Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

cokes

Wisconsin

3.38/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

The darkest of ruby hues. Virtually black unless back-lit. A pillowy, moderately thick rise of buttercreme suds sticks around a bit before sagging into the ooze, and it laces well even afterward.
The aroma is largely pine. Char, ash, cocoa, and coffee gain traction over time. There are some interplay moments that suggest spearment, vanilla,black cherry and burnt peach. Those are the most interesting, but also the most repressed.
My first impression is probably my most accurate: This tastes like someone extinguished a cigar and/or dumped spent coffee grounds into a pint of Ruination. The roasty, smoky, ashy, blackness of this beer is at odds with the singularly piney bitter aspects of the hopping. There are teases of earth, black cherry, caramel, toast, wintergreen. But at its heart, it's char and pine. And nothing else matters.
The blanketing body is lightened by the steady trickles of CO2. The build could hardly be more appropriate.
But this doesn't do a thing for me. Out of whack, off-balanced, and simple-seeming to boot.
I love hoppy porters and stouts when there is some sense of cohesion between the big malt and hop flavors, but that's altogether absent here.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2010 09:14:32 | More by cokes

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

3.38/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

22 oz bottle poured into a Sierra Nevada imperial pint. 8.7% ABV, Enjoy by 10 14 10 -RE-REVIEW of an oxidized bottle.

A - Even better looking than last time. A moderate pour creates cascading and a four-finger tan head with phenomenal retention and epic lace coating the glass. The beer itself is a black clear mahogany color with slivers of ruby showing through.

S - Light notes of coffee poke through a heavily hopped aroma full of resin and citrus. Once again the hops come out full-force up front then fall away leaving a lightly oxidized-like cardboard-like aroma with the malts. Toasted amber and black patent nose. Not anywhere near as bad as my last experience but the hops seem to fade out far too quickly allowing imperfections to shine through.

T - Little amounts of cocoa and coffee give a sense of depth to this hop monster. Lots of American hops with lots of resiny hop oils take over and linger through the duration of the tasting. There is an interesting quality to this beer that makes it very bland feeling while hinting at depth. In the end it just seems to be all bittering hops and not a lot of flavor.

M - Tons of bitterness that really leaves it unbalanced on the palate. Lots of oily resin on the finish. Smooth and medium-bodied, the alcohol isn't tasted at all but it's felt in the retro nasal breathing and warming sensation.

D - This bottle needs to be split a few ways for me to drink it, otherwise it'll just demolish one's taste buds. Again, it's far better than my last experience but I'm still not all that impressed. It seems to be a flat-out bitter bomb with hops masking everything else. The taste lacks some good depth that's found in so many other Stone brews. By far, it's one of my least favorites from a brewery I love.

On a side note, thanks to Stone rep Aaron Tyrell for all the contact on the bad bottle issue. Hearing from reps or brewery employees about quality issues, or any other issue for that matter, means a lot to me an other beer geeks.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2010 02:23:54 | More by BeerFMAndy

zhanson88

Montana

3.38/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Appearance: This Black IPA pours out a dark brown color with a couple fingers of light brown, slightly dirty looking head. Retention is pretty good and lacing is nice.

Smell: Roasted dark malts, a bit of caramel, and plenty of citrus and piney hops. Seems pretty spot on for the style.

Taste: Of course there is plenty of roasted and dark malts up front, with some caramel as well. On the back end there is plenty of citrus and piney hops. Usually I am a big fan of Stone's hop profiles, but this one doesn't do much for me.The flavors really seem to clash a bit.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability: This beer is between light and medium bodied, and pretty smooth drinking. Overall this is a good example of of a Black IPA, but the flavor profile is just a bit off. Still, not a bad beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2011 01:11:09 | More by zhanson88

dar482

New York

3.38/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

It starts off in a very dark black color. The aroma isn’t very strong, but with a malty nose.

It tasted more like a strong ale than anything. It was a bit flat, with a bit of creaminess to the body. and then hits with a bit of roasted malty and peppery finish. It even has a slight licorice flavor to it and then hits with an alcohol bite. I’m surprised to not care for it. I didn’t hate it, but I had no reason to come back to it.

In the end, I might have had a late bottle, but it was still a few weeks before the “Enjyo By” date.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2013 03:40:07 | More by dar482

dbalsock

Vermont

3.4/5  rDev -20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

App: Pours black with a tan head about 1 finger high, moving down to a ring and lacing the sides of the glass.

Smell: Despite the appearance, this does smell like a hop bomb. The hops smell fresh with a classic big alpha smell followed by some more intricate hop aromas. There's also an alcoholic essence in this thing.

Taste: Very hoppy like the smell and other than some roastiness, there isn't a lot else going on. Not much of a malt background, and somewhat boring bassed solely on the hops.

Mouthfeel: Very bitter from the hops and the roastiness, and light bodied. The carbonation doesn't do enough to balance the bitterness, and for how it looks I can't get over how thin it feels on my palate.

Drinkability: I made it throught the bomber, and would have it again if it was free, but I don't understand why it's so loved. I think the bastards are better strong ales, and i'd rather have a straight up dipa if i want the aggressive hops. It's still good though, and worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2007 21:22:48 | More by dbalsock

MisterClean

California

3.4/5  rDev -20%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Stone night at the Grad in Davis:

A - Dark lack pour with a 2 fngered head. Dissipates to 1 fingered head and sticks around. Beautiful lacing.

S - Dark roast coffee. Wish I could smell more, but no.

T - Dark roast coffee and light alcohol.

M - Very smooth, little aclohol in the mouthfeel.

D - Good, but needs more hoppiness and flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

01-16-2009 07:13:09 | More by MisterClean

sellmeagod

Virginia

3.4/5  rDev -20%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

A monster of taste and aggression!

Stone always does the image thing well and they have the bold flavors to back it up. The dark dark pour with no head is expectedly awesome. There is some bitterness and a hoppy smell, but most of this is controlled but the other dark and roasted flavors.

A bit much to down at 22oz of this. But, Stone even admits that there is no point in disagreeing with this beer - it is Self-Righteous for its own sake.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2010 23:00:43 | More by sellmeagod

crossovert

Wisconsin

3.43/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

650ml bomber bottle. best by 06/29/10.

Pours a dense dark brown/black with hints of ruby when held to light and a foamy, long lasting tan head. It is a bit of an ambiguous color, it looks like a stout.

It smells sweet and hoppy, but it isn't that fragrant.

The taste is bitter and hoppy, with some slight coffee character. It is slightly metallic as well. The hops are piney and mix with the metallicness to create a flavor im not too keen on.

The so called black IPAs seem to be more gimmicks than anything, it seems like no brewers have taken the time to make the perfect recipe for it.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2010 00:46:54 | More by crossovert

BrewsCrewSA

Texas

3.43/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours black, as the style would suggest. Tan head retains extremely well.

Hops overwhelm the bouquet. Smells piney, woodsy, almost like a natural fir.

Extreme flavor - hops, hops, hops, alcohol, hops. Really, there's nothing more to it, which is why I wouldn't classify this beer as extraordinary. I can see already a few sips in, how this could get redundant almost. It's like biting copper.

As the heaviness will eventually settle in, the acids kind of wear the palate out. It's extremely flavorful, it blasts the tastebuds, so again, I marked it kind of low in this respect. It offers nothing but the same flavor over and over, there's almost no complexity in my opinion.

High in alcohol and volume, I wouldn't expect more than one would not suffice, unless you're a hophead and you'd like to get tanked. Not my cup o' tea.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2011 01:48:04 | More by BrewsCrewSA

MbpBugeye

Ohio

3.45/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I found this still on the shelf at a shop in Ypsilanti when I was up for the summer beer fest.

Poured into a nonic pint.
A- Pours with almost no head rising up. What does bubble up gathers into a brown pillow in the center. The beer is very very dark brown. Its like a porter or stout. There are some garnet edges but mostly its all black in the glass. No lacing not great head retention.

S- Now-a-days XI is smelling quite like some Belgian strong darks. Malty, caramelly, dark fruity.

T- Up front its similar to some Belgian strong darks too. Comes in malty smooth, woody, raisin-y and chocolaty. Whats left of the hops comes in at the finish with a very piney profile. The hop bitterness lingers.

M- Medium high carbonation, medium full body. Id assume when this was new having more bitterness would make it seem less smooth, but after 2 years its almost creamy.

D- Good drinkability. Low bitterness, just enough to create complexity.

In all this was a pretty sweet little secret I found up in Ypsi.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2009 03:56:19 | More by MbpBugeye

mynie

Indiana

3.45/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

On tap at the Black Sparrow, billed as a Black IPA because, well, Sparrow customers know that some beers is wheat and some is pilsners and others is IPAs.

Pours like a thick, fluffy stout. Big white head. The body looks black until you hold it up to a light and it's like those Crows candies, it's actually a really deep shade of green that looks black. Pretty cool.

Smells agressive. Big, giant west coast hops. Big, bitter, syrupy malt. There's some nice nodes here, but also some stuff that's unpleasantly intense and really the balance is kind of off.

Aaaand it tastes pretty much like it smells: interesting, but hugely offbalanced. There's some herbs thrown in there, along with the big giant alpha of citrusy west coast hops. That's nice. The whole front half is excellent, actually, but then in the back it's a thick, syrupy malt that's just not all that great. Overall there's a lot more good than bad but the bad still spoils much of the good.

Serving type: on-tap

03-30-2010 20:37:29 | More by mynie

donteatpoop

Ohio

3.45/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A nice bubbly tan head sits atop the dark opaque beer.

Smells were earth, burnt caramel, pine, and grass.

The taste was decent. I'll be flogged for this I'm sure, but I'm generally not much of a Stone fan. I like their IPA, but that's pretty much the only one I come back to from time to time. This beer was no exception. It had a nice burnt caramel malt and molases taste, and a dry lingering bitterness. But the rest of it reminded me of every other Stone brew I've had. In a way that's good due to brand recognition in the taste, but in a way it's also bad. It feels tired and uninspired to me. I'd like to see Stone (and a few other breweries out there) mix things up and experiment with more than just the malts. It seems to me (and I'm going just on taste, not on recipes) that this brewery and a few others stick to the same hop and/or yeast formulas.

There, I guess that's out of my system. I like their IPA a lot though. This... Meh. It's not by any means a bad brew, it's not something I would deter anyone from trying, just not something I'd go back to since I feel like I can pick up just about any Stone brew (barring their RIS) and get the same taste. I like it their IPA the best.

This review is all over the place I think I'm gonna leave it at that.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2010 05:57:48 | More by donteatpoop

bohemiandonut

California

3.45/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Smell just like pineapple orange mango juice blend, with perhaps a few marijuana branches thrown in. Pure genius hop aroma really. A bit of foreign malt lingers, raspberry chocolate, intoxicating coffee liqeur whispers from the deep.

Taste comes on somehow welcome but profoundly surprising. The palate leaps from mango-sweet anticipation to roasty malt-blanketed hop shadows. It's like they took the horror of a rotting DIPA and crossed it with an English porter, with none too much attention paid to either.

Stone is certainly a distinctive brewer. One recognizes their way with hops and malt immediately, and in this case it's a good thing. Few brewers bridge that gap successfully, but Stone manages to straddle it right between "OMG do they make IPA?" and "AW SHI where the BARLEYWINE AT?". Fortunately, these assholes make both.

Good job Stone, I applaud your diction.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2010 05:45:28 | More by bohemiandonut

trxxpaxxs

New York

3.45/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours completely black with one and a half finger of light khaki colored head. The foam takes quite a bit to fade, and a nice rocky layer of small and large bubbles lines the top of the beer and the glass. Great lacing as it drinks.

S: The nose is big citrus and floral hops mixed with a solid helping of roasted malt. It actually smells quite good for a Black IPA.

T: It starts out with a mix of sweet and bitter right away. I get vanilla, toasted bread, citrus, and licorice. It a mix of all sorts of flavors. It's hoppy and bitter, sweet and malt, roasty bitter, and just all over the place.

M: Medium bodied beer. It coats the palate from the first sip with a smoothness and that lasts all thew way through the finish. It dries up a little bit in the finish, but not much.

O: I hate this beer. I'm not a fan of Black IPAs to begin with, and this beer is exactly why I don't like them. The flavors don't mingle well together. It's too bitter (but not in super hopped up way). I just don't get this style. I may never buy another Black IPA ever again. Serious.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 18:30:37 | More by trxxpaxxs

czechsaaz

Washington

3.48/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Aroma is hops. And then more hops, and then more hops. Citrus and spice. Once it gets very warm, then a little hint of malt and roast character comes through. I don't want to rip it for being one dimensional, it is a Stone Anniversary so what do you expect. The hop aroma is good, fresh smelling and spicy but that's it.

Appearance is deep black with a good solid tan head that leaves great lacing throughout the glass. Held up to the light it has nice red highlights.

Flavor is very Stone. Lots of hop bitterness. Then lots of grassy & Citrus hop flavor. Then lots of fresh hop flavor in the aftertaste. There's barely a hint of malt flavor and if there's any black or roasted malt in there it's blown out by the IBUs. Again, really one dimensional.

Full bodied with a very nice lively carbonation level. Just barely warming from alcohol.

It's a tough one for me. On the one hand, I expect a Stone anniversary to be very aggressively hopped. But the idea of a black IPA is very intriguing. But any flavor or character that might make this unique as a black IPA is blown out by the extreme hoppiness. I like it but I can't help thinking about what could have been if the roast or black malt might have come through a little bit.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2007 05:07:49 | More by czechsaaz

jcdiflorio

West Virginia

3.48/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Had this on tap at Fathead's served in a stemmed tulip like glass.
Black,opaque had just a tan ring of foam around the inside of the glass when served to me.

Intense hop nose,complex, Very piney,leafy with a strong minty/evergreen aromas with a sight sweet malt note. The hops were overpowering hard to smell anything else.

Very piney taste,resinous/leafy, tons of hops and intense bitterness. Very dry,astrigent slight sweet maltiness buried under the hops. Couldn't taste any alcohol either. Would have expected more maltiness with the dark color,really got fooled there.

Very thick,full and syrupy. Rough drinkability,unbalanced would have like some maltiness in there,maybe with some aging. A sipper for sure,just one at a time please. If you a hophead enjoy it now,if not might want to sit on this one a bit.

Serving type: on-tap

10-17-2007 02:24:26 | More by jcdiflorio

MADhombrewer

Oregon

3.48/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A- Black as night. Nice small, thick head that leaves lots of lacing behind as you drink it.

S- Alcohol smell with chocolate and coffee notes. Also there is a big hop smell as well.

T- Big in hop and alcohol flavor. i can also detect a small coffee taste. After liking my lips right after a sip, I taste a bitter, burnt chocolate flavor. This beer could use a little warming up as it is a lot smoother as it does.

M- Mouthfeel is solid. A little thicker than thin, but I like that.

D- Drinkability is better as it warms up a bit. But the big alcohol taste makes me only want to stay at one of these bad boys.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2009 01:30:33 | More by MADhombrewer

TheSupremeAJ

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

This is my first review of a black IPA. 22oz bomber poured into chalice. "Enjoy by 2/24/12."

A- Very nice dark mud/black color with a thick khaki head

S- Hops attack! Floral, grapefruit, and pine shine strong. Subtle chocolate notes are present. Dark fruit esters also contribute... almost similar to a quad in a unpinning way.

T- Kind of awkward and mismatched. A bit too light on the malts... I was hoping for a darker, hoppier arrogant bastard actually. It is however very good and the only example of a black IPA I've ever tasted so I will take it easy for now. This may actually taste a little better and balance out more even if it sits a few months past its prime.

M- Very flavorful and kind. The hop bitterness is always welcome and the roastiness is great too, as it kind of sticks around.

D- Drinkability is kind of poor due to the lack of balance... this however may just be indicative of this 1st BIPA review. Alcohol isn't too bad and it is kind of warming!

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2011 04:43:24 | More by TheSupremeAJ

Neecee513

New York

3.48/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured bottle into pint glass.

A: Black, with tan head that leaves some lacing on the glass, good retention.

S: Pine and citrus notes.

T: Grapefruit and citrus, bit of toasted backbone masked by substantial hop bitterness.

M: Medium body and carbonation, bitter and dry on the finish.

D: Very good, but hops can overwhelm at times. I paired with a Gouda, which was pleasing.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2011 02:58:53 | More by Neecee513

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

zdk9

Texas

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

I'm not really sure what the big deal about this beer is, a decent IPA, not really noticing any details from the dark malts.

A- Pours an extreamly dark brown, almost midnight purple. A fingers worth of clumpy light tan head decorates the top of the beer and leaves some nice spidery lacing.

S- Sweet tangerine and orange gush out of this beer to my nose. Maybe a touch of carmel but not much besides the citrus, though I can find some alcohol with some deep sniffs.

T- A hops forward beer with orangy notes dominating the taste. Again as in the nose there is a hint of carmel malt but really it's all hops. In the aftertaste I notice perhaps a slight hint of dust or dirt flavor.

M- Somewhat syrupy, though not overly so. Bitterness is nicely balanced with some sweetness.

D- There is a fine taste in this beer but it isn't mind boggling just hops hops and some hops. While I notice the balance in terms of bitter/sweet, I'm hard pressed to detect any malt flavor in the nose or taste. I liked this beer but not enough for the price and not that special for an anniversary beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2007 05:58:38 | More by zdk9

craytonic

District of Columbia

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

Tastes like stone!

Appearance: Blacker than I expected, a bit of mahogany brown to it. Small head on the pour, no lacing.
Smell: Piney hops but too much dark malt, fair amount of bitterness.
Taste: Not as strong as I expected, big malt backbone. Might have a touch of tea to it? I can't tell these Stone beers apart, had this with the 13th and felt they were remarkably similar. Perhaps some dates/prunes and a touch of chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Creamy and Oily
Drinkability: Average for the brewery.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2009 04:56:54 | More by craytonic

Spider889

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Review taken from VIP tasting seminar at the Columbus Beer Fest.

After having just tasted the Founder's El Diablo del Noche I was expecting a lot from Stone's new black IPA. Unfortunately the balance and finesse was lacking in this brew.

Poured very dark like a mocha porter. Smelled almost entirely of fresh strong hops. There were the normal oily hop notes and mild citrus aromas of massive amounts of dry hopping. I personally didn't detect any roasted malts here.

The taste is of a pure and utter hop bomb. My first thought was - "my god this is hoppier than Ruination!" If I remember correctly the Stone rep claimed that they don't like to release the actual number of ibus on this one because once you get to a certain point most palates can't tell the difference anyways. In any case, this is to this day the hoppiest beer I have ever tasted.

Mouthfeel was hot and prickly from the hop bitterness.

Drinkability was really low. I would struggle through a whole pint of this I fear, and I love IPAs. If you want a hop bomb then this beer is for you. If you want something with the complexity that a black IPA would suggest then I would recommend trying something else.

Serving type: on-tap

08-05-2010 08:37:38 | More by Spider889

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

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