Ruination IPA - Stone Brewing Co.

ludachris

Ontario (Canada)

4.45/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Its glowing hazed apricot orange body reminds me of one of the reasons why I love well crafted IPA's so much. Just over a finger's worth of creamy white head sits at the top of my Brandy snifter, and I'm wondering if a bigger head would have been yeilded had I used a bigger glass. Oh well, I'm still a fan.

Fresh and sticky pine sap and grapefruit peel ooze out of the glass with a luscious and smooth mango puree character following close behind. The toasty, lightly sweet malts are just as fresh but not a quarter as concentrated as the hop profile. They still give balance and subltey add to the fruity sweetness of the beer while being incredibly well integrated. Wow.

Fresh but not overly sweet mango puree sweeps across the tongue before being quickly outdone by heavily concentrated pine notes. Perfume and soapiness come to mind when describing the pungency of the pine. The bitterness doesn't have the mouth puckering punch I was expecting but it sure does have the lingering power; coming in waves and in no hurry to go anywhere. Piney, herbal, and dry are what's left at the end of this fantastic IPA. Maybe a bit of fresh mint as well. Light, toasty malt lay on the outer parameters of the beer and don't take a chance at interfering with the great concentration of hops.

Medium weight to the body with a smooth and dry feel. There's a nice creaminess to it as well. The hops do well at disguising the 7.7% ABV.

I'd place this in the top 5 IPA's/IIPA's I've had to date. I love how both the piney/bitter and tropical/sweet hop characteristics are displayed and the balance achieved in this beer. It doesn't strip the enamel off of your teeth with explosive bitterness, but it does do well at giving me my hop fix. I'd take another one and six more after.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2011 20:35:29 | More by ludachris

Remdog

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -2.1%

05-26-2013 02:48:36 | More by Remdog

megamass

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -7.8%

05-26-2013 02:37:53 | More by megamass

DooshBagalow

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%

05-25-2013 18:53:39 | More by DooshBagalow

Justinsosmart

California

4.25/5  rDev -2.1%

05-25-2013 17:14:26 | More by Justinsosmart

iCabaLLero

Georgia

3.5/5  rDev -19.4%

05-25-2013 07:41:16 | More by iCabaLLero

4ster

Quebec (Canada)

4.2/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Best by date 06/21/13. Poured into a tulip. Served fairly cold out of the fridge.

A: Bright, orange-gold coloured, slightly hazy, some carbonation bubbles, nice bright white head, large frothy bubbles that stick around for awhile and leaves a nice lacing....

S: Straight out of the bottle, floral hop notes, light on the citrus, grapefruit bitterness, with a touch of malts....

T: A beer of 2 stories (or 3)... starts off very hoppy, grapefruit-citrus, light tropical fruits.... then moves into the malts which while mild and not overly sweet, are noticeable above the hops.... As you finish your sip, the hops return with a bit more grass, pine bitterness... It also seems that cold out of the fridge I personally get more malts coming out, and as it warms up it gets much more hoppy... it also becomes more flat and not as tasty...

M: Bright, fresh, well balanced in carbonation and mouth feel for something with such high IBU... only a slight dryness on the finish.

O: Haven't tried other Stone IPA's, but would say this is fairly representative of a California IPA... It has an amazing smell, looks great and overall tastes pretty good, though I did find how it changed over temperature a bit of a downside. Overall a well balanced beer that leans towards I feel a more malt forward DIPA, that has plenty of hops but is not as smooth or complex as some of the big named DIPAs. A solid offering though.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2013 00:54:14 | More by 4ster

msinger1002

Ohio

5/5  rDev +15.2%

05-24-2013 23:16:33 | More by msinger1002

Spaz7

California

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%

05-24-2013 19:57:06 | More by Spaz7

Roguer

Connecticut

4.09/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A - Beautiful sparkly copper/orange color, actually some decent carbonation, but a wee bit difficult to see through the translucence. Poured a thick head (almost three fingers) on purpose. Beautiful thick lacing on the glass.

S - Strong grapefruit rind, bitter, not particularly sweet, no alcohol scent. Clean.

T - The bitterness hits immediately, with grapefruit and other citrus rind hitting all parts of the tongue. I'm surprised to find very little sweetness. Three phases: initial citrus bitterness, followed by a bit of a malty flavor over the tongue, and finally a thin wave of slightly sweet bitterness that cleanses your mouth. This is a step up (for me) from their normal IPA, but I would prefer some more sweetness to balance it all out.

M - First off, the 7.7% is completely hidden; completely. Feels good in the mouth, fairly easy to chew and toss around. The malty second portion is a little oily on the tongue, but that isn't at all unpleasant. I can take in a large mouthful, toss it around, and then gulp it down easily.

O - I prefer this to Stone's IPA; the malts are definitely subdued, and the hops are clearly center stage. However, I don't like it nearly as much as their Enjoy By; some sweetness would give this beer a nice complexity that would improve the experience tremendously (for me). As it is, it's a beautiful, extremely bitter beer, somewhat limited in flavor profile (one obvious hop profile for me, one subdued caramel malt profile).

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 19:44:54 | More by Roguer

Dirksen

California

4.25/5  rDev -2.1%

05-24-2013 18:40:59 | More by Dirksen

SwG237

New York

4.25/5  rDev -2.1%

05-24-2013 03:58:29 | More by SwG237

Jeremy_H

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%

05-24-2013 01:57:00 | More by Jeremy_H

TranceTF

Maryland

4/5  rDev -7.8%

05-24-2013 01:07:19 | More by TranceTF

Thecasehead

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev -2.1%

05-23-2013 23:34:10 | More by Thecasehead

Michael_20P

California

5/5  rDev +15.2%

05-23-2013 23:22:22 | More by Michael_20P

In_Control_Mike

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%

05-23-2013 21:57:53 | More by In_Control_Mike

visionaries

California

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%

05-23-2013 17:16:21 | More by visionaries

pisano

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -2.1%

05-23-2013 13:41:13 | More by pisano

AaronBricking

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%

05-23-2013 05:12:52 | More by AaronBricking

Wally

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%

05-22-2013 23:59:14 | More by Wally

aty11b

Texas

4.25/5  rDev -2.1%

05-22-2013 23:01:25 | More by aty11b

jjd315

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -2.1%

05-22-2013 20:41:04 | More by jjd315

velcrogrip

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%

05-22-2013 18:24:45 | More by velcrogrip

backbaybrewer

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%

05-22-2013 17:07:02 | More by backbaybrewer