Levitation Ale - Stone Brewing Co.

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BA SCORE
88
good
-
2,271 Ratings

rAvg: 3.9
pDev: 12.05%
Reviews: 1074
Hads: 1197

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Brewed by:
Stone Brewing Co.

California, United States

Style | ABV
American Amber / Red Ale | 4.40% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (957), on-tap (106), growler (7), cask (3), nitro-bottle (1).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

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Reviews by Pahn:

Pahn

New York

4.03/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle into Duvel tulip. Best-before date: 3/22/10.

Appearance: Moderate pour yields a one inch, lumpy, pillowy just-off-white head that dissipates steadily leaving streaks of lacing. Color is dark, semi-translucent amber. Lacing sticks around the whole time.

Smell: Right as I crack the cap there's a big hit of hops with a strong grapefruit character. In the glass, the grapefruit remains strong, and is accompanied by some pine and a underlying maltiness. Somewhat reminiscent of Arrogant Bastard, but a bit more emphasis on citrus hops. As the beer warms, the aroma gets more sugary but the nice grapefruit note remains. Sweetness gets even fuller with warmth. Very nice.

Taste: First sip is smooth and malty up front, with an aggressive, bitter hop finish (very distinctively grapefruit tasting in character) that mellows into a nice grain aftertaste. Upon further sips, some reasonably strong soapiness and astringency come out, but they're not unpleasant. There's lots of grapefruit throughout, with some other citrus (orange?) and pine. A lot hoppier than I remember from bottles in the past or when I tried it recently on tap.

The hops grow in dominance, but the bitterness doesn't build up or become distracting/unpleasant. The finish gets rather dry with the hops lasting well into the aftertaste, but there's still a hint of bready malt. The entire flavor is primarily grapefruit and (to a lesser extent) pine, but there's always a solid (if understated and 1-note) malt backbone; a well-balanced beer. The subdued sweetness of the malt does its job mellowing the bitterness and soapiness. Great, balanced taste from start to finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with unobtrusive carbonation.

Drinkability: A full-flavored, well balanced beer with only 4.4% alcohol--very drinkable. I'll probably start grabbing a 6-pack of Levitation on some of the occasions I'd normally get a 6-pack of Stone IPA.

Levitation is an interesting beer. It's hop forward, but has a nice, mellow sweetness to it.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2010 02:50:53 | More by Pahn