-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
San Diego County Session Ale
Stone Brewing
- From:
- Stone Brewing
- California, United States
- Style:
- American Pale Ale
- ABV:
- 4.2%
- Score:
- 89
- Avg:
- 3.99 | pDev: 12.28%
- Reviews:
- 270
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- May 06, 2016
- Added:
- Aug 07, 2010
- Wants:
- 15
- Gots:
- 20
Collaboration with Ballast Point Brewing and Kelsey McNair
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by TheCorkStopsHere:
Reviewed by TheCorkStopsHere from Connecticut
4.07/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
4.07/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A collaboration brew from Stone Brewing, Ballast Point Brewing, and Kelsey McNair, a home brewer. This is a beer that never really made it to my area of Connecticut, but we had a few bottles from a store in Massachusetts. This was brewed and released about a year ago. I’m curious to see how they’ve held up.
The twelve ounce bottle releases a little bit of a “pop” as I break the seal. The brew pours out a great golden-straw color, with a bit of haze. Plenty of carbonation makes for a bright white foam, that lasts quite a long time. The lacing is mild, but sticks forever.
Just as I pour the Session Ale, I can already smell the hops. Of course I’m not surprised, considering Stone is involved. The nose reveals an interesting combination of light citrusy hops, as well as more in-your-face bitter hops. I let the beer warm a little bit and swirl is quite strongly, because I’m trying to find something else in the nose to describe. After several minutes, the only thing I can smell is still the hops!
When I take a sip, the hop complexity changes a little. The nose was dominated by the citrusy hops, but the palate is dominated but the rough and aggressive bitter hops. This beer is over a year old, and it feels like it was bottled yesterday. The bitterness of the hops is mouth-filling, and almost mouth-numbing. I take a few sips, swirl it in my mouth, and I’m going to walk away for a few minutes to see if it changes at all…
As it warms up, and I come back for a few more sips, the San Diego Session Ale has definitely opening a little. The hops is not quite as mouth-numbing. Or maybe my mouth is numb, and I can’t tell that it is still super hoppy. I think this may be one of the most hop-intense beers I have ever tasted. That is to say, I’ve tasted really hoppy, bitter beers before, but they usually have more of a subtle malty backbone. This San Diego Session Ale is hops, hops, and more hops.
I can understand that the lower-than-average alcohol content, 4.2%, makes this a bit of a session ale. However, as a malt-man, I could not possibly drink more than one of these. As a matter of fact, I only poured myself half a bottle, and I’m seriously considering not finishing it. I’m not saying it’s a bad beer at all, but it is nearly 100% the exact opposite of my preferred style.
Jan 14, 2012The twelve ounce bottle releases a little bit of a “pop” as I break the seal. The brew pours out a great golden-straw color, with a bit of haze. Plenty of carbonation makes for a bright white foam, that lasts quite a long time. The lacing is mild, but sticks forever.
Just as I pour the Session Ale, I can already smell the hops. Of course I’m not surprised, considering Stone is involved. The nose reveals an interesting combination of light citrusy hops, as well as more in-your-face bitter hops. I let the beer warm a little bit and swirl is quite strongly, because I’m trying to find something else in the nose to describe. After several minutes, the only thing I can smell is still the hops!
When I take a sip, the hop complexity changes a little. The nose was dominated by the citrusy hops, but the palate is dominated but the rough and aggressive bitter hops. This beer is over a year old, and it feels like it was bottled yesterday. The bitterness of the hops is mouth-filling, and almost mouth-numbing. I take a few sips, swirl it in my mouth, and I’m going to walk away for a few minutes to see if it changes at all…
As it warms up, and I come back for a few more sips, the San Diego Session Ale has definitely opening a little. The hops is not quite as mouth-numbing. Or maybe my mouth is numb, and I can’t tell that it is still super hoppy. I think this may be one of the most hop-intense beers I have ever tasted. That is to say, I’ve tasted really hoppy, bitter beers before, but they usually have more of a subtle malty backbone. This San Diego Session Ale is hops, hops, and more hops.
I can understand that the lower-than-average alcohol content, 4.2%, makes this a bit of a session ale. However, as a malt-man, I could not possibly drink more than one of these. As a matter of fact, I only poured myself half a bottle, and I’m seriously considering not finishing it. I’m not saying it’s a bad beer at all, but it is nearly 100% the exact opposite of my preferred style.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada
4.06/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.06/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Old review from notes.
Yellow beer with lots of clarity. Nice white 1/2" head. Aroma seemed like a great mix of newer style ipa hops. Amarillo seemed to jump. Plenty of citrus and pine. One of the first session ipas I've come across. The price at $3/12oz was a little heavy, but if they could drop it to $2 a bottle, I think it could work.
This beer stays very light on its feet while packing plenty of flavor. There's been better ones going on lately.
May 02, 2016Yellow beer with lots of clarity. Nice white 1/2" head. Aroma seemed like a great mix of newer style ipa hops. Amarillo seemed to jump. Plenty of citrus and pine. One of the first session ipas I've come across. The price at $3/12oz was a little heavy, but if they could drop it to $2 a bottle, I think it could work.
This beer stays very light on its feet while packing plenty of flavor. There's been better ones going on lately.
San Diego County Session Ale from Stone Brewing
Beer rating:
89 out of
100 with
376 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!