Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA - Stone Brewing Co.

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The thick, dense head settles in rocky fashion, leaving lots of stringy, clumpy lace. The liquid is very cloudy with a relatively unusual yellow-ish color.

Classic Stone fresh, floral hop aroma. Beautiful and inviting.

A very brief moment of paler malts that instantly bursts into a bitter hop explosion. This lasts throughout the taste into the finish and long after the swallow. It's not quite enough to be an extreme beer, but it's awfully close. Full body with ample carbonation for a richer mouthfeel.

Hopheads will find this very drinkable. Others may find it too bitter.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2010 19:11:16 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks goes out to spycow for this beer.

22oz. Bomber

Poured into a Stone Ruination pint glass a very nice cloudy pale yellow color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy white head, with some nice sticky lacing left behind. The nose is hoppy, with some malt notes, nice citrus note. The taste is hoppy, malty, slightly sweet, nice citrus note. Medium body. Drinkable, another tasty brew from Stone, recommended.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2010 19:26:55 | More by Wasatch

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.4/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a two finger white head that fades quickly leaving some lace. Cloudy amber color. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Slight grapefruit/piney hop nose. Flavor is grapefruit and hints of caramel, lingering grapefruit/piney finish. There are better Imp IPAs like DFH Burton Barton. $6.99 for a 22oz bottle from Beverage Warehouse Winooski, VT.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2010 22:28:32 | More by jdhilt

rhoadsrage

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

(Served in a nonic)
This beer has a slight hazy orange body with a thick creamy dense head that last a good spot. There is a sea of slow tiny bubbles that work their way to the surface.
S- The aroma of earthy woody green hops is full and dark with a weedy herbal note that finishes with a grassy note. There is a light green flowery quality to the hops that is very green.
T- The dark pungent hops have a mild pepper note to it and not really bitter but more mellow but still very green. There is a slight pale malt note in the dry finish. The musty quality to the hops linger with a dark mellow bitterness in the finish.
M- The beer has a medium-light mouthfeel with a soft carbonic acid bite and no alcohol heat.
D- This beer has big dark hops but they are mellow and not as sharp as American hops yet still has a bright pungent quality. This is a nice twist to the IPA with a good hop depth and the malt support is soft but not buried. This is a big beer but an easy sipper.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2010 17:28:32 | More by rhoadsrage

Jason

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22oz brown bomber.

While the head looks awesome and the retention is out of this world the cloudiness only goes away as things warm up. Pungent hoppy nose with orchard, citric and evergreen aromas. Very smooth, nice creamy back. West coast hopping style with English hops screams with pungent bitterness and a long linger of earthy rind and woody flavors. Maltiness stands there and say to the hops "What the he'll?!" Bit of grain and yeast but clearly the hops own this brewski. 8.9% ... Yeah it is there, clean and warming with some vague fruit.

Ok, so Stone goes the English way ... All the way with unforgiving handfuls of hops. I dig it ...

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2010 03:12:18 | More by Jason

Billolick

New York

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bomber from Bierkraft in Bklyn, NY, "June 2010" etched on the side of the bottle. Pours moderately clouded, dull and soft tangerine. The off white head is large and lasting, slowly going to moon craters, leaves thicker blobs of stuck on lacing and then nice looking low sheeting sticking around. Moderate hop nose, leafy and floral at least to my nose. So smooth, so tasty, so much depth of the flavors, what else is to be expected from the quality brewers of Stone?? Moderate (relatively speaking) hop presence, mostly leafy and with tea like qualities, malty base providing the under support. Enjoyable DEIPA.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2010 05:02:38 | More by Billolick

mdfb79

New York

3.5/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

From 7/2 notes. Had on tap at the Big Hunt in DC.

a - Pours an amber, murky-golden color with 2 inches of white head and light carbonation.

s - Smells very weird. Got some earthy malts and manure. Not enjoyable at all.

t - Tastes of tropical fruits, sweet fruity hops, citrus, and floral hops.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation.

d - I thought this was a nice beer except for the smell, which was awful. I asked several other people who ordered it as well and they all agreed on the smell. Probably wouldn't seek out again.

Serving type: on-tap

07-10-2010 16:41:59 | More by mdfb79

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice 1.5 finger frothy head in my tulip glass that is fades slowly, leaving a slight lacing. The beer is a hazy murky orange-yellow wheat color.

The nose emanates with musty fresh hops, dry hopped with some resinous hop oils, some floral, very light pine, and lots of earthy hops. There is also a slight malty sweet aroma coming behind all that hop presence, but enough of a malty sweetness that a hint of alcohol will probably make it's way out.

The taste is somewhat as expected, lots of fresh hops, almost like I'm chewing on hop pellets actually. It has that dry grainy feel to it that just sucks the water from my mouth like chewy on a hop pellet would do. Lots of grassy and herbal and super earthy hop flavors, pretty bitter and very dry. A touch of a malty backbone in there, somewhere. A hint of a warming booze also sticks its nose out.

The mouth is medium body with decent carbonation, and a really dry chewy kinda feel that really does give the feel like chewing on a dry hop pellet, and slightly grainy.

The finish is pretty bitter, but not overwhelming. Lots more dryness, again like it sucked the water from my mouth it was so dry. Still have that long lingering feel and taste like chewing on hops pellets. A slight malty presence, but not much. It's just pure earthy and herbal hops basically.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2010 03:24:51 | More by jlindros

Zorro

California

3.9/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Slightly chill hazed beer with a fluffy white head. This beer is on the paler end of the beers I l like to call IPA Orange.

Good pine and pineapple scent with some mango in there. Slight peach aroma that reminds me of mango.

Starts out with a strong melon flavor. Wood and pine come through with a fairly bitter finish. After a while papaya really comes a strong part of the flavor. Definitely has a high malt content this is a little syrupy.

Mouthfeel is thick for the style.

Good drinkability not a best of the style but a good beer for $6 a bomber. Currently much easier to get than something like Dreadnaught.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2010 05:10:10 | More by Zorro

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22 oz bottle into a tulip glass.

Pours a, at first hazy, golden copper that then clears up considerably as this sits, topped with about a finger of bright-white head. This stays put with VERY robust looking 1/2 finger that absolutely COATS the sides of the glass a cascade of soft creamy lacing. Great look here! The aroma is fresh, sharp, and bitter in the nose with grapefruit, rind, a spice, while some sweeter tropical fruit help soften things up some with notes of mango, apricot, and orange. Flat smelling bready biscuits combine with that higher ABV to give this a warming grainy presence in the back of the nostrils.

The taste is quite well balanced, with the malts giving up more sweetness than they did in the nose, helped along by the sticky twang of fruity citrus. The hops here are really more felt in the latter half of the profile, with tons of bitter fruit, pithy citrus rind, earth, and a deep spiciness all being felt, parching the palate after each sip with a heavy lingering dryness. The mouthfeel is fuller bodied; with a nice creamy softness to the carbonation (although there is just the tiniest bit of sharpness here which delicately prickles the tongue) which helps offset most of the alcohol heft that is present. The ABV helps add some sharpness and intensity to the overall profile but is still VERY well hid here, as this possesses a pleasant smooth slickness that runs the whole way through the body and keeps this drinking great.

I have to admit, that when I first heard that Stone was going to attempt at West Coast versions of an Imperial English IPA I had some initial doubts but man, they really pulled this one off nicely! That juicy tropical fruit character was needed to battle the fierce pop of those fresh and biting earthy English hops, while this drank unbelievably smooth for nearly 9%. After being somewhat disappointed by later years Anniversary entry, I'm pleased to see Stone get things back on track with this one. Great stuff!

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2010 19:34:46 | More by Kegatron

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.43/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

What a great beer. Big yellow haze, vibrant. Aroma was grassy hops.

Taste was mind blowing, this is the kind of English Ale I can get into. Super hoppy, but definitely they are amped up Euro hops. Nice to see this non traditional ingredients into the typical Stone uber hopping. Very light body, was great on a hot 4th of July weekend. The English hops are pungent, something I've never experienced. Unique. Mouthfeel rocks, more and more hops in a different vein than used to. Alcohol hidden, beer gets chewy but never heavy. I wouldn't age this beer. Great price.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2010 16:06:22 | More by Beerandraiderfan

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.45/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

On tap at Max's today.

The beer pours a honey gold color with fairly good head retention and decent lacing. Not sure what to make of the nose. Obviously, one picks up a considerable amount of hoppy bitterness, mostly consisting of black pepper and dank earth, but also pine and even some barnyard funk. Kind of an odd mixture of aromas....

The barnyard funk, dank earth and pine come on strong on the palate, but then there's literally a tidal wave of hoppy bitterness that completely dominates the flavor profile. This leads to a very dry, very bitter finish. The bitterness is so intense, you really don't pick up much alcohol (at least I don't), so I was a bit surprised to learn the abv. is nearly 9% in this beer. Mouthfeel is pretty decent, and there's no doubt this beer delivers plenty of flavor, and has a long, dry, bitter finish. Drinkability is OK at best. Frankly, even though I consider myself a hophead, this just struck me as too much of a good thing. The bitterness really wears out the palate, and it was a struggle finishing off the small glass I ordered.

Just not my cup of tea.... guess you can't expect any brewery to hit a homerun every time.

Serving type: on-tap

08-01-2010 19:06:48 | More by johnmichaelsen

glid02

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at the Porter in Atlanta.

Pours a hazy copper color with a 1.5-finger off-white head. The head recedes into a patchy layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of smooth caramel malts with hints of breadiness and large citrus and leafy hop aromas.

Tastes similar to how it smells, though the hops are a bit less robust. Grainy caramel malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by large citrus hops and milder grassy and leafy hop flavors. Midway through the sip light amounts of bready flavors make a brief appearance before fading into a solidly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is very good. It's got a nice thickness with grainy carbonation.

Drinkability is also very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have a few more.

Overall I was surprised by the large amounts of citrus hop flavors, and the profile of the citrus hops, in this bad boy, expecting more earthy, grassy, and light citrus from the more popular English varietals. What I got was more in line with what most of Stone puts out, so if you're a fan then it's well worth a shot.

Serving type: on-tap

08-02-2010 00:28:28 | More by glid02

DoubleJ

California

3.58/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Here's a refreshing twist: Stone making a Double IPA with English ingredients. Nuff said. On to the beer:

It's grapefruit juice colored, much paler looking than expected. No complaints about the head and retention, they're good. The most is mostly bitter. Bitter citrus, with no maltiness coming through. It's a white grapefruit I'm smelling, and one that's not overly aromic.

I don't know what to make of this. White grapefruit isn't a bad flavor to have, and it's even a little fruity. I'm tasting salt now, and this flavor especially shows up in the aftertaste. It's interesting overall...I guess I was expecting something different from what I got. It does a well conditioned mouthfeel, one that isn't too hevay, light on it's feet for the ABV. Solid drinkability.

I must give Stone some credit for doing something different, even if it's something I only kind of like. In that respect, it's worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2010 04:44:23 | More by DoubleJ

beerthulhu

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured a hazy bright lemon-tangerine with a glossy white 1 finger head that displayed good retention. Visible carbonation was very light, of broken intermitted occurrences of bubbles lazily rising upwards. The lacing was modest, spongey isolated patches providing fair coverage.

S: The EKG provides a light spiciness with some tropical fruit notes of pineapples and orangepeels while the malting offers a light, almost wheaty "wit" type of aroma with a generous portion of white malts that was light.

T: Spicy tangerines are set against a monstrous wheat palate. Tart lemon-citric tones soon move in with an abundance of hops on the finish of flowery grapefruit oranges and some dried tropical fruitiness. What the nose lacked the flavor delivered hop-wise 2 fold. Definitely one of the more aggressively hopped english style ipa that ive tasted which shared good regards with a large, almost wit style malt profile. The flavor leaves an favorable impression of grapefruit and orange flowery hops on the fade. Overall a very bold move flavorwise.

M: The mouthful was sharp and crisp, a good indication per style, with a bubbly and creamy texture realized on longer holds offering some edginess.

D: Drinks almost like an hoppy wit, some alcohol detection, but otherwise good overall.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2010 01:05:32 | More by beerthulhu

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Hazy peach colour with a fluffy, bright white cap. Great head retention, lots of clumpy/streaky lace that really clung to the glass. Fruity, citrusy aroma, grassy and a bit floral, almost like sniffing freshly ground hop pellets in character. There's a bit of pineapple as it warms, it's a little powdery, slightly catty, with some doughy malt in the background. The flavour started with some malt presence, but as this disappeared all I was left with was a sharp, herbal bitterness followed by a significant amount of alcohol flavour and warmth, a little white pepper in the finish. There were grapefruit and lemon hop notes, some fruitiness, and a dry maltiness mid-palate. Medium bodied with somewhat creamy carbonation. Not bad, but not one of my favs out of the Stone anniversary releases.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2010 02:34:59 | More by DrJay

plaid75

New York

3.75/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a hazy light copper hue with a one and a half finger foamy white head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured a grassy hop with a musty sweetness and a bit of funk.

The taste consisted of a peppery herbal hop, sweet malt and some booze.

The mouthfeel was full for the style with a strong residual hop spice.

Overall an interesting imperial English IPA, if that makes any sense.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2010 02:06:02 | More by plaid75

HopHead84

California

4.5/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

6/28/2010

Bottle purchased at Stone. I've had this on cask and tap, now it's time to try it from the bottle. Pours a magnificent yellow orange with a big, thick, and frothy head which has excellent retention and leaves scattered lacing. There's a slight haze to the beer. The color reminds me of a wheat beer, I don't recall having seen an IPA/DIPA/EIPA of this color. Very interesting.

The aroma exhibits a nice blend of citrus, floral, and earthy notes. The citrus is redolent of lemon, orange, and grapefruit. The earthiness is decidedly English in character and there's a noticeable spiciness. The malt is bready. The aroma is great.

The flavor opens with a burst of upper moderately bitter citrus (lemon, orange, and grapefruit) that segues into a tantalizing and restrained bready/biscuit/caramel sweetness that compliments the aggressive hop profile quite well. The finish is earthy, with floral notes, finishing with a strong bitterness, a little alcohol, and a lingering taste of orange pith and grapefruit rind. The beer is light medium bodied with good carbonation and a very dry mouthfeel.

This is essentially a San Diego Pale Ale with a slight English flair. Purists will probably not like it, but I can't argue with my taste buds, I loved it.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2010 04:44:16 | More by HopHead84

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

They said the sun never set on the British Empire and, indeed, the sunny glow of this English-inspired IPA appears ceaseless as well. This is one bright beer despite its very hazy, frosted-over complexion. Visible are particles of what is probably yeast, but what I will pretend to be hop cones. Only if we count bubbles and lace then this has a head.

The nose is a concentrate of juicy, fruity hop flavours. For an English-style IPA this smells mighty exotic, evincing notes of mango, papaya, lychee, guava and even a little coconut. This blows apple and oranges out of the water, that's for sure. This tropical fruit punch is underlined by a very thin wafer-like maltiness and also concedes a little to the alcohol.

I'm not sure how Stone achieved such a tropical fruitiness from using only English hops but the bready, wafer-y flavour is characteristic of English malts. Mind you, they don't seem to have used much of them. This should surely delight American hops head but I imagine, should any of this make it over there, be much to the horror of the general British public.

Stone have never really been too concerned with masking the alcohol content of their beers. It probably has something to do with their ego. Though not always, sometimes I wish they would - and this is one such incident. The fruity hoppiness is great, but it alone isn't enough to hold up the almost 9% alcohol. Even really cold this has a stiff spike to it.

Notwithstanding, token notes of toast and tropical fruits survive unscathed and press the palate with the tight, clutching kind of embrace usually only executed by Portuguese women. Bitterness and alcohol prevent it from ever being great - or all that distinctly tasted for that matter - but both malts and hops maintain a good presence.

Stone asks: What good is history if you can't rewrite it to suit your own tastes?. Well, I dunno. But that's clearly what they did and, while it bears only nominal resemblance to the English IPA it claimed to be, this San Diego-style ale was a hit with me. That said, it doesn't cut the mustard with their standards and I'm not too upset it's only a one-off.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2011 19:09:24 | More by biegaman

Brad007

Vermont

4.4/5  rDev +14%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a light-gold color with a thick, frothy head into my tulip. Good presentation here and knowing Stone, they always get it right.

The aroma has some grassy hops with just a slight hint of buttery malt. Not quite what I expected but a pleasant change from the usual.

The taste? Full of grassy hops with a slight edge of grapefruit. Alcohol warmth is present along with buttery/toffee flavors. Interesting dynamic at play.

Mouthfeel is full of lingering butter/toffee and grassy hops. Alcohol warmth fades, ensuring a clean finish.

A decent take on the style that nearly imperializes it. Usually, modern British IPAs don't reach this strength. Worth a try and if you want the malt to shine through, nothing wrong with laying it down for a few months or perhaps years (if that's your thing).

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2010 02:06:01 | More by Brad007

Georgiabeer

Georgia

3.83/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a slightly cloudy golden with pure white head that settles to a ring. Smells citrusy with a burst of pine at the end, and a base of bready malt. Nice bitterness up front, followed by some buttered popcorn flavors and lots of citrus rind on the finish. Very little malt comes through, and although I like the hop profile, it is a somewhat strange marriage here. Very smooth in the mouth until the bracingly bitter finish. I know this beer has a lot of detractors, and I'll admit its a long way from my favorite stone beer, but I think it works in a way. By no means do I think this is an English IPA, but certainly its got some English charecteristics while being dominated by the San Diego ones.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2010 02:38:34 | More by Georgiabeer

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into Weyebacher tulip.

Pours 1 finger of creamy white head. Decent retention with some sticky lace. Color is a pale golden straw yellow.

Aroma: Grassy floral hops. Light citrus. Bready malts. Has some herbal notes like a saison would.

Taste: Much different than the aroma. Lots of English malts. Bready. Floral grassy hops. Light citrus. Very odd. Not a fan.

Mouthfeel: Bitter, but creamy. Medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. Some alcohol showing. Ends with a bitter hop bite.

Overall, not a bad English IPA. It was worth a try and I was able to finish the bomber. Glad it was hopped up. Just a tad too much malt for me.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2010 04:50:57 | More by mothman

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.65/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 picked up at the COOP..

Big SN goblet.. 2 finger head... pale golden.. okay retention..

Spicy and sorta floral weed hops.... reminds me of arugula... peppery with a nice smack of pale malts... skunky green weeds.. very fresh.

Bitterness is weird like dandelion greens.. Nice pale malt with hints of background biscuits... the bitterness plays for the whole sip... minerally.. floral hops finish it out with a lingering pale maltiness... bitterness just lingers forever.

Sticky yet medium bodied.. resinous without any of the customary citrus... interesting, I guess.. odd, for sure.. like it was dosed with too much brewer salts.. alot of things blossom and go no where.

Meh... This is my 4th bottle... I will probably buy it again, but really, only because I am having a hard time wrapping my palate around it and want to get it straight.

I get the "English" qualities, but wow are they a mess... This review, I am being probably a bit gentle...

3.5/4/3.5/4/3.5

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2010 07:27:36 | More by JohnGalt1

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.15/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served from tap into a standard pint. Pours a hazy golden yellow with a one finger white head. Maintains excellent lacing throughout. The aroma was comprised of fruit, hops, and malt. The flavor was of massive hops, grapefruit upon sitting on the palate and swallowing. It was medium on the palate with high carbonation. Overall this was a very interesting brew. Usually I will get the hops on the followthrough but they came upfront in this one and were balanced/counteracted nicely with the refreshing fruit followthrough. Very nice touch for a very good beer.

Serving type: on-tap

07-26-2010 20:31:50 | More by thagr81us

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.28/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Strong aroma is fairly hoppy with an overtone of surprisingly sweet grapefruit. It pours a slightly hazy golden amber with a fairly thick and persistent white head. Flavor is richly hoppy and subtly bitter, just as an IPA should be, with citrus undertone - mainly grapefruit - and a hint of honey sweetness that complements the hoppy bitterness rather than fighting it. Texture is quite fizzy and tingly, leaving a citrus finish that is both sweet and bitter. Hunt this one down!

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2010 20:45:39 | More by Cyberkedi