Ruination IPA - Stone Brewing Co.

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A double IPA experience. Great floral pine citrus smell. Nice dark orange color. Cellared for a couple of months, and found balanced in bitterness and only a bit hoppy. Was interesting with heavy meal. Had it 4.5 years later and its supurb bitterness was apparent.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2004 03:59:34 | More by northyorksammy

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.68/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Rich orange-amber and lighter than expected. The cream colored head is tinted with a hint of lemon yellow and looks like a thick dollop of whipped cream sitting atop the beer. Glass decoration is very nice. There's a copious amount of sticky lace in sheets and rings.

The nose is a wonderous thing to behold, with loads and loads of pungent, floral, fruity, piney hops. The flavor is wall-to-wall hops, but it isn't as abrasive as expected. A tidal wave of hop flavor hits the taste buds instantly and maintains its intensity through the long, bright, hoppy finish. Flavors include grapefruit, lemon, orange and pine in one glorious, sticky, sweet rush.

There's an undercurrent of malt, but it remains in the background where it belongs. Stone Ruination is definitely bitter, but this brewery has a way of making beer with a massive amount of IBUs seem almost sweet and buttery. Which brings me to...

... the mouthfeel, which is all kinds of wonderful. It's full and rich and silky smooth and heavily creamy and perfect. The alcohol is expertly masked, with no hint on the palate, though it does result in a pleasant warming sensation as the beer is swallowed.

I have to hand it to the boys at Stone once again, this is truly a wonderful beer. Both IPA and Ruination are great, but I'll have to give the nod to the little brother. This DIPA is still a treat and will be a 'go to brew' whenever huge amount of hops are required. Which is most of the time.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2004 21:51:11 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a deep cloudy orange with a small creamy head that quickly faded but left a bit of lace. Smell was hoppy heaven! Pine and strong citrus overtones are really all you can smell. The taste was right behind, just up in your face hops! Truly a DIPA if I have ever had one. Not as strong on the alcohol as some others which made this much more drinkable, which could be a problem with the high ABV. Could drink this everyday, truly a great beer and another treasure from Stone!

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2006 01:59:43 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

4.43/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: A clear pale gold color with about 1 finger worth of foam that slowly drifts away. Pretty decent lacing.

S: Pine and citrus, hop resin, some floral qualities as well. Some malt sweetness, but very minimal.

T: Very bitter, lots of pine, some floral background. The hops are primarily on the front with a slight amount of malt on the finish.

M: Not much carbonation, medium body, kind of sticky on the tongue (especially as it warms).

D: Bitter and boozy, but a delicious DIPA.

Serving type: growler

07-26-2009 19:11:11 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Pale orange and slightly hazed. Good white head.

S: Lots of floral hops that overwhelm the nostrils in a very good way.

T: Continuing from the nose, there is an overwhelming sense of fresh floral hops in addition to a nice bready malt base. Some citrus and tropical hops as well.

M: Medium-bodied with good carbonation.

D: Drink this FRESH. I've sampled this several times, and the fresher it is, the better it is. Fresh hops overwhelm in a good way, almost to a sweetness rather than a bitterness. An amazing DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2009 14:42:18 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

4/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a clear, orangey body with a full, foamy, white head.

Smell: Predominately hoppy aroma smelling of an aromatic blend of gooey pine resin and oily grapefruit rinds. Some lesser candyish notes in the nose, as well as hints of bread and sliced melons.

Taste: Citric grapefruit juices and packed with pine needles. Touch of peppermint, some floral hints as well. Citrus and melon fruitiness. Meek pale, lightly bready malts with a touch of caramel sweetness make an appearance when they can. Full, tongue-scalding bitterness. There's a tiny bit of sweetness in the finish and lingering aftertaste, but, by and large, it's all hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. Somewhat oily mouthfeel.

Drinkability: About as smooth as 100+ IBUs is going to get.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2008 20:08:33 | More by ChainGangGuy

brentk56

North Carolina

4.18/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear honey colored body with a nice fluffy head and plenty of lacing

Smell: Perfumed hoppy aroma; sweet grapefruit

Taste: Starts with a toasted bready flavor that quickly gives way to some serious bitterness that coats the tongue like a blanket; there is some residual sweetness but the tastebuds just can't handle it due to the IBUs; clear alcoholic warming as the liquid goes down the gullet

Mouthfeel: Thick and syrupy with good levels of carbonation

Drinkability: Nowhere near as drinkable in quantity as the Stone IPA, this is a brewing achievement on the extreme level; just not something I want a lot of

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2006 00:05:07 | More by brentk56

UCLABrewN84

California

4.3/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Best by 2/27/12.

Pours a murky honey orange with a 1/2 inch foamy orange-white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Thin foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is extremely hoppy with an emphasis on herbal and citrus zest aromas. Taste is of citrus zest, grapefruit, herbal hops, and some slight honey flavors. There is a medium amount of bitterness that lingers on the palate after each sip. This beer has a nice crisp level of carbonation with a prickly mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good DIPA that I have put off trying entirely too long. A very pleasant surprise.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2012 07:32:48 | More by UCLABrewN84

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle (Courtesy of Hogtownharry): Poured a bright copper color beer with a nice foamy bright white head with great lacing and retention. Beautiful floral aroma with solid sweet malt as a backbone. Taste is also dominated by the floral texture of the hops with a great nice bitter finish. Great balance between bitter and floral malt and great presence of malt. Body is above average and alcohol is well hidden. I was really impress since I am not the greatest fan of IIPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2006 14:54:14 | More by Phyl21ca

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Browsing the beer aisle today and it dawned on me that I hadn't had this beer in a while. Good choice Kevin, good choice!

The beer opens with a coppery-orangy tint, obvious haze from dry hopping and froathy head formation. The head laced well but I expected more. Lots of lacing left behind.

Sharp, spicy, citrusy, piney, and acidic hop aromas assault the olfactories and promise a hop-forward beer. Only a timid caramel malt character wants to compete. No esters, no phenolics- a pretty clean aroma.

Hop flavor makes the hop aroma look pansical. Juicy hop flavors of grapefruit, orange zest, grapefruit, piney-grassy, grapefruit, and lemon-grass, and, ...oh yea, grapefruit! The clean malt character that I found in the nose falls by the waistside in flavor- this one is all about the hops.

As expected, a clean hop bitterness dominates with a malt roundess that offers little sweetness on the palate and even less balance. Cracker-like in the body, then caramelized malts don't stand a chance. A piney, grapefruit aftertaste persists as the beer dries out wonderfully in the end.

Has a truer American IPA ever been brewed?

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2005 05:27:51 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

4.1/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a nice clear golden color with a very sticky head.Whoa what a aroma almost made me sneaze,big piney and zesty hop here no malt aroma to speak of but very appetizing.Taste to be expected was highly hopped to say the least zesty grapefruit and light pine even a slight medicinal note in the finish,.a hop monster I have wanted to try and got exactley what I bargained for here.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2004 00:20:31 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Hazy, golden-orange with a foamy ivory head that holds extremely well and leaves brilliant lace. The aroma is boldly full of citrusy, grassy and earthy hops including flavors of grapefruit and pineapple. The flavor is also boldy full of citrusy, grassy and earthy hops including flavors of orange, peach, and tangerine. But there is also some distinct, sweet caramel malt present beneath the hops. This beer is big! Truly an assault on the senses! INTENSE. RICH. FULL. Definitely a "one beer" beer - especially in the 22 ounce bottle! And yet it's balanced with enough sweet malt that you don't fall over with "bitterface"! However, the alcohol might get you to fall over at a full 7.7% by volume. Astonishing! However, it should be noted - as it is on the back of the bottle - that this is for the "matriculated imbiber". Albsolutely worth searching out for the hop head.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2002 18:47:34 | More by NeroFiddled

TMoney2591

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served in a tumbler at The Tribes.

The Accidental Highway to Hell Tour motors forth! This stop pours a clear light amber topped by a finger of off-white foam. The nose comprises lime, light lemon zest, light orange zest, caramel, and pine resin. The taste holds notes of caramel, pine, very light lime, black pepper, lemon zest, light pineapple, and balsa. The body is on the heftier end of the light medium spectrum, with a light moderate carbonation and a sorta dry finish. Overall, this is one beastly DIPA, one that wrecks the tongue with its massive hop concentration but still goes down eerily easily. Good times.

Serving type: on-tap

11-09-2011 05:34:30 | More by TMoney2591

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.7/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Beautiful, bright orange color...fine, 1/2", bubbly head.
Aroma: Big, bad, gorgeous hoppiness, fruit aplenty, some grapefruit, yeah, but peach, orange, tangerine, non-stop, glorious hops...so sweet, so utterly pleasant, abundantly delightful. Bright, luscious, lively...all bow in honor of the almightiness of humulus lupus!
Shall we sip? Do we dare?
Full force of hops on the palate, a devastating wave of hops across the palate up, over, around, about, and above the senses! Dominant to say the least, absolutely overpowering and spreading nothing but delight to those of us hopheads who revel in the luxury of an immersion of such bitter, tasty delights!
Each time you put down the glass, and finish your gulp, the flavor subsides on the palate, resides fully in the senses, and you eye that glass and are eager for more. You don't need it, for the flavor has never left your senses, but it tempts, it teases....like the label says, it ruins you for anything of weaker flavor, and why would you ever want that, anyway?
Fantastically delicious, this super-hopped ale, one I'd return to as often as I could, when fortune provides. This is the IPA that should be the emblem, the acme, the standard any IPA should strive for!

Big thanks to LongBeach Bum for this bottle, allowing me to retaste it, re-review it, relive it, re-invigotate myself!

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2004 11:36:28 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

4.55/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours a nice golden color with a thick creamy white head; beautiful. The aroma is great! It has a nice mild malt scent with an intense floral hop arrangement. The aroma hits you as soon as you pop the top. The taste is great as well. It has a rich pale malt core with some light crystal malts. The hop flavor is very nice. It is extremely bitter and piney. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a medium bodied beer with good carbonation. This is a great drinking beer. It is quite complex and full of flavor. It goes down easy and finishes very bitter; a fine sessions beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2004 01:33:07 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

4.22/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22 ounce bottle with out a "BEST BY" date into a St. Bernadus goblet. Beer is orangish yellow with a thin white head and low carbonation. Head diffusely forms a thin broken film on top of the beer. A little lacing is left on the glass, not much to speak of. This beer has a lot of haze, as is customary with DIPA these days, it is not clear at all.

Aroma is strong but not overpowering. Some alcohol in the nose, not much, a lot of citrus and a considerable measure of pine. I can pick up a little malt in the aroma as well.

Beer is slightly warm in the mouth. Not a strong alcohol content in the flavor though. Moderate mouthfeel, not too thick not to thin. The definite feel of the beer is in the hop character. There is a lot of back end bitterness, mostly pine in nature, an interesting beer. The midpalate flavors are covered by the high malt. Drinkability is fine. The bitterness grows on me and ends up slowing the consumption.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2009 01:11:01 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

4.33/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a light yellow-orange color with a white head. The aroma is a mix of orange and pine hops. The beer just smells hoppy. The flavor is a lot of bitter oranges with some caramel malt mixed in. The flavor is very juicy. High bitterness, but still pretty drinkable. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2010 02:45:10 | More by Mora2000

zeff80

Missouri

4.43/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Poured out a clear orange/auburn color with foamy, off-white head. It left lacing.

S - It smelled extremely floral and fruity, like grapfruit and orange.

T - This was incredibly hoppy. Very bitter with some malty sweetness. The hops almost overpowered the senses.

M - It was very crisp and sharp. A medium to heavy-bodied beer.

D - This is an outstanding DIPA. Very strong and powerful flavors & aromas.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2008 02:09:15 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

4.33/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The beer is light amber-copper in color and poured with no head or visible carbonation.
S: There is a moderate aroma of citrusy and piney hops in the nose.
T: A big burst of hop flavors and bitterness dominates the overall taste, yet these are nicely balanced by the underlying malts and are not too overpowering.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and somewhat sticky.
D: For a beer with this much bitterness, it's rather well balanced and drinkable.

Serving type: cask

06-11-2010 02:03:45 | More by metter98

MasterSki

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I like this beer quite a bit, but bottles in Chicago are rarely as fresh as they should be. I was elated to discover a bottle at Whole Foods that was best before 8/18/2011 - less than two weeks old! Served in a Bell's tulip.

A - Two fingers of white foam settle to a thick ring and near-complete cap, leaving some minimal lacing. The body is a transparent dark golden color.

S - A plethora of hop aromas - tropical fruits, pine, dankness, citrus and perhaps a faint note of alcohol. Some brown sugar malt character and a hint of cereal malt.

T - Lots of piney hops, initial grapefruit bitterness that surprisingly dissipates by the time the finish rolls around. Cereal grain malt backdrop. Not as palate-destroying as I remembered - I must have undergone palate shift since the early days.

M - Medium body, super dry, lower carbonation. Resinous with plenty of residual hop oils.

D - Forgot how easy to drink this beer is - the 7.7% is well-hidden outside of the nose. I split a bomber with Mike and it went down very quickly as a warm-up for some bigger brews. Wish it was this fresh all the time.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2011 01:36:16 | More by MasterSki

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4.25/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

An orangey gold color, quite a bit of haze is present in this beer. Pours with a decently thick cream colored head. Smells of hay, a field of grass with some sort of spicy blooming flowers, slightly lemony. There is a solid mouth feel presence, it coats the front of the mouth. Of course it is quite bitter, but in no way is it out of balance, quite remarkable for that in fact. The hop flavor is crawling out of this beer all over the place. The bitterness stays with you after one swallows. A complex floral, orangey (though only slightly), apricot (but just a hint) mix of flavors. It is like sucking the nectar from an aromatic-fruity, but not particularly sweet, flower on some unspecified aromatic herb (of course this would be a hop). Effectively saturates one's taste buds as the bottle has promised. I am still struck by the fact that, though this is utterly bitter and hoppy, it is not perceived to be too over the top. There is a solid malt backbone that, though effectively hidden by the hop attack, is what makes this beer possible, it is what brings this beer to the next level.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2003 16:32:17 | More by Gueuzedude

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.9/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Poured from a 22oz. bottle (which has the quote "A liquid poem to the glory of the hop!") into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a bright gold with a thick, foamy, white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: Strong aroma of hops with some citrus and malt and a slight hint of alcohol.

T: Nice intense burst of hops hits you right away and dominates the whole time you drink it. There's a little bit of a citrus malt background to it, but this beer is ALL HOPS.

M: Very crisp, very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation clean finish.

D: It's very tasty and there's no trace of the alcohol, definitely one I had hang with for the whole night.

This is yet another flat out EXCELLENT beer from Stone. I'm always amazed how they can consistently leave their signature in the flavor of a beer, while still representing the style magnificently, no matter what style it may be. Within the style, Dreadnaught is that only one I've had that's better and it's not by much. Since this beer is more accessible and cheaper than Dreadnaught, from now on when I want a DIPA, this is the one I'll choose.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2006 03:17:14 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This brew poured out as a murky golden orange color. The head was really big and foamy. The lacing was very sticky along the glass. The smell of the beer was very hoppy, they aren't fooling around with this beer. The aromas are mostly earthy to me, there are some qualities of citrus that peak through but not much. The taste of this beer is loaded with monster hop flavors. The mouthfeel is a bit oily and even a bit heavy. Overall as much as I like this IPA, I feel there are much better choices out there. For some reason the hops they use in this don't really do it for me.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2011 20:06:05 | More by Knapp85

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.88/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Poured amber to amber/copper with a slight haze that made me think this was stronger than the actual ABV. Huge fluffy active white head that retained very well and left a large amount of lacing

Smell: Hops bouquet, makes you think you're in hops' heaven; floral motes mostly, but some oilier scents present

Taste: Large fruitiness up front gives way to a persistent but but not overpowering hops finish.

MF: Despite the IBUs the fruitness and chunkiness of this effort hold together well

I think I could drink this all day, but since I only have one bomber, we'll never know. Yummy

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2006 04:32:31 | More by russpowell

Halcyondays

California

4.22/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle,

A: Amber colored ale, with thick, white head with excellent lacing.

S: Hops, hops, hops, this stuff will give you pine, grapefruit, orange, lemon, and a bit of lime and cilantro.

T: Very good, grapefruit and pine upfront, balanced by delicious bready malt and alcohol, yum's the word.

M: Outstanding, deliciously creamy, thick, rich for an IPA.

D: Great, you wouldn't know it's a big beer. I remember first having this after buying a bottle at the Lee Vining Mobil on the U.S. 395 and CA - 120 crossing, attracted to the label, thinking it was some kind of local speciality, at this point knowing almost nothing about beer. It blew me away with an enormous, full bitterness, the likes of which I had never tasted. Now that I am more adept at tasting and drinking IPAs, and 2IPAs, I get a lot more nuance and character that wasn't there before. This is a world-class IPA, great job to Mr. Koch and all his ilk down at the Stone Brewery, I just love this stuff.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2007 23:44:42 | More by Halcyondays