Downunderstruck IPA
Stone Brewing

 

 

 

Poured into pint glass, good head that dissipates nicely to a finger. Darker golden look, a bit darker than most Stone fares. I approached this one figuring it would have the usual Stone 'taste' (Stone is a favorite of mine, so this isn't a slight) but it really does have a different hop attack. Still aggressively hop-forward, tropical/citrus-y with less of the bitter lingering on the tongue than other Stone offerings. Of all their west-coast, high-hop iterations I've had, this one is stands out different... their Jindia Pale Ale was an obvious 'different' and I think this is, too. Quite good.

 

 

 

 

 

Grabbing suds at a place called Bee-Gee’s
Strong beers with strong ABV
I found a strange brew, I never heard of
With Aussie hops and rock band reference
And I said

Should I buy cans of Down Under?
Stone Brewing makes some wonders
Drink too much too much and you’ll chunder
Of course I buy cause I'm a beer lover

 

Poured into a wide mouth, grip shaped goblet: color is gold, transparent, head is off white with mixed bubbles and presents 1 finger thick and dissipates to nothing.

Smell is citrus pith, herbal hops, pine, earth, moderate malt with hint of caramel.

Taste is big west coast DIPA, like an actual west coast ipa - big citrus and pine, earth, herbal notes, moderate malt with light toast and caramel, hint of booze and minerals.

Mouthfeel is moderate carbonation, moderate sweetness, high bitterness and to style.

Overall a slap in the tongue DIPA that provides slow growing aroma, big hop flavors and high bitter feel.

 

 

 

On tap at The Sheffield in Brighton, NY.

This one pours a clear golden orange color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells extremely, extremely bitter, like just burnt ashy pine and aspirin, with some grapefruit.

I love bitterness in IPAs – this is excessive. It’s tongue-splittingly bitter, like my tongue just got hit by lightning. There’s a lightly sweet malt backbone, and some very light citrusy/lemony hop character.

This has very little drinkability to it – the bitterness is just so chalky, medicinal, and astringent.

This was not enjoyable for me at all.

 

12 oz can served in a tulip glass. Packaged 04/19/23. Enjoy by 08/17/23. 20:52R

Appearance: Translucent golden yellow, 1/4" thick white head, lots of islands and strands of persistent lacing.

Smell: Lots of tropical fruit notes along with some citrus rind (grapefruit mostly). Strong aroma. The peaches show up more as the beer warms up.

Taste: Powerfully bitter - lots of fresh cut tropical fruit but even stronger citrus rind and definite grapefruit bitterness / tartness. Some underlying bready malt, but not a lot to counter the hops. Bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Sticky on the teeth, good thickness - smooth at first and then the hop oils attack and linger leaving some spiciness on the tongue.

Overall / Drinkability: A very powerful and hoppy DIPA. Quite the palate wrecker. I found I could only have one per sitting. Interesting, but I feel like the aspects of the Aussie hops they were trying to showcase are getting lost in this beer. Letting it warm up didn't seem to help the hop flavors pop more - it just got more bitter. Unbalanced, unfortunately.

 

Solid! This is sort of a Stone trademark hop forward beer. If you love the classic legendary bitter IPA's which start off strong and stick around the pallet for a while after, then you are going to like this one. Purchased from a mix-pack, poured from 12oz bottle in to Stone Brewing pint glass. A bit of head which stays active with lacing, and a nose which is fruity for sure. Grapefruit and Pine hits you solid in the face and wants to stick around for a while until you take the next drink! Aggressive. It will taste a bit boozy for many because the ABV is not hidden well. It could have more mouth feel (my opinion) honestly. I really love this one, because I can appreciate over hopped (and super dry) offerings such as Ruination. I'd like to find this as a six-pack. And I bet that it will keep in the bottle a bit longer than most DIPA's. Winner.