Enjoy By IPA - Stone Brewing Co.

mychalg9

Illinois

2.53/5  rDev -42.8%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 22oz bottle on the "enjoy by" date of 9/21/12.

A - The pour looks great...a beautiful light copper color with a nice white head.

S - Not very good. Im getting some band-aid or medicine or onion smell that is not appealing AT ALL. I cant quite place what the smell is, but I dont like it.

T- Similar to the smell. The best part is the finish, which tastes like actual hops instead of poison. Getting some biscuit in there as well.

M - The best part of the beer. The tingle from the carbonation reminds me that I am, in actuality, drinking beer and not liquid Tylenol.

O - I was really looking forward to this and it is a huge letdown. I still have half a glass and the other half of the bomber to drink and I dont really even want it. Maybe they use Summit hops and Im getting the "oniony" thing that many people swear by? I dunno if that is the case because I really like Gubna, which supposedly is an "Onion bomb". Or maybe Stone made a mistake and should have called it "Enjoy by 9/20/12 "....

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 03:53:54 | More by mychalg9

jtierney89

New Jersey

2.65/5  rDev -40%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

enjoy by 12/21/12 because if i dont the bottle will blow up right? thought about not drinking this till after the enjoy by date to be a prick but i needed a beer now.

Faded golden hue with a big sticky white head. Pungent west coast ipa nose, grapefruit, prominent sweet citrus fruit, and pine. Got a faint underlying tobacco smell as well with very faint sweet malts.

Tastes like an amped up stone ipa with a slicker body, more alcohol, more tannins, and less acidity. This beer is good but nowhere near out of the ordinary with the so called "freshness" not playing a role to me, i've had plenty of brews that taste as fresh as this one well beyond the maturity of this brew. I think the high ratings of this beer really come from the marketing that stone did. On the distribution and retail end of things, stone doesn't do much in the way of out coded beer for the consumer so I guess this is their way of moving through beer quicker without complaints. If this enjoy by series ever gets stale i'm sure stone will never really come personally pull them off the shelves and eat the costs.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2012 02:37:54 | More by jtierney89

RaulMondesi

California

3.03/5  rDev -31.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Lolz. Wow... get off dis. I mean, really. Get off dis! I drove all around OC to finally secure this? Oh my. It's not like Raul expected God, but he at least expected a kiss of heaven. What a let down. I mean, like when this hoochie was all over me all night, but when I was ready to go home, she was too "tired" to come over. Yeah, that kind of let down.

Raul doez not approve!

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 09:10:34 | More by RaulMondesi

coreyfmcdonald

Georgia

3.15/5  rDev -28.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

22oz bottle into a snifter

A: Pours a slightly hazy golden color with two fingers of dense white head. Good retention, decent lacing.

S: Intense and complex hoppiness in the aroma of this beer. I get strong citrus followed by pine, resin, and onion. A bit of caramel sweetness shows up, but this beer certainly does not smell sweet.

T: Caramel sweetness comes out much more in the flavor than the aroma. Resiny hops come out with a bit of onion. Bitterness is quite strong. Booze is surprisingly also quite strong.

M: On the thick side with adequate carbonation.

O: A very nice aroma, but the hop flavor is muddled and booze is quite strong for the style.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 00:35:14 | More by coreyfmcdonald

Ryan011235

Ohio

3.18/5  rDev -28.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Poured into an Allagash glass on 10/12/12

11.09.12

This is perhaps clearer than any IPA I've ever seen. The color is sort of an autumn orange with straw yellow highlights at the stem. One finger of bubbly white foam doesn't last long, leaving a soapy layer. Lace and bubbles hang across the glass.

I wouldn't have expected three days to do much damage, but the aroma isn't nearly as vibrant as when I sampled a bottle earlier in the week. While the first bottle had a wonderful, grapefruit and sugar beet aroma that was a perfect ratio of sweet citrus, the beer in my glass now has a fairly common grapefruit/pine combo and a light, biscuit/dough notion. To its credit, there nose is clean despite readily appreciable hop oils and resins. Alcohol is barely noticeable. At the risk of sounding cliche, you can smell the hops fade as you hold the glass.

The hops are a bit of a let down for the palate. Pine and prickly citrus are surprisingly one dimensional (though I hesitate to call it bland). The hops don't have the same zeal as the earlier bottle (or from the tap). Bitterness is moderately high. At least most of the flavor is still there. Thankfully, malts are sent to hiding; just some dusty biscuit and cracker notes.

The body is trim, maybe even thin, considering the style. Carbonation is rather light. While I generally like low carbonation, in this case it makes for a weak feel overall. It doesn't help that alcohol slickness trumps the hop oils.

My overall impression is that Enjoy By is pretty much a gimmick. Purposefully making a product that deteriorates rapidly and pushing distribution to get it across the country? Sounds like Stone has quit being arrogant and gone to being obnoxious. Nevertheless, sometimes gimmicks can turn out alright, which is the case here. At the very least, Stone should be commended for making a DIPA that isn't a complete sugary booze bomb.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 00:25:50 | More by Ryan011235

TK5150

Maine

3.24/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Enjoy By 4.01.13

A- Pours golden yellow with an off-white head. Lots of lacing.

S- Lots of grapefruit, pine, and onion. Sweet underlying pineapple.

T- Big grapefruit, pine, and bitterness followed by a massive amount of spicy ONION with garlic. Hints of pineapple in the background, but everything takes a back seat to the onion. Dank, and not to sound crazy, but maybe a bit of cellar-like funk. I could see this beer going well with a dish containing sauteed onions.

M- Medium body and decently high carbonation. A bit of a kick to it.

O- Way too much onion, I won't be coming back for more. Bring back Stone Ruination 10th Anniversary :(.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2013 21:10:36 | More by TK5150

kojevergas

California

3.28/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

"Enjoy By 04/01/13 IPA." Acquired last night at my local beer store. Identifies as a DIPA on the label. 9.4% ABV confirmed. Expectations are high given its reputation, but I'm not a big Stone fan. Still, I do enjoy some of their beers from time to time - which are often collaborations. Hm. 1 pint 6 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California.

Served straight from the fridge. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A good brief hiss as I opened it. No issues with beer surging out or anything.

A: Pours a 2.5 finger head of beige colour, decent cream, nice thickness, and rather good (5+ minute) retention for the high ABV. Lacks the appealing froth I'd expect from the head of a good Imperial IPA. Light sticky lacing as the head recedes. Body colour is a surprisingly pale yellow-copper; it lacks the vibrance of other good beers in the style. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Overall, it's above average but there's nothing unique or special here. Transparent and translucent.

Sm: A bit soapy, with assertive grapefruit but none of the grapefruit bite of inferior IIPAs. Floral and piney, with light nectary character. Sticky pale malts form the foundation and seem to be of good sweetness to balance the hops. Some oily hop notes. A pungent, pleasing aroma. Appealing if a bit too assertive. The soapiness bothers me, but hopefully it's just an aromatic flaw. A pleasant aroma of moderate strength. No yeast character or alcohol is detectable.

T: Floral and nectary, with pleasant grapefruit throughout. Unfortunately, untamed bitterness strikes in the late second act and climax, joined by an unpleasant overly sweet malty character that unsuccessfully tries to hide it. Up front, it's refreshingly creamy just after the open - a great welcome to the refreshing pale malt body. Amplitude is relatively low, especially for the style. And light soapiness indicates this spent too long in primary. Little pine comes through - a missed opportunity. The intrusive bitterness really kills the balance, but it's not a severe issue. The beer is still pleasant throughout. It's got depth of flavour, but lacks complexity or subtlety. The finish feels weak and somewhat muted compared to the open and body. Structurally, then, it's a bit problematic. Some tame grassy character about the climax. Somewhat resiny in the second act. I don't get yeast character. There is a bit of alcohol presence, but it's by no means boozy or hot. All around an enjoyable beer in the style.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Nicely nectary/oily. A touch overcarbonated - surprising for a beer so clearly intended to be consumed shortly after leaving the brewery. Palate presence is pretty good; I get all of the flavour easily. Suits the flavour profile well.

Dr: This Imperial IPA misses the most important feature of the style - balance. The bitterness is not well hidden enough. It's somewhat refreshing, but the presence of alcohol in the flavour profile reduces drinkability. I'm not impressed with the choices of hops either; the floral character feels generic, grapefruit is too prominent, and there's little pine. Additionally, the soapy character is a clear indicator of a brewing issue. Though this is one of the better beers I've had that's brewed by Stone alone, I definitely don't think it's worth seeking out. The gimmicky marketing doesn't affect my score, but it's definitely a trend I hope to see fade. Many will love this beer and defend that love with a curious argument about types of Imperial IPAs. So be it. I wish I enjoyed this as much as those individuals do, but I look for balance in every beer - regardless of style - and Imperial IPAs do not get special treatment because of an ostensible regional take on the style. (And while we're on the subject, Alpine and Port are both West Coast breweries that reliably churn out very balanced Imperial IPAs). In any case, Stone didn't fall as far from the mark as I anticipated when beginning to review this. Drinkable but not without its flaws. I won't be buying this again or recommending it to friends.

B-

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 05:03:54 | More by kojevergas

MaxSpang

Ohio

3.3/5  rDev -25.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Enjoy By 11.09.12. Poured in a Hill Farmstead stemmed glass for sexiness.

APPEARANCE

This is what those in the advertising business call "Sex Appeal". This beer just looks good. Crystal clear, yellow-orange-amber in color, resting under a slightly off-white head... Yeah, this is the kind of beer that makes mouths water. I love the look of a good IPA, and this beer has got that look. If this beer was a female, I would try my best to "holla". If this beer was a painting in an art gallery, I would stare at it intensely and occasionally nod my head so everyone around me knew how much I knew about art or whatever. If this beer was a Big Mac, it would be the one in the picture and not the one you get when you order it. If this beer was a... Ok, you get my point.

SMELL

There are definitely some New Zealand hops in the nose. Notes of grapes, flowers, mango, citrus, earthiness, and a smidge of everyone's favorite "cat pee" fill my nostrils. There is a deep, dank smell that reminds me of a quaint but "lived-in" basement which adds a bit of charm without being unpleasant. There's even a bit of hop spice aroma to even things out. There is a good amount of sweet malt, but there's no mistaking it - this beer is all about the hops.

TASTE

Follows the nose very closely. Once again, the first thing I notice is the deep, dank, resiny hop character. There is a bit more pine on the tongue than on the nose, which at first I feared would be the dominating character. As I sip, however, more of the citrus and tropical fruit comes out. The New Zealand hops make another appearance and bring some earthy grape notes with them. As far as bitterness goes, this beer is on the medium side. Sure, it's bitter, but it's not a tongue splitter (I rhymed!). There is almost no alcohol flavor whatsoever. This beer has a ridiculous amount of hop character, and there is a slight muddling of flavors which is a tad disappointing. Overall, this beer is pretty tasty but nothing I'll be craving.

MOUTHFEEL

The mouthfeel really is one of the highlights of this beer. The carbonation and body are both medium, and considering the ABV this beer is not a struggle to drink. The beer coats the mouth with hop resin - the kind that kind of makes you smack your tongue for no explicable reason.

OVERALL

You may have noticed that a word I didn't use in this review was "bright". If you did notice this, I would say "Wow, you were really expecting me to say that word!". Anyway, many IPAs have a bright, refreshing crispness that fellas like me go nuts over. This beer, however, has a somewhat muddled flavor that makes me feel like it's more of an English IPA than an American IPA, which is crazy talk considering all the American hop flavors. That's not to say this beer is bad, because it's not at all! It's really an excellently balanced IPA, and it drinks more like 6% than 9.4% ABV. That being said, I'm drinking this beer as fresh as possible and it still has a layer of "meh". Is it worth buying? Yes, absolutely! Is it the IPA to end all IPAs? Not this time. Don't feel too bad if you missed out on this one (or if you drank it on 11.10.12 or something).

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2012 23:53:47 | More by MaxSpang

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

3.34/5  rDev -24.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

22 oz bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: Pours a freaking gorgeous golden amber shade with perfect clarity. The head is a three finger white shade. Everything is good here - retention, texture, and the lacing down the glass. This beer makes Sofia Vergara look like a damn horse in comparison.

S: There is a distinct savory note from the hops that reminds me of onion/garlic. Otherwise, this one comes off as being bitter just from the nose alone; there is a lot of grapefruit peel, black pepper, mango, papaya, pine, and guava. It really smells damn great, but perhaps it's not quite to my preference for an IPA.

T: At first, there's some slight maltiness (in an earthy expression) before it finishes both dry and bitter. Transitioning between the vaguely citrusy opening and piny, bitter ending is a strong midtaste of onion and garlic; I actually like this portion of the flavor profile the best. But the biggest problem here is how boozy this one seems. Maybe it's some of the earthy and oniony qualities coming through on the back end, but there's a real distinct sharp heat to it that doesn't strike me as being hop-derived. Certainly it feels every bit its 9.4% ABV. To be fair, this note helps to rein in the bitterness somewhat, so it's not all bad, I guess.

I've got another one on standby that I plan to serve more chilled than this one - maybe this will tone down the booze some? Regardless, what a letdown.

M: Typical Stone IPA: bone-dry, clean, astringent, and bitter as fuck. Well, maybe not 'as fuck', but it does have a good lingering bite to it. Something like this should be spectacularly drinkable - thanks to all the poorly concealed alcohol I taste here, I'm reduced to vegging over this one for a moderate length of time. Drinkability is actually okay because the general feel is quite good - but then again, I expected something fantastically chuggable.

O: I really thought this was going to be a world-class DIPA, but instead I find it kind of harsh and meh. I hate to say it, but this has nothing on some of the local DIPAs I can get fairly readily (Evolution Lot 6 DIPA and Troegs Perpetual IPA); and let's not talk about how badly Lagunitas Sucks pounds this one into submission. Absolutely worth trying, though - hell, I seem to be only one who doesn't love this. But Stone, unless the second bottle I drink manages to make me shit out rainbows and sunshine the way I expected this one to, you are back on my naughty list again.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 21:36:15 | More by ThisWangsChung

CommanderOfAwesome

California

3.38/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Stone Enjoy By 12.21.12 Poured into a snifter.

A: Pours a golden color that is easily seen through. No head to speak of. Very slight lacing.

S: Lemon citrus and pine, very similar to Pliny smell. Very strong pine.

T: Very clean and crisp IPA. Nothing special IMO, I prefer a east coast IPA style and this is very clearly West Coast style.

M: Medium body, sweet, no carbonation.

O: Very clean crisp IPA, but I wont be buying it again. Very lemon/pine strong taste. If I was a big fan of the West Coast clean crisp style I would enjoy this beer more.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 18:07:41 | More by CommanderOfAwesome

beertunes

Washington

3.43/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

This is the Enjoy by 2/15/13. Served in 12oz tulip. Poured a very clean, clear medium gold color with about 3/4 inch of off-white head that had OK retention and good lacing.

The aroma featured a lot of piney hops, and had some citrus notes as well. There was no real malt in the aroma. The flavors were basically the same, many bright hops all across the tongue, no balancing malt flavors, and a bitter citrus finish.

The body was good, even and clean, but was a bit thin for my preferences. Drinkability was good, if you're in the mood for a nice IPA, you won't go wrong with a couple of these. Overall, a nice example of the style, but one that's not particularly special or notable. I suspect the high ratings here are partially the result of hype over the marketing gimmick. Worth trying if you see a batch.

Serving type: on-tap

01-29-2013 01:03:47 | More by beertunes

FeDUBBELFIST

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75

$6.00 for 10oz snifter
Kegged on 1.11.13, sampled 5 days later.

[A] One finger of bright white foamy head, moderate retention. The body is brightly clear and polished brassy orange in color. A minimal amount of lace slathers the glass. Very attractive.

[S] Starts off with juicy tropical fruits of orange, tangerine, and light papaya or mango. Then, summit-like qualities provide a faint but distinct aroma similar to onion grass and chives. Not digging it so much now personally, but my threshold for these aromas in IPAs is low. Begins at a '4.5' and drops a full point.

[T] Again, there is an initial burst of tropical hop character. A light melon flavor comes through on the back end. After the first few sips, the tropical blend all but disappears when the beer fully opens up. The beer is still pretty good, just not as impressive as it was just minutes ago.

[M] Medium full body, smooth, semi thick body, the carbonation kicks in at the perfect moment. The strength is well concealed for a gravity of this height. [Sidenote: 2.15.13 was listed at 9.2% instead of the 9.4% listed on BA.]

[O] Started out with a bang, but transformed and dropped off quickly. I had pours from two separate keg and my experience was the same each time.

Serving type: on-tap

02-03-2013 13:56:23 | More by FeDUBBELFIST

mntlover

Tennessee

3.53/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pale clear orange color with lots of bubbles sticking to my glass. Nice fluffy off white head that falls to a ring with some nice lace.

Aroma is bright citrus, pine fresh hops. Not much malts. Overall not what i would expect from Stone descent but not mind blowing.

Taste is like the aroma not much malts noticed just bright hops fruity mango, tobacco notes with pine resin notes in the finish. whole thing seems light for Stone even hops are not over the top body even seems light, would of never guessed this one was more then 6%.

Mouthfeel is light for a double IPA carbonation is light side.

Overall not bad just not as good as I was expecting.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 01:45:02 | More by mntlover

Lawl3ss

Texas

3.53/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Lightly chilled 22 oz bomber into a 12 oz stemless tulip. Enjoy by 4.1.13.

Look- Clear medium amber with two fingers of dense frothy eggshell head. Decent lacing, good retention.

Smell- Standard profile but well executed. Honey, biscuit, fir needles, mint. Bubblegum in the background. Swirling brings out a more resinous aroma.

Taste- Similar to the nose, but calmer. Strongly reminds me of Nugget Nectar. Floral, pine throughout, orange blossom honey, lingering grapefruit pith and modest bittering.

Mouthfeel- Full, chewy, medium carbonation. Light prickle, on the whole a substantial feel- on the hefty side.

Overall- I had this on tap about a week ago and enjoyed it much more than I'm feeling this bottle at the moment- I'm thinking it's just a bit undercarbonated. As it sits it's a better-than-average DIPA and it's well marketed, but it's just not capturing my attention. High price point, not quite as good as the Nugget leaves me wishing for more. Worth trying, nice to see a national release like this. I'd probably buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2013 05:18:00 | More by Lawl3ss

Beerstorian

District of Columbia

3.65/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This poured very nicely, with good head retention, and a nice coppery color. from there I got a floral hop aroma and some caramel notes. Flavor was fine. Standard high-hopped American IPA. This was an OK beer for me, but I'm not sure what the fuss is. I wonder if some of the oooh and ahhh might be because in general Stone makes great beer. This is not a great beer. It's a good beer, in the current tradition of "more hops = better beer." I went from this one to a Bear Republic Racer 5, which I love.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 13:20:28 | More by Beerstorian

chanokokoro

Illinois

3.68/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a Stone pairing glass (short-stemmed goblet)

Pours a deep gold with amber hues topped with a two finger bright white head. Significant splotchy lacing as the head recedes. Notes of tropical fruit on the nose, especially pineapple and mango and flora. Pineapple is the dominant flavor throughout with accents of papaya with a fairly sweet hefty malt presence. Finishes sweet with grapefruit rind bitterness. Heavy malt backbone, medium carbonation and silky, smooth on the palate. A solid DIPA from Stone, but certainly not heads or tails above others, and tends to be more of the same and is a bit overly sweet. Personally, I prefer a finish that is a bit drier, and the finish on this brew is about as sweet and fruity as one can find, with the usual grapefruit rind bitterness. Frankly this brew is a bit unbalanced, and those that prefer sweeter characteristics in their DIPA's will certainly be all over this one.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 21:49:44 | More by chanokokoro

beerhan

Ohio

3.68/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Enjoy by 11-09-12
Bomber

I have very little to say about this beer except that it was nothing special. Average beer at most and that I have plenty of better options available year round.

A- pours a murky golden color with a thin head with almost no lacing.

S-musty? Pine and resin. Pineapple and gasoline. A mix of things that do not mix well together.

T-complete pine and resin simcoe bomb. I can't taste anything else.

M-for what it's worth this is a smooth beer. Easy going down, creamy and drinkable.

O-I am glad to have tried this but I guess I was expecting something a little better. The flavor was just nothing unique. If you are going to give a beer so much hype and it's own website it needs to deliver something unique. This reminded me of a slightly more piney weyerbacher double simcoe.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 04:05:10 | More by beerhan

FosterJM

California

3.68/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

1624th Review on BA
Bottle to Parra Tulip
22oz

Enjoy by 12.21.12
Purchased from Party House Liquor, Chino Hills, CA

App- This was a very nice deep and bursting orange. The density was fairly light and had a bit of darker edges to it. You could say it was turning into an amber around the edges with some yellows smattered in. The head was a wonderful 2-1/2 finger dense and compact white. Huge amounts of lace and stick. Would say its up there with best I've seen.

Smell- There was a good amount of deep citrus in the glass with the aromas coming up with a bit of sweet creme, oranges, pine, resin and a backing malty note that was well integrated and not overpowering.

Taste- Well I read the forum about the flavors you never got and said Ive never gotten that garlic thing, well I do know. This was flavorful but the hops used in combination with certain malts gave me a good duality of flavors. Rich citrus and dense at times but creeping in was a light garlic and scallion flavor. Was a bit off to me, but the rest of the beer was pretty good to balance it out.

Mouth- This was a fairly dense medium body with a good amount of carbonation behind it. The residual flavors on this were the deep citrus and the garlic and onion flavors.

Drink- A tasty beer, but no where near what I was thinking. It was semi balanced and flavorful, but I thought this would be a 10th and 16th killer. The garlic and scallion just didnt work for me.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 17:15:06 | More by FosterJM

Dijeriduster

California

3.7/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from bomber into a pint glass following a 4 hour chill. Thanks to Sol Markets for selling their 2nd to last bottle.

A - Clear filtered IPA with darker orange hue. Fair head is slighty off white and has oddly large bubbles?

S - People could smell this from across the house. Very nice piney hop smell, some grapefruit and citrus present but not as much as I would expect. A little booze in the nose too.

T - Strong piney bitterness per the nose it opens up in the back of the palate with quite a depth of hoppy flavors. Most IPA's don't have this many types of hops, though I think the complexity takes away from the beer a little. Somewhat ruinous in that your palate just can't detect the hops on your 3rd sip like they can on the first.

M - Somewhat thin given the high booze to malty ratio. Goes down smooth but I'd like just a little more heft to it.

O - Somewhat disappointing overall actually. Nice and fresh yes, but nothing that is instantly seared in your brain like an Alpine Duet or BP Sculpin or Surly Furious. Albeit I am spoiled by fresh So Cal IPA's all day, everyday but this wasn't something I would rush out to buy again. Its basically Ruination with a different hop bill late in the boil.

Still, I gotta hand it to Stone for the concept here. The majors all tout bottle dating and such, but its high time attention is brought to skunky craft brews that have sat on store shelves too long...

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2012 17:03:06 | More by Dijeriduster

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Enjoy by 5.17.13

Appearance - a very slightly hazed golden brew with two fingers of white manila foam. Very sticky, lacy ropes and clumps all around, the head recedes to about a half-finger and is holding.

Aroma - fresh orange, mango, lemon, with a piney edge. Pine and some biscuity malts emerge as the beer sets up.

Taste - good biscuity malt base, hops moving in without delay as expected. Some light fruitiness, grapefruit pith mostly, though not as much as expected given the citrusy sniff. The character here is more piney, with some pungency in the exhale. Gets dry and has a more pronounced bitterness on the swallow and aftertaste, edging into medicinal territory. The finish is a bit harsher than I prefer, but the intent here is to showcase the hop, not necessarily balance. No trace of the 9.4%.

Mouthfeel - pretty crisp, though not as big a body as I would have thought for a DIPA.

Overall - glad to have tried it and worth chasing down having missed it the last few go-rounds. but not one I would continue to pursue, unless of course they vary up the recipe each time, then it would be interesting to compare the different batches.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 22:25:27 | More by brewdlyhooked13

DocJitsu

California

3.73/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a lager-clear golden color with a quickly attenuating off-white head. The nose is comprised of BIG citrus and pine. Once the beer settles, hop resin breaks through. The mouthfeel is peculiar and affected more than I like by the flavor. Mouthfeel should accentuate the flavor, the flavor shouldn't molest the mouthfeel. When first pulled into the mouth, there's a pleasing fullness that quickly is overtaken by the harsh hop burn and sting of carbonation for which Stone is so famous/infamous. Strong, resiny pine flavor that is, oddly enough, balanced with the grain bill. I'm not sure how much grain it would require to balance this hop assault, but they've figured it out. Another disappointment for me. Stone is just not in my wheelhouse.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 03:54:49 | More by DocJitsu

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Draft at The Blue Monkey Tavern in Merchantville, NJ. samples on 8.24.12.

Pours a hazy golden orange color with tangerine edges and a one finger frothy white head that slowly settles into a lasting ring.  Spotty lacing left behind.

Dank and über fresh floral hop aroma with earthy pine needle and spicy, grassy hop notes countered by citrus and tropical fruit notes.  Really tropical with mango, papaya and pineapple along with orange peel, tangerine and curaçao.  Pale malts underneath with biscuit and grainy graham cracker.

Chewy full body that's much heavier than anticipated.   Slightly hurts the drinkability.  Dry bitterness up front with dank, sticky hops that linger over sweeter notes and pale malt into a slightly dry finish.  Spicy hops, grass and earthy pine are slightly floral but countered by sweet fruit notes.  Not as tropical as nose suggests with some grapefruit, pineapple and orange peel.  Pale malt backbone is a bit stronger than I prefer with strong biscuit and graham cracker graininess toward the finish.  Also, there's a strong perfumy booziness that gives off some distracting sweetness toward finish.m ABV is decently masked for 9.4 but it's still a bit strong for me taking away from the hops.  Overall, this beer has some nice hop flavors but needs more tropical/citrus fruit sweetness, a  lighter body and less booze.  Decent but nothing out of the ordinary.

Serving type: on-tap

08-26-2012 01:59:42 | More by corby112

LubricatedWisdom76

3.78/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A citrus forward IPA from Stone that doesn't stand out to me. All earth and citrus and hop profile that doesn't have the dimensions of a lot of the strong DIPA's out there. Has a puckering bite but not much else going on or lingering in the aftertaste.

Definitely highly drinkable for the 9% ABV which is great but the flavors don't really grab me or make this one memorable. This isn't a beer that will knock your socks off. It's a solid strong IPA but too similar to Stone's other releases to be anything special.

Serving type: on-tap

11-12-2012 16:34:20 | More by LubricatedWisdom76

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a Lagunitas mason jar.

Rocking the 12/21/12 batch. This stuff pours a clear brass topped by a finger of lightly off-white foam. The nose comprises mango, light pineapple, light leek, dank-ish greens, sweet caramel in the background, and a touch of grapefruit peel. Were it not for everything else coming together so well, that leek would've damaged this stuff in my [nose's] eyes. The taste holds notes of grapefruit peel, pine resin, sweet caramel, orange rind, and a hint of greens. The fruits that are so fleshy and bright in the smell come through overtly rindy on the tongue. The body is a lithe medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry, fairly sticky finish. Overall, a damn solid IPA, one that seems to suffer from over-freshness (if you can believe that!): I think the hops might meld slightly better with a little bit of age on this stuff. Still, it's pretty tasty.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 00:34:11 | More by TMoney2591

RoyBatty

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

This offering by Stone is definitely incredibly fresh. It pours a beautiful golden yellow color onto a teku glass. The angel is fruity, lemon, musky, but also contains strong notes of onion and chive. The chive and sweet vidalia are quite strong, and carry through on the taste which is also permeated by bitter hops and slight malt.

Overall, if you like Sorachi Ace hops, you'll dig this beer. If not, you should probably pass. Personally I find it flavorful, unique and enjoyable. It is definitely different than many other stone offerings, and I'm interest to try my second bomber.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 14:00:46 | More by RoyBatty