18th Anniversary IPA
Stone Brewing

18th Anniversary IPA18th Anniversary IPA
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From:
Stone Brewing
 
California, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
8.5%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.9 | pDev: 11.28%
Reviews:
185
Ratings:
1,356
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Oct 19, 2022
Added:
Jul 20, 2014
Wants:
  25
Gots:
  246
As we compose the text for this celebratory beer—a golden-brown India pale ale dry-hopped exclusively and abundantly with El Dorado hops—we stand ready to leap from the precipice of all we know into a new era for our company, our beers and, most importantly, our fans. It’s one that will see us exploring new territory, both geographically and creatively, as we evolve from pacesetters for the American craft brewing movement to cross-planetary champions of the worldwide cause of craft, hoisting our banner to proclaim artisanal beers’ vast superiority over stripped-down, business-driven, industrialized, fizzy, yellow mediocrity. We thank you for shadowing us for the first 18 years of our journey, and welcome you to join us for next leg and all that follows.
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Rated: 4.1 by dms1767 from Nebraska

Oct 19, 2022
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Bring out your dead! Yeah, yeah. Greg Koch would undoubtedly be unhappy with me for this one (& several others to follow), but he & his distributor & my purveyor all got their bank ($$$) at some point, so who's to lay shame on the end user? Only me & maybe yinz. Nobody else has skinz in this game.

From the Bottle (!): "The hoppiest golden-brown IPA on Earth": "The 18-year milestone is a significant one, affording us a brilliant apex from which to employ crystal clear hindsight. Looking back to who we were when we embarked on this humble yet noble journey to craft the finest of ales, we see a company that, while much, much smaller, was every bit the sincere, bullish, determined entity it remains today. Since Day One, we've fostered grand-scale aspirations while stalwartly maintaining long-sightedness firmly fixed on a bevy of goals. From brews extending the idea and definition of what beer can be through their intensity, outlandishness, decadence and refinement; to venues and facilities harnessing and celebrating Earth's elemental resources; to helping awaken collective consciousness to the great worth of authentically, consciously well-crafted artisanal items; to playing a major role in bringing together and cementing the bonds of peers within our industry; we have accomplished a great many objectives. But we're far from done!"; " As we compose the text for this celebratory beer—a golden-brown India pale ale dry-hopped exclusively and abundantly with El Dorado hops—we stand ready to leap from the precipice of all we know into a new era for our company, our beers and, most importantly, our fans. It’s one that will see us exploring new territory, both geographically and creatively, as we evolve from pacesetters for the American craft brewing movement to cross-planetary champions of the worldwide cause of craft, hoisting our banner to proclaim artisanal beers’ vast superiority over stripped-down, business-driven, industrialized, fizzy, yellow mediocrity. We thank you for shadowing us for the first 18 years of our journey, and welcome you to join us for next leg and all that follows. [undersigned] Greg Koch CEO & Co-founder[,] Steve Wagner President & Co-founder".

I Pop!ped the cap & once more mustered up the slowest, gentlest C-Line pour that I could conjure. It really did not take much for it to begin foaming, to the point that I simply had to back down & stop altogether. I was faced with two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny/light-tan head with wonderous retention. Color was a beauteous Copper-Brown (SRM = > 17, < 22) with NE-quality clarity. 8=O OMFG! Nose was very malty at this point, but not in a sweet way. Instead, it had taken on a very earthy tone, like something freshly-picked from the garden. I have had wet-hopped beers in the past that were quite evocative of this. Mouthfeel was dense, thick, full & creamy, like a dollop had been scooped into my mouth & onto my tongue! The taste was lightly bitter, but intensely earthy!

I felt like I had been outdoors with my next-door neighbor, watching her toil in the soil. She's been at it the past few days & I so want to go out & kibbitz, but isolation is king.

Yeah, I kid you not! This had an unrelenting earthiness of the malt mill in full swing. Man, you get down in the malt room on a brew day when the augur is cranking & this is it!

In CHI, you have to sign a waiver & be suited up. No s**t - one spark & that dust could ignite like a M-Fer! All rooms have non-explosive dust covers over their lamps, but in CHI, they are really uptight about it! I felt like I was going into a magazine at one place (no names), being asked to remove any & all metal & other spark-producing devices as well as getting into a static-free HazMat suit! Yeah, I used to have that cachet at one point.

Back to the beer - Age had rendered it super-smooooothh! 8.5%? It was like beautifully smooth! It was like butter melting in my mouth & on my tongue. Bob, this was sooo good! I would have liked to have shared it with an acquaintance, but another acquaintance aced me out & so he got shortshrifted by extension.

Finish was on the cusp of semi-dry to dry. It evinced a light bitterness, but the way that the malt had evolved still left it in the dry range. Phew! I have several more Stone bombers to get through now. This is going to get interesting! YMMV.
Mar 31, 2020
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.47/5  rDev -11%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Another installment of the series of banging out beers that haven't been reviewed on Christmas. Annual tradition almost at this point. Here was have one of the less enthusiastic Stone anniversary beers. What was that commercial tugjob shit about golden brown hoppy ale, gtfo here with that shit. I mean, i guess its a good descriptor but not really a good idea. Classic could/should paradigm.

Anyways, looked like a maltier ipa you might not be into from a step dad new balance tier brewery in a tourist kind of city. That earthy mix of dark green and brown that ends up making this grey brown kind of thing almost. But don't let that make you think the clarity is for shit, its good, Stone makes professional looking beers, even if they pick a weird up mashup style. Aroma is a bit of bitter malt and roasted hops. What? But yeah, noble hops with a singe almost.

Taste is bitter, they kind of go for that. That high alpha acid grapefruit rind meets a heftier brown and golden promise package probably. Alcohol = present. Didn't do anything wrong, but you can only mix up so many 'new' ideas to try and have something each anniversary year.
Dec 25, 2018
 
Rated: 3.96 by Khaack from New York

Oct 27, 2017
 
Rated: 3.78 by themegamancave from Illinois

May 05, 2017
 
Rated: 4.19 by Bammer21 from Illinois

Aug 27, 2016
 
Rated: 5 by dag1991 from Ohio

Jul 16, 2016
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.84/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Dark amber with substantial creamy head. Aroma is equal parts malt and hops. Taste leans more towards the hops. Lingering bitter finish. Nice seasonal.
May 18, 2016
 
Rated: 3.73 by Yermomsfavorite from California

May 06, 2016
 
Rated: 4.21 by doc_logic from Ohio

Feb 29, 2016
Photo of bylerteck
Reviewed by bylerteck from Canada (ON)

3.83/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - Amberish bright pour with two fingers of beige head. Good carbonation, spotty lace and a film of retention.

S - Nice pine and resin, caramel, candy. Good balance. Boozy pineapple. Almost a barleywine-esque dark fruit note.

T - Big and piney with resinous notes again. Caramel, bread. Balanced and aggressive.

M - Proper carbonation, full body, rich fruity finish with a low-medium bitterness.

O/D - Nice stuff. More of a American Strong Ale b/c of the maltiness, but a nice one nonetheless.
Feb 27, 2016
 
Rated: 3.99 by aratcliffe from Kansas

Jan 24, 2016
Photo of Karibourgeois
Reviewed by Karibourgeois from Texas

3.5/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Clear red amber pour with an off-white one-finger head. Nice floral and pine aroma. Taste has a strong bitterness as expected from a Stone beer with flavors of pine, orange, resin and grass are the most predominant. Also has quite a bit of caramel malt present in the taste and a bit of warmth. Finishes with a lingering bitterness that has both pine and citrus flavors.
Jan 09, 2016
 
Rated: 4.2 by RBorsato from Virginia

Jan 08, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Volsdawg10 from Mississippi

Dec 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.89 by Dwinslow15 from Massachusetts

Dec 01, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by boszormeny from Canada (ON)

Nov 13, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by hozersr from Pennsylvania

Nov 10, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by RichH55 from Illinois

Nov 02, 2015
 
Rated: 4.05 by Redgoatman from California

Oct 19, 2015
18th Anniversary IPA from Stone Brewing
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 1356 ratings