Go To IPA
Stone Brewing

 

 

 

After trying a lot of session IPAs, I basically ended up avoiding the style save for Founder's All-Day. Well, this bottle of beer, which I consumed on the porch during the pandemic, reminds me a lot of All-Day. It has a soft hop bitterness. Many sessions are almost overly hopped and quite thin without the malt backbone.

330ml can.
L: Hazy marmalade colour with a long lasting head and sheets of lacing.
S: Incredible rich, earthy aroma. Like freshly turned soil.
T: Wood and resin.
F: Bitter and astringent, as it’s supposed to be.
O: A full-on west coast IPA at only 4.7%. It’s technically very accomplished but the mouthfeel still suffers and I’m not convinced that a beer this bitter will ever be truly sessionable, regardless of its ABV.

330 ml can, brewed in Berlin. ABV is 4.7%. Bought at Gulating Ølutsalg, Stavanger. Hazy golden colour, small white head. Aroma of citrus and tropical fruits, a hint of dill. Hoppy and citrussy flavour, slightly sweet, also notes of tropical fruits and pine needles. Bitter finish. Good beer.

Clear gold, great white head, awesome retention and lace
Pine, orange zest, and light dank
Light orange and pine, a little bit of sweet malt, but kinda thin tasting
Light bodied and good carbonation
I feel that this would be a good beer for outside around the grill in the summer, not just getting in from walking the dog in the winter. I'd probably like it better then. Tried my best to be objective

12oz bottle, tulip, bottled on 10/22/20.

Light gold yellow, big fluffy head with great retention.

Nectarine, lemon, tangerine. Impressively aromatic with lots of delicate fruit.

Two row, gritty bitterness that’s really great for a session IPA, and lots of fruitiness. Lychee, tangerine, white grape, stone fruit.

Light body, dry finish, impressive bitterness.

In the running for best session IPA I’ve had. Hop aroma and flavor are all there, including significant bitterness and great drying, bitter finish not usually seen in the sub-style.

A: Pours crystal clear golden amber with a frothy off white head that settles to a light layer and leaves a little nice lacing.

S: Zesty citrus, mostly lemon and grapefruit, grassy, resinous pine, and crackery malt.

T: Citrus zest, grapefruit and lemon,a little tangerine and lime, grassy, resinous pine, subtle fruity notes, passion fruit, peach, apricot, and mango, crackery malt, pretty much bone dry finish.

M: Light body, moderately lively carbonation.

O: Haven't had this one since it was first released, before I was on BA, so it's nice to get to try it again. Takes me back to when session IPAs were the new toy on the shelf. To its credit, this one is bright and crisp, and would definitely do the job as a lawnmower beer. That said, it does have a bit of the trademark session IPA watery-ness, and there are other session IPAs out there with a bit more balance and flavor. Wouldn't turn it down, but wouldn't be my "go to".

Appearance: Lightly hazy, bright golden hue, slim white head.

Aroma: As advertised, very vibrant and utterly bursting with hops. Bold and bright citrus and pine. Ah, so nice.

Taste: More of that big, fierce and shining hop flavor, with just enough juicy malt below. Lean bodied, with a dominant buzz of hop bitterness. Drinkable, yes, also refreshing and tasty, too. It's good beer, and I can drink it, but…just doesn't thrill me. I really don't desire the session IPA. I like the regular ones just fine, thank you very much. Faced with the choice of this or a regular Stone IPA, I know where I'm going.

This one is merely "okay", and that's not what I expect out of Stone. Low on my priorities.

Poured into a tall clear pint glass. Clear, bright golden color, with a finger or so of creamy white head. Good retention and lacing.

Getting a lot of citrus notes in the aroma. Orange, lemon, and lime zest, along with the fruits themselves, some biscuity malt, mango, and a strong smell of pineapple.

Tasting primarily the citrus zest and rinds too. Nicely bitter hops, some pine and resin added in the flavor, along with the biscuity malt. Can't say that this beer tastes sweet however. Body is medium light.

 

 

12oz botted 10-22-20, best by 2-19-21. Opened 11-26-20.
1 finger white head with very good retention. Full, sticky lacing.
Clean, bright, golden IPA.
Lemon-lime in the nose up front with a bit of green (grass/pine) underneath.
Zesty lemon and spicy grapefruit bitterness are the prevalent flavors. Some stone fruit - peach as well.
Light body, bright entry, medium + carbonation. Moderate but lingering bitterness in the dry finish.
Well done, Very Good as a sub-5% IPA.

Rich gold colour, big frothy head, three fingers. Smell some pineapple and fruity smells. Taste is of hefty piney hops and is thin and extremely bitter with next to no malt base to balance it out. Feel is watery, very bitter and acrid. Not an IPA I will go to again unless it's for free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a rich golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of citrus, light pineapple. Taste is of citrus, lemon zest, mild bitterness, zero malts are present. Feels medium/light bodied in the mouth and overall is a decent beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was given this can by my cousin as a gift but since I have such a backlog here, it took me a while to get around to this. Canned on 10/26/17 with enjoy by date of 1/24/18 printed below it, I did not have this fresh but did keep it cold until I cracked it open today. It's been a while since I've had anything from Stone and although their IPA's were a big reason why I love that style so much now, this one was just a bit underwhelming to me...

The pour was decent as the liquid was golden, fairly translucent, and topped off with plenty of head. Only a few scattered sections of lacing were left behind once I took my first few sips. Tons of floral notes, citrus pith, dry lime, and smooth hops could be found in the nose but the overall appeal was that of a dry and earthy beer. That's exactly what this turned out to be once I sipped this as it felt much stronger than a session IPA and I needed a chaser of water to fully get this down. Some prickly pear cactus and pine emerged as this warmed up but the basic malt presence and grassy aftertaste weren't enough to put this over the top.

Regardless of the flavor profile, the lack of discernible alcohol made this somewhat easy to quaff and the slightly resinous aftertaste was a pleasant reminder that this was indeed an IPA and not a Pale Ale. Not really feeling this one but because of the age, it's hard to tell whether that was because of my inaction in getting around to this or the beer itself. If you're looking for a "light' version of their flagship IPA, reach for this and please, consume it fresh!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Go To IPA pours a slightly cloudy golden yellow with a big 1 finger rocky and soapy looking head that fades rather slowly. The smell is dank and hop forward from the Cascade hops, with hints of stone fruit, citrus and a lemon zest with grapefruit and floral notes, along with a bit of malt sweetness. Let’s see how it goes down…rather smooth across the palette with a medium mouthfeel. You get a nice dose of pithy citrus up front with some tropical fruits with a good pine bite. The sweet malt follows with a bit of prickly carbonation. As it finishes quite dry.