Ruination IPA
Stone Brewing

RB transfer

 

 

Rated 6-8-2019. I like Stone brewing because they brew beers with a lot of hops and not much bite and this is another good example of Stone4's hoppy beers.

Look: semi-clear dark golden or amber with thick slightly off-white head

Aroma: Citrus and floral piney aroma

Flavor: Caramel, citrus, grapefruit, pine resin, pleasant significant and long lasting bitterness.

Body/Overall: medium body, lots of flavor, I think it is great.

 

Very dank and bitter up-front, was hoping for some malt balance but that is not what this beer is about. A raw hop assault; very piney and dank.

 

 

 

 

 

Everything putos hate about IPA’s is exemplified in this beer. Nose is nice but not spectacular. Major (almost out of balance) hop bitterness that imparts notes of charred wood, sappy pine, and tongue-curdling resin. Vegetal undertones and light caramelized sugar. This is a T-Bone steak in a world of pant based hamburger patties. I’d like another.

 

I first tried Stone Ruination back in 2011 I think, and back then, it was a cloudy, boozy, obscenely hoppy mess with a booming head that stayed for a very long time.
I would have rated it 100 back then.
That being said, this brew has undergone several changes that make it more "mainstream," if you will.
Pours clear, dare I say urine colored, with a slightly off-white head that dwindles fairly quickly down to a film, leaving a little lacing as I drink.
Smell is pine resin mostly, with a bit of tart grapefruit. It smells pretty good, but it's nowhere near what it was 10 years ago.
Taste follows nose with pine resin and grapefruit and a small bit of sugar. More bitter than most IPAs on the market now, but tastes more like an IPA now rather than the true double-malt DIPA it used to be.
Mouthfeel is medium fullness, with slightly above average carbonation. Not really boozy like it used to be, which is good for some people, but for people want to know that they've drank a real beer, I like it the way it used to be a decade ago.
Overall, it's fine, even pretty good, but it's not at all what it was when Stone was ran by real beer nerds.

 

Pours a clear light golden orange, 1" head with very good retention and lacing. Nose is sweet and dank, overripe mango, resin, grapefruit, weed. Taste follows with a refreshing amount of pithy bitterness; citrus peel; small amount of sweetness creeps in, but overall an aggressive grapefruit and resin bitterness that is hard to fine anymore. Feel is medium with a light and creamy carbonation. Wish this was easier to find.

Note: This is likely my favorite beer, so my rating will be far above the deviation.

>> This is a bitter, aggressive, hop forward beer that will pucker the faces of many. It is a statement beer, and i've been drinking it (when available) for over 20 years. It likely has over 100 IBU's, however it does not have a long aftertaste, which makes you want to go back for another taste. It was eclipsed by a superior beer in 2012 called Stone RuinTen! (a masterpiece based on Ruination for the 10 year Anniversary), which hopefully some day will be resurrected).

Ruination is (for me) the very definition of West Coast DIPA: RESIN, PINE, GRAPEFRUIT, Dry Hopped, a medium body and most importantly, High Gravity.

I have a hard time finding this bottled (or canned), and I only live 300 miles from Escondido, CA.

Ruination is a bold standard for the West Coast double IPA that others try to follow. Buy it. Drink it.

Clear copper appearance with a large white head and some serious lacing. Big citrusy, piney aroma, with softer fruit becoming more pronounced as it settled back to room temperature. I know there’s some malt in there, but the balance was predominantly hoppy. A tiny bit of sweetness showed up near the finish. Medium-to-full bodied mouthfeel that was surprisingly smooth given the intense bitterness.

12 ounce can poured into a Tulip.
Canned 1/17/24

L: Clear gold pour shows tiny slow rising bubbles, 1" white head, dense rocky foam is fairly persistent, leaves a bit of lace.
S: Fruity and resinous hops, some pine and hints of bread grain malt come later.
T: Opens with piney hops, aggressive bitterness builds to the finish, closes with zesty orange peel bitterness, a caramel malt foundation lurks beneath the massive hop flavor.
F: Medium-weight body opens crisp with an underlying softness that becomes creamy later in the glass.
O: Super hoppy and bitter as expected, serious West Coast Double.