840 India Pale Ale - Stone Coast Brewing Co.

BuckSpin

Maine

3.63/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Presentation: 22oz bottle in an oversized crystal snifter

Poured with some snap, sizzle, nice energy. Deep, dark nose full of bittersweet hops - pine sap & bark, grapefruit, pineapple - yet not with a fresh cut explosion of citric aromatics but rather more ripened, softened room temperature fruit. A nice burnt caramel quality furthers the deep, bittersweet aspect. I like the fullness of the nose, its not angular or sharp, but more of a strong presence. As it warms some orange traces peek thru as well as some old leather jacket and those farrr back in the cooking spices cabinet, should have been used by your grandma before she was a grandma, cinnamon & nutmeg.

A fat finger's worth (thumb's worth?) of loose ivory foam, sticky with sporadic lacing, settled to a pencil's worth with a nice edge ring. It resides atop a burnt, glowing, brassy orange-cherry amber hued body, hazy & clouded, a very slow cascade of bubbles rising haphazardly thru it. So far my eyes & nose are diggin' this.

Its softer on the tongue than the nose inplied, nicely bitter (not bittersweet), a wee bit creamy, but just barely (think bargain store velour, not silk). Its rather wet and noticably lacking in the dry department, with at best a faint, damp crunch way back in the mouth. Hops rule but just like the nose they are muted, raw, more a fist than a knife. They're thick & very leathery with with pine bark, grapefruit rind & pith, with a noticable tannic quality. All in all its kinda brutish, but thats OK.

It does grow sharper, lighter and gets bittersweet on the palate, somewhat drier, evening out and melding together, the alcohol (which was to this point unnoticed) finally rising up and warming my teeth & roof of my mouth with a cool heat that has a nice lingering effect, but doesn't grow much above that nice, soft, icy heat. It finishes rather bitter (reminiscent of that last swallow of coffee in mouthfeel & bitterness but not taste), leathery, full of autumn leaves and old tea, filmy and coating.

This is a nice, raw, big ol' DIPA. There are many that are better, but this has a certain brutishness to it that I did like. Definitely not sweet, I think the right cheese (white cheddar, a soft & creamy, fully bloomed Bleu like Stilton) would work wonders with this and the two would help each other significantly. Would also work well with spicy, hearty, thick fare (Mexican mole?) nothing delicate or fiery on the fly.

Sometimes you want a 4 wheel drive & not a sportscar. !If you like big, raw, bitter IPAs downshift into this. If not, grab some cheese and try it as well. Certainly worthy of checking out.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2007 01:35:20 | More by BuckSpin

shade13

2.75/5  rDev -22.8%

07-25-2012 21:17:46 | More by shade13

mshallah

New Hampshire

3.88/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy, dark orange amber with a smallish head that's sticky. Fruity aromas of peaches with a caramel sweetness from the malt. Taste is the fruity, malty base with lots of bitterness building on top with every sip. Alcohol adds some warmth that borders on heat. Could use more hops in the aroma but other than that an enjoyable beer for a late night sipper.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2008 14:10:15 | More by mshallah

BattleRoadBrewer

Massachusetts

2.78/5  rDev -21.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Served cool from silkscreened brown bomber into Boston Lager glass.

Pours with a gigantic rocky head that persists forever. Color is hazy, even cloudy, dark amber.

Aroma is spicy with fusels and a hint of hops that goes away as it warms up.

Flavor is hot with alcohol and spicy. Notably bitter.

Drinkability is poor. It's a sipper, tough to get down. I didn't finish this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2008 04:36:30 | More by BattleRoadBrewer

ElGaucho

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a ruddy-orange-red hue with a nice dense off-white head and some sticky lacing. Nose is very rich and malty for a IIPA, with strong hints of sweet pastry and toffeeish complexity, along with a hefty heaping of piney, resiny hops. Hops come more to the front on the smooth palate, with a definite biscuity malt character lurking in the background, and a smooth yet punchy leafy hop finish. Refreshingly lacking in citrus style hops, although my bottle did seem to show some irony oxidation initially, so perhaps it was a bit past its prime. Still, a unique take on the style.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2008 22:28:40 | More by ElGaucho

Boto

Connecticut

4.22/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz. bomber: This one pours a fairly clear, slightly orangish lighter amber color. A bit of an off-white head on mine. The nose is citrusy, and mainly grapefruit and a hint of orange. Maybe a hint of grassiness also. Some malts poking their head up also. The taste is good. Somewhat surprising to have some of the malt sweetness hit you first, followed by a citrus hop bite. Pretty well balanced. Nice!

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2008 18:25:02 | More by Boto

Reagan1984

Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A buddy of mine brought this bottle over about a month or so ago. I threw it in the fridge and figured I'd get to it over the next several weeks. Then I saw the thread that announced this brewery was closing. I followed that thread on this site and was struck by the positive comments I heard. Last night that friend and I shared the bomber and raised our glasses to all those who had worked at the brewery. I informed my buddy that this may be the first and last time we enjoy this beer.

When poured from the 22oz bomber, this beer formed a nice creamy head that was off white and about 2 fingers thick. This head had lots of structure and remarkable retention. The beer was somewhat cloudy and a deep amber color. Lacing was quite thick and clumpy

Aroma was a nice mix of caramel notes and very ripe pineapple.

Flavor was quite pleasing and nicely balanced. There were some initial caramel/malt notes that gave way to a slight spiciness and a burst of ripe pineapple flavor. Then a nice hop bitterness made the scene and helped finish out the flavor profile. You did get a bready sense towards the end and warmth from the alcohol. You couldn't really taste the alcohol, but you knew it was there.

Mouth feel was medium bodied and the beer was slightly sticky. Carbonation was very mild and appropriate.

Nicely drinkable. A good effort.

Not sure it really stands out in the crowd which may be the issue the brewery faced.

I wish them all luck. If I see another bottle, I'd pick it up.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2008 12:48:33 | More by Reagan1984

Kendo

New York

3.78/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Sampled on the heels of their 420, I split the bomber with a friend. Poured into a Duvel tulip, the body is hazy brownish-amber with a small ivory head. Some rings of lace on the way down.

S: First impression is that it's not terribly strong -- the 420 had more hoppiness in the nose than its big brother. What's there is florally hops.

T: Some caramel malt followed by spicy hops and a bite of black pepper. Finishes dry, with some lemony citrus at the finish and then pine (resin or even tar) and grass lingering afterwards. Taste seems to get better as it warms -- at first it's all about the spice, but it seems to mellow a little as the temperature climbs.

M: A bit sticky or resiny, but not in a bad way. Medium in heft.

D: Pretty good overall -- better as it warmed up a bit.

Notes: I had this immediately following it's half-brother, Stone Coast 420. Definitely preferred the 840, as the 420 was a bit too one-dimensionally bitter. . . .

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2008 16:40:18 | More by Kendo

Matty1918

Massachusetts

2.58/5  rDev -27.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a pint glass.

8.6 ABV

Pours a very cloudy dark amber with a massive, creamy white head. Retention is very impressive...nice amount of lacing also.

A very malty aroma at first...very sweet like molasses. The hops are there in the background.... a little citrus aroma but this is all about the malts for the aroma.

Ummm the fist sip is...well...it's very malty with some hop bitterness there also. Not well balanced as the malts are very overpowering. A slight nutty taste in the end. This almost tastes like burnt syrup that was loaded with frsh hops. Maybe this would be better aged some bit.

Mouthfeel...not the greatest...alcohol burns the nostrils when you try to get a feel for it.

Well I'd have to say this was not very enjoyable. I would like to see how this is after say a year of aging.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2008 19:40:45 | More by Matty1918

indiapaleale

Massachusetts

3.05/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The 840 pours a hefty dark, thick amber color. On top is a big, fat, fluffy head. Another one that looks like someone poured pancake batter on top of it. The head settle nicely though and I'm left with about a finger's worth of head that really leaves some nice lacing on the sides of the glass. Not a bad looking pour at all.

Smell is unique. First scent that comes to me is bubblegum but that quickly turns to some citrusy and earthy hops smells. A little bit of grapefruit and some herbal scents finish things up. I don't really get a lot of those big, fresh intense hop smells like some of the big West Coast dIPAs but I am going in with an open mind.

First thing that hits me is the bitterness that takes over my mouth. Its pretty intense and rather sharp. Once you get over that you can taste some citrus and also some very sweet and syrupy notes. Its note exactly balanced like some bigger IPAs. It falls into the category of one-sided. Its definitely a strong and warming beer and its not altogether a bad brew, its just a little off from the style. Maybe its the hop varieties used or maybe the balance? Who knows.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2008 03:44:46 | More by indiapaleale

LeftyBWS

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22 oz. brown bomber into a pint glass.
A: Ambery orange colored brew. First pour has a huge head, thick and frothy, 2 inches at least, and it doesn't want to go away. There are lacing rings spaced out down the side of the glass, as well. Looks tasty. The head is just as big on the second pour!
S: Murky mixture of hops and malts. I smell caramel and pine mostly, with some more muddled scents mixed in, kind of an earthy hodgepodge. It's not unpleasant, but it's not the nice hoppy bouquet I expect from a DIPA.
T: Grainy, malty and slightly sweet at first, with just a tingle of hops. The middle lets out some more floral hop flavors, but not much. The finish is more of the same, with a little alcohol taste lingering. This does not seem like an IPA.
M: Okay, but really missing out on the hoppy bite.
D: Meh, taste is fine, but this is really weird for the style.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2008 03:53:54 | More by LeftyBWS

Wasatch

Utah

3.85/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks goes out to ybnorml for this one.

22oz. Bomber

Pours a nice clean/clear golden amber/orange color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger plus creamy tannish head, lots of nice sticky lacing follows. The nose is malty, with some hops, some citrus, slight pines, with a good dose of caramel. The taste is sweet, bitter, dry, malty/hoppy (nice blend), with some caramel tones. Medium body. Drinkable, this is a tasty brew. Also this is my first Stone Coast brew, thanks Wayne.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2008 21:19:26 | More by Wasatch

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a clear dark amber with 2 fingers of foamy off-white head. Retains down nicely into a thin, creamy layer that leaves big, sticky hop lacing all down the sides of the glass. The aroma is big resinous hops, lots of citrus character, some peppery spice, with some sweet maltiness backing it up.

The taste is assertive, piney hops up front with a pretty big dose of tangy citrus character and a fairly beefy malt backbone to real things in. The mouthfeel is a thick medium with a creamy feel and just a touch of alcohol in the body.

This is solid all around DIPA from Stone Coast with big hops and I really liked the up front citrus notes that added some nice tartness with all of that bitterness. Pretty drinkable too for a higher ABV beer. Check some out if you come across it.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2008 16:55:38 | More by Kegatron

HopDerek

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +16%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clear amber with burnt orange hues, 1 inch of foamy tan head has average retention and sticky lacing. Smells big of grapefruit and pine with some caramel mixed in. Tastes of grapefruit up front with a honey and caramel backbone and a strong juniper finish, like sucking on a pine cone. Medium in body with good carbonation, sweet with a dry and bitter finish. A solid IIPA with lots of hop flavors, enjoyable for a hophead.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2008 17:45:04 | More by HopDerek

mltobin

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a cask:

The appearance was an amber tone with a medium sized head. Somewhat cloudy, served in a pint glass.
The smell was deep and hoppy, very nice indeed.
The taste was spicy, rich, and somewhat sweet, with a decent amount of hops present.
The mouthfeel was fairly pleasant while swirling around, with accents of all the ingredients, however the aftertaste just left me thirsty for water, it is a rich feeling that stays on your tounge.
All in all, a great beer though, and it was interesting to have it Cask Conditioned.

Serving type: cask

04-11-2008 23:35:15 | More by mltobin

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cloudy light brown. The bottle overflowed when opened. Unfortunately this did not translate into potent long lasting head. In fact, there was very little lace after the head died down to an incomplete single layer of bubbles.

The smell is decent combination of mellow round malt and peppery hop.

The taste is all hop...another extreme beer. The body is okay. Basically, if you like sucking on a hop pellet, you'll like this beer. If not, it may be a case of the chef over salting the broth.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2008 04:26:23 | More by smcolw

fitzy84

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Came in a 22 oz bottle. Appearance was quite nice; murky amber that started with a thick head and eventually led to some lacing. The smell is great: smoked hops and malts with a very strong citrus flavor. The taste has a bitter, bitter quality to it with some nice floral citrus flavors going on. Strong, medium body drink that allows the flavors to be very noticeable. Overall, very nice.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2008 04:18:04 | More by fitzy84

FACSman

Massachusetts

3.43/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Dark amber with a thin head, moderate amount of lacing. Very light haze.

S - Malty aroma with moderate hop character. pine and grapefruit notes evident from the hops. Hints of toffee and citrus.

T - Enjoyable taste, but a bit heavy on malt without hop balance for an IPA. Slight alcohol hotness that disappears into a moderate hop bitter finish.

M - Heavy, with light carbonation. Long finish into lingering hop bitterness

D - Good drinkability for a rather high alcohol brew. Though the beers maltiness takes a bit away for it's style in this category.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2008 04:54:53 | More by FACSman

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.45/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Sunny Sunkist orange with amber borders. Since the brewery says that whole Chinook hops are added after filtration, the static storm of superfine particulates is almost certainly lupulus dust. Subsequent pours increasingly make the beer look like a shaken snow globe. The putty colored cap sure isn't shy about plastering the glass with loads of sticky lace.

So why is the nose only barely hoppy? Repeated sniffs deliver nothing more than a faint citrusiness riding along on a buttery pale malt base. It looks like the flavor has some major work to do.

Apparently, the '840' of the name refers to the 840 ounces (that's 52.5 lbs) of hops that are used in each batch. Other than whole Chinook, the beer is brewed with Liberty, Mt. Hood and Tettanger. For whatever reason, the alpha acids are still prominent, while the hop flavor is in relatively short supply. 840 doesn't taste old, just less than expertly brewed.

While the malt backbone isn't massive, it's more than big enough for the style. As suspected, the maltiness tastes almost entirely pale, with the remainder being lightly toasted (along with a thin layer of butter that isn't the least bit bothersome).

Guessing IBUs is a fool's game, especially when there's this much malt running interference. This fool says... more than 75 easily. As is usually the case, the bitterness begins to recede and the hop flavor begins to flower as the beer warms. Eh, I'm still not gobsmacked by 840's magnificence.

The mouthfeel hits the target while missing the bull's eye. It could be a little more full and a little less carbonated. In the end, it's no better than comfortably above average.

Since I enjoyed Stone Coast 420 IPA, I expected 840 IPA to be, if not twice as good, at least as good. Whether it's an inferior recipe or a less than perfect batch or a bottle that's past its prime is hard to say. Bottom line: long on looks, short on substance.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2008 16:35:18 | More by BuckeyeNation

BrianC

Massachusetts

3.23/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had a 22 oz. bomber of this beer. It was dark amber in color with a healthy head on it. I found it to be very drinkable, more than most IIPAs. Unfortunately, I have to attribute this to the lower hop character than your average IIPA. Honsetly, when I'm picking out a 22 oz bomber if IIPA, I want to be a bit overwhelmed by the hops. I'm really not looking for high drinkability. Does that make sense?

This isn't a bad beer, but I don't think it is appropriate to call it a IIPA. Maybe it needs a new category, Imperial Amber Ale, American Strong Ale. I don't know, it was just too malty, not hoppy enough for an IIPA.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2008 01:21:37 | More by BrianC

IBUnit63

Massachusetts

3.43/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Deep amber color. Rich head fades customarily; sparse carbonation bubbles.

Sudsy, slightly soapy hop aroma with a little grapefruit rind and a hint of floral tones. So far it's been promising...

...but the first taste is a bit disappointing. Way too earthy, silty, mineral, almost metallic taste - almost the sensation of the smell of a wet dog on the carpet coming back in the aftertaste. May be bottle age. After a few minutes of letting it rest it opens up nicely and the pleasant bitterness of the hops from the aroma evolves in the mouth. To me, malt presence is still a little thin.

At first, more carbonation than expected from the initial bubbles - this initially tempers the typical warmth of the style. First sip bitterness is more unpleasant than hop character, but this opens up well to a more traditional "floral bitter" and the expected warmth emerges.

Glad to see that first impressions aren't everything - what started out as the thought of a stale bottle redeemed itself accordingly; would be interested in this on tap and served slightly warmer at the get go. Not bad stuff on the grand spectrum of all offerings, but overall a little disappointing and high-maintenance for the style. Don't really get a DIPA feel for this one; I miss at least a little alcoholic overtones and it's lacking in malt.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2008 02:56:29 | More by IBUnit63

deltatauhobbit

Maine

3.38/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a hazy light copper, with a good amount of head and lots lacing.

Smell is very floral, quite the piney citrus aroma that is typically accompanied by IPA's, but is quite more overpowering.

Taste has a good hoppy punch at the beginning, very raw tasting and piney, some citrus edge, very little in the way of balance though, crisp tasting but the bitterness is a bit harsh.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2008 00:53:47 | More by deltatauhobbit

tpd975

Florida

3.05/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Another Maine treat from deltatauhobbit.

A: The beer is a light reddish brown color, with a fluffy egg shell colored head that fades slowly and leaves a nice lace pattern on the glass.

S: The aroma is hoppy and with hints of fruit. Pine and grapefruit mostly.

T: Starts of nice and hoppy. A piney bitterness comes at you from the start. A biscuit malt type prescene cuts through and finishes a bit bitter with a hint of a metallic taste.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium bodied.

D: Not my favorite DIPA, but not too bad overall.

Overall: I really liked the 420 IPA a lot. This one is just middle of the road for me. There is nothing that really stands out or makes this one real unique. It's a nice drinking beer, but not their best offering.

Thanks for the taste DTH.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2008 20:47:35 | More by tpd975

weeare138

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to hopdog for sharing this...
Appears a dense, dark amber with a small white head that fades into a mild collar, spotty lacing, some yeasty fallout, and tiny bubbles rising to the top.
Smell is slightly oxidized, orange zest, caramel, and a dash of cocoa...in an IPA?
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with more standout bitter orange zest with caramel, vanilla, cola, and cocoa.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, zesty, spicy, yeasty, and bitter.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2008 19:41:56 | More by weeare138

drseamus

New York

2.8/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 1.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Nice red body with a decent off white head, but with TONS of sediment. Not a good start. Citrusy pine hops lead this and a bunch of caramel follows. Heavy malt flavor with a bunch of citrus. The hop flavor should lead the malt though. Decent medium body. Overall, not a beer I will seek out again.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2007 06:40:39 | More by drseamus