14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
Stone Brewing

14th Anniversary Emperial IPA14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
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From:
Stone Brewing
 
California, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
8.9%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.86 | pDev: 13.99%
Reviews:
577
Ratings:
780
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 17, 2023
Added:
Jun 19, 2010
Wants:
  10
Gots:
  44
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by CrellMoset:
Photo of CrellMoset
Reviewed by CrellMoset from Virginia

3.93/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
22 oz. bomber from the lovely, lovely folks at Kingdom Spirits in Brandon, FL. Served in a 14 oz. tulip.

Appearance: Pours a hazy-as-all-get-out tangerine, a really gorgeous sunset hue. It's actually not entirely opaque around the edges, but mere microns under the surface it transforms completely in to a turgid, murky mass. The head - ecru, foamy, meringue-like - has great stick around the edges of the glass but not in the middle, resulting in a caldera-like effect. The above suggests two things, both true: 1) the retention leaves a little to be desired, and the head fades pretty quickly in the center to a creamy, disuniform surface blob; and 2) the stick on the sides of the glass is much better, with the initial head recession leaving nice sheets of rocky, crystalline snow and successive sips leaving nice patches of the same.

Aroma: This beer's weakest aspect. It's not terribly robust or complex, with the main notes being the astringent, chemically hop acids, some faintly sweet tropical fruits, and tobacco biscuits. What? You've never had a tobacco biscuit? Well, neither have I, but if I were to have one, it would likely taste like this.

Taste: I suppose if there was ever intended to be an imperial (emperial?) English IPA, this is what it would taste like. First, the obvious - this is a pretty bitter beer, and the quenching dryness and mineral-like qualities of the water do definitely play a part here, in precisely the same way they do in any good English IPA - amplifying bitterness and dryness. The bitterness would likely have been intense and forward even without this amplifying characteristic, but it does help either way. The hop profile also augments the bitterness - very piney and herbal, with a slew of leafy and tobacco-like notes mingling with freshly cut grass and hay. There's also a good amount of lighter citrus and tropical fruits, too, which seem - if not entirely out of place in an English-esque IPA - a little odd. They don't taste bad - they do lend a nice amount of freshly squeezed orange juice, pithy tangerine, and peach puree - but they're not strictly what I would expect from this one. The malt base is much more faithful, though - simply sweet, with just a kiss of roast, but mostly crackery, biscuity, and actually fairly perfectly balanced between dryness and residual sugars.

Mouthfeel: Plenty of carbonation in a very well-balanced body (w/ re: to attenuation) makes for a fluffy, ethereal, and even and eminently velvety mouthfeel. It's an interesting juxtaposition with what is essentially a fairly bitter, abrasive flavor profile, though I think it works pretty well (and, of course, it's very well made).

Drinkability: People seem to be pretty down on both of Stone's latest releases in their two longest running series (the 14th Anniversary and the VE 10.10.10), and I think the pessimism is a little more deserving in the case of this beer. On the one hand, both series suffer from pretty high expectations and very wide availability (a variable directly related to the supply of criticism). But, on the other, this beer just simply isn't as good as, say, Stone X or Stone XI (or even Stone XII, the difficulty of such a cross-style comparison notwithstanding). That's not to say it's bad or poorly made - it's good, and is well made. But it's not as good, as complex, as flavorful as either of two DIPAs were (and both are among my all time favorites). The 8.9% keeps this one drinkable (for the style), but give me the X or XI any day of the week. Keep pushing the envelope, though, Stone - your hits far, far outweigh your misses, and your misses are hardly even that.
Nov 24, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of GarrettB
Reviewed by GarrettB from Colorado

3.74/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
November 3rd, 2016 - Another big, bad and bold IPA from Stone on store shelves is always promising. This pours like so many other in their genre, a small crown of white head and a dusty, tan color. The aroma is predictably bold and big with hop notes, leaning in with grapefruit and underripe pineapple. The flavor is both dry and sweet, like a well crafted tiki drink, and sparkles with some Countreau in the aftertaste. A sophisticated IPA, it has a few layers to offer, and makes for a nice break from the San Diego IPA staples.
May 17, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Apr 08, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by heysuz from Indiana

Apr 08, 2018
Photo of OKCNittany
Rated by OKCNittany from Oklahoma

3.85/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
from very old notes
Mar 22, 2018
 
Rated: 3.98 by Khaack from New York

Oct 27, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by C_Adams from Ohio

Oct 23, 2017
Photo of TylerGray27
Rated by TylerGray27 from Connecticut

3.92/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
This beer was almost a year old as I was rating this
Aug 09, 2017
 
Rated: 3.97 by Coltron23 from Connecticut

Aug 09, 2017
 
Rated: 4.22 by dpgoblejr from New Hampshire

Aug 05, 2017
 
Rated: 3.18 by dms1767 from Nebraska

Feb 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4.35 by Jodio from Texas

Feb 06, 2017
 
Rated: 3.34 by DeathByPuppy from Virginia

Jan 29, 2017
 
Rated: 3.91 by GeorgeAKeim from Oregon

Jan 17, 2017
 
Rated: 3.83 by hozersr from Pennsylvania

Dec 25, 2016
 
Rated: 4.03 by shagal from Canada (AB)

Dec 21, 2016
 
Rated: 3.88 by CJNAPS from California

Dec 18, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Gkruszewski from New York

Dec 14, 2016
 
Rated: 4.27 by RobertJBeer from New Jersey

Dec 02, 2016
Photo of drdiesel9483
Reviewed by drdiesel9483 from Ohio

3.85/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
For Looks, this beer was really really cloudy with a yellowish color and a slight head. For the smell you could get so musty citris hops. Taste was wierd and I feel like it was somewhat english style but more booze and somehwat citrusy, very different. medium body and carbs. Overall this beer is very different like what I noted about the taste but not something I would want to drink again.
Nov 27, 2016
14th Anniversary Emperial IPA from Stone Brewing
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 780 ratings