14th Anniversary Emperial IPA - Double Dry-Hopped
Stone Brewing

 

 

 

 

2/5/2011

On tap at Stone Winter Storm 2011

A: Yellow with a white head.

S: Lemon, orange, tangerine, grass, earth, grapefruit, slightly medicinal. Light sweetness.

T: Upper moderate astringent bitterness. Earthy and medicinal with peach, orange, grapefruit. Healthy dose of alcohol. Astringent finish.

M: Lower medium body with moderate carbonation. Mouthfeel is sticky, dry, and astringent.

Overall: I preferred the regular version.

Review from notes taken on 10/1/10 at the Stone total tap takeover at the Alewife.

Pours a light yellow color that is fairly clear with a very faint bit of haze. A thin film of white bubbles appears at the top but anything reminescent of a head is pretty much non existent until the glass is swirled. Upon swirling a white cap about a finger strong forms and then fades quickly leaving a bit of lacing on the glass.

The aroma of this brew has a huge hop presence. It is a dominating smell that can only be described as dank. Such a very fresh herbal and dank smell to this brew that is unlike any other example I have had. Once you smell through the hop assault character of herbs, citrus, pine and light fruit almost like mango there is a bit of plastic scent that just doesn't fit. The malt character seems almost smoked and also out of place.

The taste of this brew is quite herbal and also dank-like. A citrus flavor that is almost overboard on hops that taste grassy, smoked and minorly plastic like. There is a light grain backing along with the alcohol showing through. I would appreciate more malt backing to this brew considering how intense the hop character is. More malt character would increase the drinkability for me, but as it is it isnt that bad. This is a light to medium bodied brew with a modest level of carbonation. Really a killer knockout punch of hops that had such a peculiar dank smell that seemed to cover up some flaws in the base of the brew.

Had at the Stone Tap Takeover in Charlotte. Served from tap into a tumbler. Poured golden yellow with a minimal white head. Maintained nice lacing throughout. The aroma was comprised of a big hop note with little else to be found. The flavor was more of the same with a big hop dropkick to your palate that was somehow very subtle with a nice piney aspect to it. It had a medium feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this was a very nice brew. The hop character dominated this one without a doubt but not in a palate invasive type of way. Could have been a little more complex to better balance it, but still excellent and worth seeking out. For me this was a nice brew to end my night on at the Stone Tap Takeover in Charlotte. Wish I could have tried more, but I am only one man...

On tap at Small Bar into a 10oz glass during the Stone event...Pours a bright gold with a white head, good retention...The aroma is very strong, you can tell its dry hopped as fresh but yummy hops show through...The taste is hop bomb for sure but this is incredibly drinkable. This takes the 14th anniversary beer to a whole new level. A beer worth trying for sure.

On-tap at Naja's

A: The pour is the same hazy golden yellow color with a finger's worth of white head.

S: The nose is definitely "dank". I get some body odor, farts, and urine. In terms of the more traditional hop aromas, I get some grass and tangerine.

T: This does taste better than I remember the original version being. Sweet tangerine and pineapple along with bitter grapefruit peel and a slight pine.

M: The body is medium and so is the carbonation.

D: I liked the way this beer tasted, but I just couldn't get over the nose. Just unfortunate.

On tap at Churchkey last night, double dry hopping this beer did not improve it at all.

Beer is yellow with a mild haze and a thin broken head of tiny bubbles. The beer almost smells like feet, I guess they dry hopped with English hops, its mildly grassy and has this odd background aroma to it.

The beer is light in body and only mildly bitter with an odd plasticy flavor. Oh well.

On tap at Churchkey.

Pours a vibrant apricot with a nice, fluffy white head and loads of lacing on the way down. Nose is unpleasant to say the least. White there are some herbal and citrus hops, this is dominated by an off dirty sock smell. Taste brings this even further down. Loads of dirty laundry and then hints of soap to clean it up. Certainly not the glassware as this went around a few times and it never got any better. Feel was off as well without much bitterness. Not drinkable at all.

Now I loved the regular 14th anniversary ale, but this was just a rather big miss IMO. While it looks just like the regular 14th with a clear yellow orange with a dense white head with excellent clarity and nice lacing, it does smell a little more intense. This really is like dish soap (in as nice a way as possible) with plenty of laundry detergent thrown in for good measure. Some citrus character is present as well, this just enhances the soapy character. Unique and enjoyable, it reminds me of Cascade. The soap, not the hop. I have to stress that I enjoyed the nose. The palate - not so much. A crazy, herbal and soapy hop flavor is present with a lemony resin and a moderately sweet but resiny character. Resiny and bitter on the finish, this is a little too intense for my liking. Medium in body and moderately carbonated, the finish is just too damn soapy for its own good. Unique? Yes. Enjoyable? Not so much