Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA - Stone Brewing Co.

ithacabaron

California

3.8/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a thick, full apricot with blond highlights and big chunky floaters. Beer in the raw.

Aroma is etheareal – mint, pure, raw hop cones, sweet eureka lemons, powdered sugar, vanilla, tiny little hint of alcohol. Fantastic nose.

Taste is decidedly mellow and elusive; no cracking bitterness here. The major flavor is of malt and apricots; a lot of apricot. There's also some green papaya and watery lychee on the tip of the tongue. The flavor of the green tea is nearly non-existent, and what is there merges into the muted yet green hop flavor that appears as you roll the beer over your tongue; drinking this is something akin to what it would be like to chew on grass through a latex glove. Not as unpleasant as the description would lead you to believe, though.

Mouthfeel is very viscous; this is not a brew that is light on its feet. Additionally, the 9.2% ABV comes into play only a quarter of the way through the glass – you feel it fast.

Overall, I’d purchase it just to whiff at the smell; it smells just wonderful. Too bad the rest of the feel falls a bit short. If you get your hands on this any later than six months from the brew date (May 2011), don't even bother, because as soon as the hops go, there's nothing to see here. This is going to age terribly.

That being said, all in all, a great idea, decently executed, and certainly something to inspire me for future homebrewing sessions.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2011 04:55:17 | More by ithacabaron

sludgegnome

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

05-25-2013 22:06:14 | More by sludgegnome

jakecattleco

California

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

05-21-2013 17:57:09 | More by jakecattleco

bostonbeans

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

05-16-2013 23:30:08 | More by bostonbeans

Zbeetleman

California

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

05-15-2013 02:57:50 | More by Zbeetleman

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +3.4%

05-11-2013 17:55:22 | More by mikeincharleston

cadaugherty

Illinois

2.5/5  rDev -35.4%

05-07-2013 22:50:27 | More by cadaugherty

BeastLU

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

05-03-2013 00:10:25 | More by BeastLU

blknikon

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

04-30-2013 19:21:40 | More by blknikon

spycow

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -16%

04-26-2013 23:34:49 | More by spycow

LSx

California

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

04-25-2013 04:41:15 | More by LSx

Nofear048

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +22.7%

04-19-2013 06:39:34 | More by Nofear048

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.84/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

2011 Collaboration

A: Pours a hazy to cloudy golden peach in color with some very light amounts of visible carbonation and some orange and golden yellow highlights. There are significant amounts of white particles in suspension. The beer has a finger tall off-white head that redues to a medium sized patch of very thin film covering the surface of the beer with a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of citrus/orange hops along with some lighter notes of green tea.

T: Upfront there is a light to moderate flavor of pale malts with a light amount of wheat. There are light to moderate flavor of citrus/orange hops and some light notes of green tea. Light to moderate amounts of bitterness which lingers for quite a while.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth and slightly crisp with moderate amounts of dryness in the finish.

O: This beer has really held up surprisingly well considering the style - the alcohol is well hidden and the hop flavors has not really faded much over time. I liked this better than a lot of the Stone beer as this has a slightly different hop profile.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 02:46:03 | More by dbrauneis

Sparky44

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

03-23-2013 23:54:59 | More by Sparky44

e30todamax

Virginia

4/5  rDev +3.4%

03-12-2013 22:03:39 | More by e30todamax

orangesol

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

03-07-2013 19:57:51 | More by orangesol

TerryLee

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

03-06-2013 17:41:56 | More by TerryLee

Hanzo

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

02-24-2013 19:19:08 | More by Hanzo

t0rin0

California

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

02-24-2013 15:42:07 | More by t0rin0

RumHam

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

02-23-2013 06:00:34 | More by RumHam

chugamugofsud

Oregon

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

02-22-2013 16:25:19 | More by chugamugofsud

mjenkins5

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +3.4%

02-20-2013 02:49:57 | More by mjenkins5

DrBrewDay

3.25/5  rDev -16%

02-16-2013 16:29:12 | More by DrBrewDay

Azrael

4/5  rDev +3.4%

02-07-2013 05:32:59 | More by Azrael

mkennedy119

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

02-03-2013 18:35:17 | More by mkennedy119