Mixtape Ale Vol. 12 - Rhymes With E-Bag IPA
Stone Brewing

Very good. Hopppppppy!

 

 

this mixtape series is becoming a bust, so much cooler in theory than in reality this far, at least the ones i have had. how can this not be better than it is? on tap at tap and handle in fort collins, i expected a lot more. the fruit is really really subtle, lost as many nuances are in stone beers, to their stereotypical assertive and at times dominant hop bitterness. you would think peach and lemon would be awesome accent flavors in a pale ale and ipa blend, but they somehow manage not to get them to come though much at all. i dont know anything about fantasia hops either, this is the first i have heard of them, and from what i can tell, i like it. a sweet summery aroma that is almost a counterpoint to the bitterness of the base beers, vegetal but clean, floral too. i get a little of the lemon on the back end, but beyond that very little. the peach is way faint, i have to strain to find it on each sip, and its a tiring exercise. i will obviously keep trying these beers, eventually they will land a winner, but these have so far been nothing but underwhelming and lackluster. again, the idea trumps the execution by a considerable margin.