a deep, rich, black, opaque with just a bit of dark mahogany show around the edges. A thick, billowy tan head tops this dark brew, then fades slowly to a thin, but creamy toffee colored sheen.

Smell: Wow, big upfront citrusy hops, plenty of grapefruit rind, pine needles, and a touch of sweetened coffee. Faint hint of alcohol in the nose as well.

Taste: XI starts with a really nice malty sweetness with caramel and brown sugar overtones, slightly fruity, raisin like with a subtle roastiness. The middle is where things transition quickly to a full on hop assault. Big time grapefruity bitterness along with more pine needles. The grapefruity bitterness lingers long after the swallow, leaving your mouth dry and tempting you to take another sip. The very subtle roastiness of the dark malts also make an appearance in the finish as well. Alcohol is there as you can feel its warmth and flavor in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Surprisingly a rather moderate mouthfeel, looks definitely deceive. Dry in the finish and nicely carbonated.

Drinkability/Notes: Another great anniversary beer from the folks at Stone. I thought X was a really good IPA (glad I have another bottle), but this black IPA is so unique. The ability to combine a big, hoppy, Double IPA with dark, roasty malts is something else. Doesn't come across as a hoppy Porter as you might expect from its appearance, but its a true, honest to god, big time West Coast DIPA. Plenty of of citrusy hops (dare I say Amarillo or Simcoe?) with a subtle roastiness and plenty of malt sweetness to balance things out. Being 8.7% makes this a sipping beer for sure, but man is it drinkable. The dryness in the finish begs you to take another drink. Definitely seek out and enjoy, highly recommended. A hop heads delight for sure. Glad I grabbed a couple of bottles. Can't wait to cellar and try again next year.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2007 23:32:44 | More by SwillBilly

alphaking

Virginia

4.68/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is probably the best beer i have ever had. I love double simcoe and thought it was perfect on tap, but this is pure excellence. The smell is definitely fresh simcoe hops, and I have to stop to smell every time I go for a taste. The taste is perfect. There is a strong dark chocolate taste, and bitter like unsweetened chocolate chips, but goes very well with this. There is a lingering and pleasant bitterness in the aftertaste that seems like a perfect balance of dark chocolate and fresh hops. I can't get enough of the fresh hop taste. The chocolate taste really reminds me of FFF Alpha Klaus, but the overall flavor is definitely DIPA. After smelling this when I first poured it, I thought for sure there is no way it will taste as good as it smells. I was very wrong. I picked up two cases of this and have already called to set aside a third. Hopslam and Un-earthly will always have a special place in my fridge, but this stuff is hoppier, and just plain delicious. This brew has impressed the shit out of me. Excellent job with this one Stone.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2007 21:09:17 | More by alphaking

thepitch

California

4.13/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Haven't reviewed a beer in a while. Nor have I had a Stone Anniversary Brew since number X. Here it goes.

Bought the beer at Whole Foods in Brentwood. You can always count on Whole Foods for some good beer. Not a revolutionary selection, but they've always got some good old stand-bys when I am in the mood to achieve some beer flavor satisfaction. On a relative scale (and by this I am comparing L.A. to the Bay Area) it is nice to have somewhere to go for good beer in this land of Corona and Stella Artios.

Nice Appearance, pours translucent black with plenty of copper and burgundy when held up the the light. Beautiful, well balanced head, with light tan lacing but it definitely doesn't linger.

Hoppy, iron laced, rusty full bodied and hoppy aroma. I'm getting a floral hoppy smell and prelude to nice and unique character.

Great taste, notes of coffee, malt and finishes with a strong but harmonious bitterness that makes you thirsty for more. Lots of hops including hop bitterness in addition to the hoppy floral flavor. Tastes like a stout IPA.

Overall, a Great beer. I like it. My only criticism (and I don't trust critics) would be to increase the malty body which will bring out the sweetness of this beer and also increase the aftertaste's staying power.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2007 04:36:44 | More by thepitch

phisig137

Virginia

4.05/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a deep, deep brown, with slight ruby highlights around the edges. 2 finger head has good retention, and leaves behind some nice lacing.

Aroma is deliciously hoppy, not that you'd expect much else from Stone. Big time west coast citrus hops are backed by and ever so slight chocolate malt aroma. Not in the sweet way at all, just like dry bitter cocoa.

Flavor is much the same. Nice slightly sweet amber malts up front, with a good amount of cocoa hints. Followed by a smooth wave of hop flavor. All the usual suspect "C" hops seem to be present, yielding a very left coast flavor profile. Finish is bitter, but not searing. Mouthfeel is moderate and sticky. Drinkability is good.

Definitely an odd duck. Chocolate IPA perhaps? I'm a bit torn on this one though. I applaud Stone for their originality in this one, but I'm also a little disappointed. While it's not a earth shattering as the Stone 10th, it's still a damn fine beer. I'll be picking up a few more to drink, and a few more to cellar, just out of curiosity.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2007 00:22:35 | More by phisig137

jakon

Oregon

4.4/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22oz. bottle purchased for $5.49 at Orenco New Seasons.

Pours coffee black with a substantial tan head that recedes slowly while leaving a wash of sticky lacing in its wake. The aroma is brightly hoppy. Huge citrus character. Based on aroma alone, this most closely resembles the Summer Yulesmith. My first impression upon tasting is that this beer could possibly age quite well. There is plenty of malt lying just below the surface of all that hop presence. Like a furious undertow waiting to drag you out to sea as if to prove it's just as powerful as a towering wave. As it is, there is just a ton of flavors vying for my taste buds' attention. Tough to pick them out singularly, but there is definite chocolate, roasted coffee and fig presence to go along with those great hop characteristics that we all know so well. Together, these flavors combine to produce a pretty strong bitterness. Despite the intense battle going on between so many different strong flavors, this brew finishes pretty clean. Mouthfeel is dialed in just right. It's slightly thick and a bit oily, and the carbonation is ratcheted down a notch or two. Very smooth on the tongue with just enough bite to satisfy. Fits the flavor profile nicely. Overall, I really like this beer and am impressed by Stone's apparent eagerness to step outside the box and put out something so unique. Not sure I like this one quite as much as last years anniversary ale, but I'm excited about seeing what will happen to this one over time. I plan to put at least 6 of these away and won't check on it for another 6-8 months. I see great potential and think it might be even better once some of these background players step to the front of the stage.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2007 06:19:51 | More by jakon

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.4/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours mahogany with 3+ fingers of rocky mocha colored head. Very good head retention & lacing

S: Piney & citrussy hops with a little malt lurking in the background.

T: Grapefruitty & piney hops, with a little chalkyness & cakeyness up front. Some boozey warmth, tangerines, chocolate, husky grainyness, vanilla, oaky dryness & coffee as this warms. Finishes dry, with cherry, coffee, tanic & resiny hoppyness, but suprisingly no booze

MF: Chewy & oily with moderate carbonation, balanced great

Drinks pretty good considering the complexity & abv, Reminds me of a Black IPA Bristols produced, just not the same hop profile as I try to recall...Worth the hype, the wait

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2007 04:16:09 | More by russpowell

timtim

District of Columbia

4.03/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

wow! black in the middle and ruby on the edge with a great big tan head that sticks around for a bit and leaves a ton of lacing on the glass. smells of piney hops with a hint of malt and some coffee/toffee/chocolate in the background. hops overpower, but there's definitely something else. tastes the same. the piney hops are way way up front, but there's a nice backbone that includes sweet malt and some other stuff like coffee and chocolate. medium to full body with a slight bitter/alcohol kick. super fun to drink, but potent. a stoutdoubleipa. congratulations stone. hope to enjoy 11 more years with you.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2007 01:55:47 | More by timtim

mithrascruor

California

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

22 oz. bottle poured into a mug.

Appearance: Pours a very dark reddish-brown color, almost black. Medium-tan head is thick and foamy, laces the glass, and retains quite well. Looks almost like a porter.

Smell: Has a very piney/citrus aroma up front. But there's also more subtle roasted malty and coffee aromas further back. Nicely balanced, and quite intriguing.

Taste: Wow! It's very strong with many things going on. Hoppy bitterness, coffee bitterness, pine and citrus sweetness, a bit of chocolate-like sweetness, and other unusual flavors in there too. It's a very complex taste and well-balanced too. Everything really stands out too. A slight bit of alcohol in the finish, and the aftertaste is roasted malts & pine.

Mouthfeel: Smooth with just a bit of carbonation. Medium- to full-bodied. Slight alcohol tingling after a while.

Drinkability: This is a strong beer, in taste and alcohol, so take it easy. Hardly a session beer, but still very drinkable.

This is a very unusual beer -- somewhere between Stone's Pale Ale, Arrogant Bastard Ale, and Smoked Porter. It certainly has elements common to all of those beers. It's a real beast of a beer, so best not for the light-hearted. But if you want to try something really unique and bold, this is definitely one to try.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2007 01:29:55 | More by mithrascruor

taez555

Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This beer poured a coca cola colored brown, but mostly black body with a tannish/off-white head.

Nose is dominated by a strong citrus and resin hop smell. Tiny little wisps of milk, even fainter milk chocolate. Really a very deceiving nose, as with the dark body you'd expect some coffee notes, but nope. Close your eyes and all you smell is double IPA. Scary.

Taste is medium/full to full bodied. Taste is just overwhelming hops. Strong citrus peel, resin, pine needles, hints of pepper and more citrus peel. Very little in the way of malt. Some mild caramel, little tiny hints of cracked coffee beans, maybe just a touch of black patent malt. Bitterness is overwhelming and overshadows almost any malt flavor. The hops and bitterness leave a long dry resiny mouth-feel taste that lingers for a long time.

This is the Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde of beers. I don't know how they do it. It is 100% a DIPA, but has the color of a stout without any of the taste. It's as if it's a DIPA with food coloring or something. Weird. As for the beer. It's a hop monster, and really needs some aging to take the bite off. Very reminiscent of SN Bigfoot mixed with Three Floyd's. I like it alot, and will pick up a couple more to keep for a few years. Maybe 2010 I'll crack it open again.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2007 00:33:22 | More by taez555

NJpadreFan

New Jersey

4.88/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Stone- 11th Anniversary Ale

Appearance- Dark murky black with a thick tan head. Light lacing on the glass.
Smell- Stong pine and citrus hops with spicey malt.
Taste- Strong grapefruit and pine hops. Thick black pepper spice, caramel malt. Rye and anise flavor comes through.
Mouthfeel- Sweet heavy malt with a powerful dry bitter hop finish.

Overall- Delicious. Much better than their 10th Anniversary.
This was like Rogue Brutal Bitter and Weyerbacher Double Simcoe mixed together!! 1 of the best beers I've had to date!

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2007 23:44:23 | More by NJpadreFan

ams4k

Massachusetts

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

Awesome black IPA -- the tiny bit of light that makes it through the glass emerges as a ruby red gleam. Great hop flavors, reminding you that this is a Stone offering, but made complex with rye and malt sweetness. Sort of a combination black lager and Aventinus double-bock, taken to the West Coast and smacked around with a bunch of hops. More interesting than Arrogant Bastard. Delicious. Seek this one out.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2007 12:36:57 | More by ams4k

Doomcifer

Rhode Island

4.65/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - pours a very dark brew with a nice tan head that retains very well. Nice lacing to boot.

Smell - WOW! Smells like an absolutely amazing DIPA. Very piny, sweet malts, grassy, hops, hops, hops...extremely floral, grapefruit, tropical notes...absolutely intense!!!!

Taste - Again, WOW! Is this beer really dark?! lol Tastes like an amazing DIPA, again...Very piny, citrusy, tropical notes, great malt backbone to balance the extreme hop presence, tremendous depth...mild alcohol burn. Amazing.

Mouthfeel - Velvety, good body, active carbonation...nice.

Drinkability - This beer is so damn enjoyable, that alone makes me wanna drink more than only one bomber. The abv% obviously hinders how much one can drink of this gem of a beer, but boy, is it tempting.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2007 01:28:47 | More by Doomcifer

FLAbeergutinMASS

Massachusetts

4.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Forget about it, this is one of the best beers ever. I am not a huge Stone advocate, but this is one killer beer. Served on tap at Sierra Grill in Northampton, MA. Comes out looking like a stout, nice thick head, obvious black body. But there is simething more to this beer, classified as a "Black IPA" wtf?!?!!?! Considering how unique this beer is, it could be a Black IPA" fuck, it. lets start a new category...include Port Brewing's Old Viscosity.

Massive pine, huge hops, no bitters...how did they do that? An unbelievably great beer. Try and get some.

Serving type: on-tap

09-19-2007 00:44:23 | More by FLAbeergutinMASS

deuschbag

California

4.63/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

22 oz. bomber into my stone 9th anniversery pint glass. pours a dark dark mahogany color, pretty much porter status. off white thick head with nice sticky lacing.

smell is wonderfull. such a great blend of chocolate, piney hops and malts. not one single thing over powers one another. picture perfect balance.

the taste is a resemblence to arrogant bastard but with a few tweeks to it. aggressive piney hops with just the near perfect amount of chocolaty malts which leades to a plesent dry bitter aftertaste.

full bodied soft chewy mouthfeel.

this is quite possibly one of the best fresh and well balanced brews from stone i've ever had. such a better blend than last years 10th anniversery(which was also a great brew too, don't get me wrong). i'll be getting as much fresh bottles of this as possible.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2007 08:19:41 | More by deuschbag

Beaver13

Colorado

4.05/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle. Pours a dark brown with a creamy light tan head that recedes to a wispy film that laces the glass some.

The aroma is sweet sugary caramel and resiny piney hops with a touch of bright citrus. As it warms, there's lots of roasted chocolate tinged with caramel piney hops.

The flavor is fleeting sweet malts and chocolate followed by a big roasty hop bitterness that lingers. The alcohol is well hidden and sneaks up on you. The mouthfeel is full with nice carbonation.

Overall, an interesting beer - a dark and roasty IPA. Kind of like a darker and roastier Arrogant Bastard.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2007 05:44:05 | More by Beaver13

ChillMike

Alabama

3.5/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

A: Quite shocking to be honest, Pours a very dark reddish brown color, that doesn't let much light in. A nice dark tan head that stays around for a while and leaves some nice lacing, however it doesn't stick around too much.

S: Very pleasant smelling light pine hoppy scent typical of a nice IPA, also hints of nuts, chocolate, sort of a mix of smells between an IPA and a stout.

T: Very earthy taste, lots of bitter hops. A super bitter aftertaste that sticks around. Honestly I may need another review of this but this is a fairly one dimentional Stone Release. I'm not really seeing where the darkness in color is coming from.It does however hide the almost 9% quite well though. Overall a bit odd.

MF:This is where this beer wins. An excellent feeling beer. Just enough carbonation and thickness. I really like the way this one goes down. Quite pleasant

D: Not too bad, it is a hefty and hearty beer, the flavor is a bit off in my humble opinion, probably a once in a while beer.

Overall probably my least favorite Stone brew yet, that's not to say I didn't enjoy it, it's just that I was expecting better things after last years masterpiece. Oh well.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2007 03:41:49 | More by ChillMike

guinness33

New Jersey

2.83/5  rDev -33.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Appearance is a nice near black colour with a thick creamy looking tan head that has decent retention time and leaves a good amount of residue on the glass.

The aroma is a great blend of pine and fruit hops, caramel and chocolate malt, with perhaps a touch of coffee as well. It's sweeter than it is rugged, and hoppier than malty. Just really nice overall.

Flavour is a blend of dirty, oily hops, with some pine and fruit coming through again (the latter a bit more so than the former). Definitely some roasted malt in the mix here too. There's a bit of alcohol harshness that mixes with the bitterness from the hops at the finish of each sip as well. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, slick and oily, with a bit of hotness to it.

Aside from a nice look and a very nice aroma, I unfortunately was not a fan of this brew. It's the first Stone beer that I can recall not liking. I just felt the flavours didn't mesh well at all. The numbers will show this one as a positive recommendation, but I can't say that I can recommend this one. It's interesting for sure and has a good amount of flavour, but there's just something about this one that I didn't like. A disappointment for sure.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2007 03:35:39 | More by guinness33