Mocha IPA
Stone Brewing

Draft at Bittercreek Stone tap takeover. Last of the evening. Very subdued mocha in this, hints of chocolate, hints of coffee, but hops still front and center. As a Stone IPA, you know its good, so the mocha accents add a bit of extra dimension to this beer.

July 17th, 2016 - Mocha stouts I get, and Stone's IPAs I get, but the crossroads of the two styles here is a weird trip. It looks more like an IPA than a Stout, with an auburn, hazy hue and a robust head that surgically seals the beer from the air. Piney and herbal, the smell is rich with the smells of the mountainside, but with a visible vein of Stumptown coffee running through the limestone. The flavor, though odd and contradictory, is quite good, blending expresso notes seamlessly with an herbal, grassy hoppy character. Odd, but shockingly well blended.

 

revisiting in celebration of the new Stone coffee ipa release

my old notes have this thing pegged as an absolute anomaly; reaching towards two things at once and accomplishing something that transcends either of the original references. that is to say, perfect alchemy.
it pours an almost unassuming dark hazy amber body with a resilient foamy cream head that settles to a halo, leaving patchy but prominent lacing
the smell is *what* mixed with *whoooa* - a true "chocolate in my peanut butter, pb in my chocolate" moment; coffee bean, chocolate with dark stone fruit floating in the middle of grapefruit, resinous, herbal hop. "effffffff"
the taste blows the mind accordingly. perfectly harmonious, chocolate dipped perfect hops.
feels mid-carb and mid-bodied. slightly dry finish that lingered into oblivion and dreams.

overall:
such a beautiful mindmeldingblend of all things holy in the brew world. it's kinda funky and stretches expectation, but bless stone for the balls to pull this one off.

Damn if corpulent didn't warn me about this one. How they can make something as awesome as Dayman IPA and then turn this dud out. . .

Anyways, pours a dark caramel color, you know in the good coffee non stout/porter beers I've had, they were lighter than this. Interest piqued. 2/3" off white head. Ooof candied peach rings and espresso. If a band sponsored this beer, it would be The Clash.

Taste keeps up the divide, now there is a chocolate note to it, there is some hoppy bitterness, candied citrus and tropical fruit, oh man. The alcohol is all here, and it even manages to amp the bitterness up I suspect. I dunno, dayman was awesome and this isn't, even though from the outset it doesn't look like the recipes would be that different?

Sure would be nice if they offered both beers at the same time for a side by side. But I'm telling you, these two would appear to be practically the same beer, but the experience was quite different for me.

 

 

Bottled 5/14/16; drank 6/9/16 @ the Yarchives.

See-through red/orange appearance.

A rough pour yielded a nice eggshell head; a curtain of frothy lace.

Mango, medium roast coffee bean & dark chocolate notes in the nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Mango, medium roast coffee bean & chocolate syrup flavors; no booze heat.

I came in with very low expectations, but this was delicious; coffee & chocolate forward with a nice mango balance. Excellent & dangerously drinkable.

An odd flavor combination that just doesn't seem to work for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Difficult review to write, given my strong bias for ANY Stone brew. However, this is a not my favorite of beers. I appreciate the creative journey the brewmasters are taking with this IPA, but I feel the mocha stout style didn't blend well with the IPA. Poured deep amber with a nice thin head. Smelled of faint cocoa and coffee liqueur. Tasted just as it smelled but more forward. I could pick up much hop aroma because the cocoa and coffee flavor carried pretty heavily. Overall it was drinkable, but simply not my style. I rate the beer for the quality it is and the quality it was made of.