Ghost Hammer
Stone Brewing

Wonderful head production, with a 12 ounce can easily filling an imperial pint. Retention of the snow white fluffy head is equally impressive, and leaves behind waves of thick lacing. Body is very barely hazy and quite lively, almost perfectly transparent through the light haze, with a light gold hue. I get the impression that this is an unfiltered ale, albeit more in the traditional WC-IPA style, where unfiltered doesn't equal opaque.

Moderately dank aroma, with pepper and strong notes of lemon zest. Touches of grass, resin, orange, papaya, and mango. The lemon is quite potent, and certainly not unappealing.

Unsurprisingly, the flavor can't quite carry those strong notes to the palate. It's actually a little sickly sweet, with the dank Loral presentation coming through stronger than on the nose. A little beer-skunk up front, but not unpleasant; plenty of grass; fairly green hop tone, along with sweet pale malt. The combination of dank hops and sweet malt is a bit of overload; it might work better in a lower ABV format, or in a DIPA featuring more hops in the overall blend to lend some variety and some sharper hop tones.

A touch slick on the palate, but it's lively, with plenty of bite, and it's quite drinkable. Resinous hop oil finish. Moderate-to-high bitterness, albeit nothing crazy for a modern IPA.

This is definitely a solid IPA, and it succeeds in highlighting Loral hops. I don't think it works the best as a showcase varietal, however, and works better adding its profile to a multi-hop IPA.

RB transfer

 

 

8/21/2020 originally rated. As I remember this beer being a strong hopped beer, though not overly so. It has a good malt backbone and slightly dry and bitter finish. 56 IBUs

12 oz can from Brewers Haven. Deep golden pour with a small, tight creamy head. Aroma brings caramel malts ith a light astringent edge. Taste starts with more caramel malts before turning to resinous, piney, juniper hops. All around solid IPA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at yard house
Golden look, poor lacing, poor smell (or lack thereof)
Tastes amazing with hints of peach and apricot.
Not too citrusy like most pale ales. Crisp finish. Outstanding tastes hindered by poor look and smell.

 

*Reviewed approximately 7 months after the brewed date and 3 months after the best-buy date*

Appearance: Pours a 90% clear, light golden color with a soft white head. SRM of 7-8. You know what, -0.25 for the look of the can. A silver font on a white background? Disaster. (3.50)

Aroma: A herbal with supporting lemon aroma. Some light pineapple & lemon before more herbs. Rounds into a lemon flavor. Even some green fruit come forward toward the end. As it warms, mostly herbal floral and not much lemon. (3.5)

Flavor: Light flavors of lemon and green fruit. Maybe some light pineapple and flower, but very tame nonetheless. Not a whole lot to find here. Some herbal quality through the middle. A soft creamy flavor comes through on the end to clean it off. Restrained bitterness. As it warms, again mostly herbal floral and not much lemon. (3.25)

Feel: Has a soft and creamy body. Medium-bodied and good carbonation. Probably the most redeeming thing about this beer. (4.00)

Compared to New Belgium's Voodoo Ranger IPA 4/11/20: Pours a lighter color. Stronger aromas. Has more fruity citrus notes, but still not too crazy. Less herbal and bitter. Overall, this Ghost Hammer is better believe it or not.

Overall: Pretty tame and not much here, granted I am drinking it after the expiration date. Hard to give it an accurate rating, but there's not a whole lot here. None of the flavors really define themselves. Hard to appreciate the Loral hops much. The slightly creamy body is somewhat redeeming. Maybe there's a reason this one sat on the shelf so long it was expired. I will give credit to Stone here though for making a best-buy date 4 months after the brewed date rather than 6 months. Demands freshness. If I find it fresh I might try it again sometime. (Final Rating: 3.42)

I got a can of this beer from a beer store in La Crosse,WI whilst there to bring my daughter home early from college......thanks alot covid 19. Anyway.....it poured a hazy yellow with white head that left some lace. The scent had bitter dank fruit notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with dank fruit presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it's a good beer.