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16th Anniversary IPA
Stone Brewing
- From:
- Stone Brewing
- California, United States
- Style:
- Imperial IPA
- ABV:
- 10%
- Score:
- 86
- Avg:
- 3.81 | pDev: 13.91%
- Reviews:
- 393
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jan 27, 2022
- Added:
- Aug 10, 2012
- Wants:
- 12
- Gots:
- 55
We've been loving creating Collaboration beers with great creative brewers from all over the world these last several years-unique beers that would never have existed without the free-flowing imagination and idea generation of the collaborative process. However, when it comes to the Stone Anniversary Ales, it's all us. Yet, it is indeed still a collaboration with great creative brewers (if we do say so ourselves). We're talking about our own brewing team, of course. And while some of our beers, anniversary and otherwise, have been designed by a single person, the Stone 16th Anniversary IPA was definitely a team effort.
This year our brewing team was inspired by some exotic-ish additions of the lemony persuasion. Yes, it's a Double IPA (can you really say you're surprised?), but as we strive to do with all our Stone Anniversary Ales of the let's-take-this-IPA-in-a-new-direction variety, we've brewed up a Stone-worthy divergence from tradition. The amount of rye malt we used isn't quite enough to warrant the appellation "Rye IPA," but it still adds hints of spiciness that contrast deliciously with the tropical fruit flavors and aromas of the Amarillo and Calypso hops. Add a few European specialty malts, some lemon verbena, and three more hop varieties to the mix, and you have a highly complex brew melding both bitter and fruity hop notes with rich toasted malt character punctuated by nuances of spicy rye and subtle lemon.
This year our brewing team was inspired by some exotic-ish additions of the lemony persuasion. Yes, it's a Double IPA (can you really say you're surprised?), but as we strive to do with all our Stone Anniversary Ales of the let's-take-this-IPA-in-a-new-direction variety, we've brewed up a Stone-worthy divergence from tradition. The amount of rye malt we used isn't quite enough to warrant the appellation "Rye IPA," but it still adds hints of spiciness that contrast deliciously with the tropical fruit flavors and aromas of the Amarillo and Calypso hops. Add a few European specialty malts, some lemon verbena, and three more hop varieties to the mix, and you have a highly complex brew melding both bitter and fruity hop notes with rich toasted malt character punctuated by nuances of spicy rye and subtle lemon.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by JerzDevl2000:
Reviewed by JerzDevl2000 from New Jersey
3.65/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.65/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Picked this up at ShopRite Liquors in Caldwell yesterday, since it was the only place I found this at. I was excited to try this since I enjoyed the other Anniversary beers from Stone but this was just a bit lacking. It was a good IPA with enough alcohol and taste to it but the lemon and spice detracted from the overall experience a bit. While this was aggressive and edgy, it was just a bit too much out of the norm for me and not up to par with most of their other offerings.
The pour to this was a strong almond color with a nice head and lacing to match. Lots of pine in the front with a bit of valencia-type orange underneath it. That was also present in the taste up-front which faded into a mix of grass and pepper, before the lemon just took over. Just a bit too much sourness to this as the spice lingered in the aftertaste. Quite aggressive, this was not a quick sipper and was not as thick in the body as I would have liked either.
Like most of the Stone beers, this was very strong in the booze department and it did detract from the beer. It almost reminded me of a hopped-up Saison except the hue to this was clear. It was a unique take on the style but the West Coast feel of this was overshadowed by the overpowering spiciness and the near-pucker that my face made at times. There's nothing out there like this but there's a good reason why this wasn't something attempted before. It didn't really work and it was only worth a try once, just to see what any fuss was about.
Nov 05, 2012The pour to this was a strong almond color with a nice head and lacing to match. Lots of pine in the front with a bit of valencia-type orange underneath it. That was also present in the taste up-front which faded into a mix of grass and pepper, before the lemon just took over. Just a bit too much sourness to this as the spice lingered in the aftertaste. Quite aggressive, this was not a quick sipper and was not as thick in the body as I would have liked either.
Like most of the Stone beers, this was very strong in the booze department and it did detract from the beer. It almost reminded me of a hopped-up Saison except the hue to this was clear. It was a unique take on the style but the West Coast feel of this was overshadowed by the overpowering spiciness and the near-pucker that my face made at times. There's nothing out there like this but there's a good reason why this wasn't something attempted before. It didn't really work and it was only worth a try once, just to see what any fuss was about.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada
3.75/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Orange pour, strong head, big foam. A ton of lemon hops. Like that is the grand sum total of the aroma.
Taste was nice, again, lot of lemon. Hid the alcohol well. Rye is hidden too. Caramel minimal. Unique anniversary beer, and good too.
Dec 24, 2015Taste was nice, again, lot of lemon. Hid the alcohol well. Rye is hidden too. Caramel minimal. Unique anniversary beer, and good too.
16th Anniversary IPA from Stone Brewing
Beer rating:
86 out of
100 with
1398 ratings
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