IPA (India Pale Ale) - Stone Brewing Co.

AWolfAtTheDoor

California

3.15/5  rDev -26.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

What is it with me and Stone. I just can't wrap my head around their hop profiling. I love the RIS, Smoked Porter and Old Guardian, but I just don't like (m)any of their main offerings.

Poured into my pint glass. Nice foamy head, respectable lacing throughout the session.

Smell, typical stone hopped smell. Like this dysfunctional marriage of pine and citrus.

Taste is more of the same. Very piny, with some bastardized sour citrus thrown in.

Mouthfeel can best be described as "blech" as the sourness lingers from a relatively syrupy beer.

Got to be one of my least favorite IPAs. If you are forced to drink this against your will, I would suggest letting it warm way up. I drank the second half of the bomber at damn near room temperature, and it was much more palatable that way. I have had more than one of these, but I bought this bomber specifically to review it. Won't be buying anymore in the future. It's not all Stone's fault; there is some STEEP competition out here on the west coast. Just goes to show that any gorilla can dump a truck load of hops into the brewing vat. It takes an artist to carefully choreograph the delicate balance that makes a beer truly great.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2010 07:01:53 | More by AWolfAtTheDoor

Hoagie1973

New York

3.15/5  rDev -26.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Slightly hazy golden amber with a 1 & 1/2 finger foamy head. Plenty of sticky lacing.
Piney, citric hop nose with some underlying bready malt.
Starts sweet and fruity then transitions late into a overly strong acrid bitterness in the finish that continues to intensify long after the sip.
Creamy smooth mouthfeel.
Fresh and tasty to start, but too much straight bitterness way too long into the finish for my taste.
Not my favorite IPA.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2011 22:57:00 | More by Hoagie1973

mmmbeer

Massachusetts

3.13/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

12 oz. with no freshness date, but I've kept it for a several months to see what would happen. Served chilled in an enlarged flute. Pours an orangey color with a 1 finger tan head that leaves sticky lacing. Aroma consists of citric and piney hops with biscuity malts behind it. The flavor is the same but has an overpowering wet paper character that lets you know it is past its prime. It has a medium body and nice carbonation considering. When it was fresh it had a huge fluffy head and wonderful flavor - I will re-review when I get a fresh one.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2005 19:04:06 | More by mmmbeer

LucaBrasi

New York

3.13/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear golden amber color with a foamy white head. The head sticks around lacing the glass. The smell is sweet and strong with well.... hops and citrus. The taste is of.... hops and finishes with a grapefruit citrus. The mouthfeel is smooth and lightly carbonated. Drinkable.... yes.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2005 04:53:54 | More by LucaBrasi

PeatReek

California

3.13/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Very pale body, mostly yellow/amber with a hint of orange, and cloudy. Head is chunky and fizzy, looks to be dissolving pretty quickly down to 1/4". Aroma: Hops! Piney and spicy, very very grassy. First time a beer's aroma has ever actually reminded me of a freshly mowed lawn. A little bit of paprika, and salt? That's the kind of spicy I mean. Taste mostly the same. Moderately thin body somewhat overwhelmed by the hop flavor and bitterness, with a significant fusel-"hot" component. I'm a huge fan of Bell's Two Hearted so I thought I'd be all for a nice pale IPA, but... I'd have to pass on multiple pints of Stone IPA.

What is everyone else seeing here?? I'll have to give this another try at some point.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2006 04:20:18 | More by PeatReek

cgarviereg

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.13/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle at home from my Great Brittish Beer Festival haul ... Colour is amber with pretty much no head ...light sweet hop nose ... Big malty front with a long juicy pine hop linger ... quite dry ... more like i expect froma pale ale than a IPA... Ok but not really hitting the spot for me

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2008 18:15:53 | More by cgarviereg

IMincedTheKing

New Jersey

3.13/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours the color of tea with a foamy, white, inch-tall head that dissipates slowly. Attractive lacing.

The nose is wonderful with a big smell of citrus and pine. Hoppy, sharp, and herbal. Not quite something I'd wear as a cologne, but oh-so-close.

The major flavor is of pine and citrus rinds, with a hop bitterness that I find slightly overbearing. Making everything worse is the thin, flat, and astringent mouthfeel; while it tastes okay, I can't get past the fact that I'd rather swallow it right quick and get rid of it (leaving a delicious aftertaste, by the way) than hold it in my mouth and pick apart the flavors.

Sadly, though it seemed promising, I don't see myself revisiting this one.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2009 11:31:49 | More by IMincedTheKing

Infamous7100

Ohio

3.13/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Please be aware this review comes from a non Hop Head.

Had this one on tap from the Cock and Bull in Glendale, Ohio.

A: Amber in color, possible mahogany.
S: Very citrusy, a lot of grapefruit coming through. Some pine as well.
T: The hops are huge. The citrus/grapefruit hits at first and the grapefruit sticks around and turns to the hoppy bitterness.
M: The bitterness sticks around for a while and the beer packs a nice bite. The hops and citrus flavor mask the alcohol a bit, but the tongue feels the effects.
D: If you are a Hop Head, this is a great beer. If you are not, it's worth a shot. It does what a good, hoppy beer should do. Satisfies your taste buds and hangs around on your pallete a while.

Serving type: on-tap

04-15-2009 01:23:44 | More by Infamous7100

PartyBear

United Kingdom (England)

3.13/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a 355ml/12oz bottle into a pint glass.

A - Pale (no surprise there) straw colour, with a decent head, however the head fades pretty sharpish. Mild carbonation with fine bubbles.

S - Clear hops, with light fruits. There is definite orange notes, and a lemony sharpness coming through.

T - The first flavours are fruity, predominantly lemon. Then it's all hops, providing a leveled bitterness to the end. The taste is quite earth, and the grassy hops add to this.

M - Quite light and fizzy on the tongue.

D - Far too hoppy for me, to the point of overpowering my taste buds. Not one of the best IPAs that I have tasted.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2009 21:03:46 | More by PartyBear

TheOtherMike

Michigan

3.13/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

As a fan of Stone's Pale Ale and IPAs in general, I thought this would be much better than what I found. It is sometimes available in my area.

I would not consider this offering to be "over-the-top" for an IPA as is Bell's "Two-Hearted". But it does somehow just miss the mark for what I prefer. I think the presence of PINE is overdone.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2010 01:25:42 | More by TheOtherMike

boyfromthenorth

Michigan

3.1/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

OK- what is it about this beer that people like so much? Ok, so was at the brewery and man is it cool. One of the coolest in America but this beer was just bitter at the finish. Not balanced, off aroma etc. And, normally when I am at a brewery everything just taste so much better. They have Gardens , FIRE, Water, Fire in Water you name it but I judge a brewery by their IPA and this didn't do it for me. Obviously, 2000 other reviewers disagree but I oh well.

Serving type: on-tap

01-29-2011 22:47:03 | More by boyfromthenorth

BeerAndBourbon

Ohio

3.08/5  rDev -27.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Reviewed from blinded tasting notes.

A. Yellow with a creamy head.

S. Odd hop aroma that is somewhat off-putting.

T. Piney

M. Bitting carbonation that nearly completely disappears half way through the session.

D. Eh - I'm not a fan of the flavor or aroma profile. I'll pass this up.

My lowest scored IPA of the night (under Jai Alai, Alesmith, Sculpin, Columbus, Furious, Two Hearted, Founders Centennial, and Red Racer)

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2010 03:12:37 | More by BeerAndBourbon

Hophead717

Pennsylvania

3.05/5  rDev -28.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Overall, I'm very unimpressed by this beer. Definitely disappointed.

A: The beer pours a very nice golden brown from a 12 oz bottle with a 1.5-2 finger head after a slightly vigorous pour. The head disappates fairly quickly, but leaves some lacing along the side of the glass.

S: The first smell you get is citrus, specifically grapefruit. A light grassy/piney smell follows and you can pick out some bitter hops.

T: Similar to the nose, only with a very bitter hop flavor coming across. Grapefruit and citrus notes pair with grassy hops before the taste is overwhelmed by bitter notes. If you like your IPAs bitter, you may enjoy this. There's a little malt underlying the beer, but you have to look to find it. Overall, the flavor is fairly weak, though a touch of bitterness sticks with you through the finish.

M: Very carbonated and light.

O: Meh. If you enjoy really bitter IPAs, you'll be a fan. I enjoy bitter hop tastes, but the thinness of the beer and overall light flavor is disappointed. I wanted a lot more from Stone and the beer did not deliver.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2011 00:05:46 | More by Hophead717

skizziks

Kentucky

3.03/5  rDev -28.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12oz bottle poured into a nonic. Thick antique white head starts off around an inch and fades to a bare skim on the surface. The beer is a slightly cloudy gold. Head leaves just a little spotty lacing.

Aroma is predominantly hop, backed by a mixture of fruit, apple, banana, a little fresh baked white bread. It's nice but all pretty faint. I really have to stick my nose in and swirl to get it.

Taste is almost all hop, a little like sucking on a hop cone (and I really don't recommend sucking on hop cones). An astringent bitterness right up front. Again, a little apple and bread under the hops. Just enough malt to let you know that this isn't just a fizzy tincture of hop, but not nearly enough to provide any balance. Finish is dry with more bitterness sticking in the back of the throat. It'll be there for a long time. That's not necessarily a bad thing in my book, but I wish there were more malt to fill things out. The result is that it all comes across as harsh and thin. I think I like what their yeast is doing, it would be nice if it had more to do. There is some sense of the alcoholic strength near the end, but very understated, doesn't seem like a 6.9% ABV.

Mouthfeel is thin, a little watery. It helps drinkability, but is a little unsatisfying. I doubt I'll bother getting another one.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2006 22:59:54 | More by skizziks

heinekenike

New York

3.03/5  rDev -28.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I gave this low marks because the taste just was not there, but after reading other reviews, I realize I must have gotten a bad batch or something. NY is far from CA, I don't know...

Appearance seemed normal, smell very good. The aroma promised a nice, full hoppy taste. But the taste was lacking. A very light hint, and then a little stronger taste of hops on the aftertaste, but pretty weak for any beer.

Like I said, this was not the same beer that everyone else here tasted. I will definitely try this one again, and give a fairer review.

Serving type: on-tap

01-18-2009 14:07:15 | More by heinekenike

jrallen34

Illinois

3.03/5  rDev -28.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

I drank this from a bottle into a chalice.

This beer pours a light gold semi clear with a big white and very good lacing.

Its aroma is very hoppy with light notes of honey and citrus.

The taste is just overwhelmingly hoppy. Thats all that dominates throughout the whole tasting instead of a very nice bite at the end. Just too bitter to be a great IPA.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2009 13:25:34 | More by jrallen34

HeightsEats

Ohio

3.03/5  rDev -28.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

I generally like IPAs--Dogfish Head 60 minute, Great Divide Titan IPA, Bell's Two Hearted, Great Lakes Erie Monster--but this was just too hoppy for me. The appearance is nice, and the smell is very floral and complex with plenty of dry hopping. Unlike the aforementioned IPAs, though, there's no notable malt sweetness, perhaps just enough to make the beer palatable (but not enjoyable). While the bitterness doesn't dry out your mouth, it comes close. If you're totally obsessed with hops or just want something extreme, you might like this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

06-17-2010 01:58:15 | More by HeightsEats

surfmeister

California

3/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Tough to review an interesting and very popular beer that you simply can't drink. In all the categories, smell, taste etc., I had the same reaction, "wow this is really interesting, even complex", but in the end I did not want another one. I am not a "hop head" so I don't relate to being hit over the head with the overbearing, piney, almost tree sap flavor of hops, which is what this beer is all about. I guess I'm one of those who appreciates the balance of flavors in beer and not too much of any one. Very hard to score this "interesting" beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2004 05:12:56 | More by surfmeister

JLShepard

Delaware

3/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Aroma: Slightly spicy, slightly sweet, but with no hop to it.

Appearance: Pours a translucent orange-yellow with a 1/4" head that quickly fades, leaving excellent lacing.

Taste: A slightly sweet start fades into a grassy hop taste that doesn't stick around long.

Mouthfeel: Thin, without being watery, with a nice crispness to it.

Overall, a decent IPA. There is some hop in the taste, though it's not as strong as I like and disappears too quickly. I was also disappointed by the lack of any hop in the nose. The mouthfeel isn't bad, though I think it could be a bit less thin.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2005 20:39:24 | More by JLShepard

TechMyst

Illinois

3/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I was expecting so much more. Run of the mill IPA for me. FFF pale ale had more hop character than this...gotta pad this...I didn't think much of arroagant bastard either, I've heard rave after rave for this BC...I must try more or another offering of this same brew, I wouldn't want to tarnish a good reputation.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2006 20:25:56 | More by TechMyst

vfgccp

New York

3/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

- Pardon the abbreviated review, this was sampled at a free Stone tasting. Special thanks to Big Z's in Huntington NY -

A - Light honey

S - Pine, resin, light citrus.

T - Piney, resiny. Touch of white bread.

M - Light. Moderate carbonation. Semi-sweet finish.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2011 02:58:09 | More by vfgccp

Schmittymack

Colorado

3/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served on tap into a pint shaker glass. Poured an orangeish/amberish color with a nice foamy 1/4 inch head that quickly disapated. Nice lacing, however. Aromas of malt, hops, and pine. Taste was bitter hops, malt, some pine, and some citrus. Overall, this is not my fav. I tend to like my IPAs more balanced; this one is the west coast hops in your face. Not bad but...

Serving type: on-tap

05-06-2011 08:03:18 | More by Schmittymack

northaustin

Texas

2.98/5  rDev -30%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

poured into a schnifter. pours a light copper with about a finger of medium bodied white head which disappears quickly and leaves stringy lacing.

smells very yeasty, a bit of malt sweetness with an alright piney hop presence.

tastes only a tad piney. very well balanced malt and hop flavors. was hoping for more hop flavor in a ipa though. still not bad

this is one of the best beginner beers out there as it is readily available almost anywhere and is relatively inexpensive. not one of the best ipas but it certainly has earned its reputation.

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2009 06:23:51 | More by northaustin

Offa

California

2.98/5  rDev -30%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

This is ok, slightly with some malty sweetness to round out the hoppiness. However, it is still rather simple, straightfoward in citrusy hops, and too rough on the hops, a sharp, rough hop bitterness with little real flavour taking over in the finish, drying out my mought and making my tongue and throat feel like someone energetically rubbed them with a terrycloth towel.

It orange gold, it has a thin, white head shrinking to a foamy ring and a little weak lace.

The aroma is mostly citrusy hops, especially grapefruit, with a hint of pine.

The taste is again mostly citrus - grapefruit - with pine and a light raisiny grain sweetness underneath, but not quite enough to carry it. It's far too bitter, with some malty sweetness to balance and a grain element in the finish, but too unbalanced and sharply bitter. Making a beer, even an IPA really bitter, simply does not to me equal good beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2009 00:07:12 | More by Offa

Rastacouere

Quebec (Canada)

2.95/5  rDev -30.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

It pours a clear filtered? yellow with a small white head, this could be a pilsner and giving it 3 makes me wonder if I'm too kind just because it's Stone. Aroma is hop essence literally.. with a hint of fuel and quite salty as well together with the more traditional citrus, lemon and grapefruity profiles. A good sniffing which appeals me by its originality. Taste surprises right away being very citric. I simply don't understand how so many people can love it that much since it's so distracting? Neverthless, there's a touch of honey malt and it's very clean. Talking about balance is totally out of place though and it didn't seem particularly pleasant. The body is honest, a solid medium body, but not as mouth-filling as other Stones I've had. Basically, this was totally blown away by the Lost Coast Indica we've had just before. Just altogether way too citric sour for my liking, possibly the tartest IPA I've had to date and while it's a characteristic I truly love in many belgians, it didn't seem to fit here. Thanks Martin!

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2004 18:39:39 | More by Rastacouere