420 India Pale Ale
Stone Coast Brewing Co.

420 India Pale Ale420 India Pale Ale
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From:
Stone Coast Brewing Co.
 
Maine, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
6.9%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.62 | pDev: 12.43%
Reviews:
116
Ratings:
119
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 16, 2022
Added:
Oct 16, 2001
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  4
No description / notes.
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Ratings by enso:
Photo of enso
Reviewed by enso from Vermont

2.5/5  rDev -30.9%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
No freshness/bottled date evident. 12 oz. bottle poured into a Sam Adams glass. I have had this beer before and enjoyed it, sadly either this was a bad bottle or my memory was incorrect. Therefore...

Appearance: Pours a thick airy head even with slow careful pour. Large rocky bubbles. Golden orange color.

Aroma: Very unpleasant unfortunately. No hop aroma as such but a certainly some kind of infection. Not to be too harsh but the first thing that springs to mind is stomach bile. Acidic.

Taste: Sweetish upfront followed by roasty astringency. Hops are there somewhere but get lost in the astringent taste.

Mouthfeel: Good body for the style. Peppery carbonation perhaps a bit much which along with the initial pour leads me to further suspect some type of bacterial infection

Overall: Again I remember enjoying this beer before it has been a while. So I was rather disappointed. Perhaps I will try it again however with no way of knowing the age of the beer it may not be a risk i am willing to take.
Sep 02, 2008
More User Ratings:
Photo of tekstr1der
Reviewed by tekstr1der from New Hampshire

4.04/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Going off memory from when this brewery had a location in Laconia. It was the one and only classy establishment ever to exist in that building. Great food, fun atmosphere, and all of us early hopheads drank an insane amount of this brew. Harsh hop bite, but tasty as all get-out. Always fresh from the tap - never did see it in bottles/cans.
Mar 16, 2022
 
Rated: 2.75 by shade13

Jul 25, 2012
 
Rated: 1.75 by jfcaa193 from Canada (QC)

Feb 01, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by acurtis from New Jersey

Jan 18, 2012
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

2.98/5  rDev -17.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I received this bottle along with a bunch of other New England goodies from a very kind trader last week. I chilled this one down very well before serving it. Right out of the fridge it came and poured immediately into a pint glass. This one was consumed on 10/08/2008.

The pour came through as a gusher, right off the bat I knew it was going to be interesting. Tons of foam on this one led to a three part pour before I could empty the entire bottle. Still though, I was able to make out a nice dark amber color. Some good carbonation as you would expect coming up from the bottom on this one to reinforce a thick head of foam that was just about everywhere. Rich side glass lace, though it does lose some points for the gushing.

The aroma was rather pungent, with that vinegar like hop nose to it. No where near enough of a citrus touch to it, this was way too astringent to be over that pleasant. The flavor followed more of the same. Some of that sweaty gym sock like aroma from the hops, far too strong and really a bit repugnant. Some light grain sitting way underneath this, but still awfully one sided and lacking the depth I was hoping to find. Decent body though with a medium, almost chewy feel and a good amount of carbonation coming through, I cannot really take off too much in the way of drinking as it was session able enough, though the flavor, or lack of dimension hurt it some here.

Overall while not being terrible by any means, this was by no means a favorite of mine. I would have no issue trying it on tap as I may have just received a bad bottle, but no matter, it was still worth a shot.
Oct 17, 2008
Photo of thekevlarkid
Reviewed by thekevlarkid from Maryland

3.62/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Out of a bottle this beer was a slightly hazy copper color with a frothy head that retained fairly well as a khaki-colored collar and left some spotty lacing. The aroma was a nice balance of floral and citrus hops with some yeast and malt. The flavors were first all hops, more than the nose suggested, citrus and some pine. The bready malt was soon behind that and helped to balance the brew. The finish was dry, crisp and a little spicy with the hops having the last say. The body was medium and the carbonation was too. Nothing outrageous, but it was a good offering and one could go through a couple.
Oct 15, 2008
Photo of albern
Reviewed by albern from Massachusetts

4.32/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This is definitely a nouvelle type IPA and it is amazing the types of subtle hoppy floral flavors that brewers can extract from the fruits of the hops. This is an interesting and an enjoyable beer, and a slightly different twist on an AIPA. Definitely worth seeking out.

The beer pours a slightly cloudy darkish copper color with a ton of bubbly efforvescent head. The head poured over the edge of the glass and was prodigious. This beer retains and then some and also leave quite a bit of lacing. The aroma is strong, and I mean very strong, fruity hop aromas, and a burst of orange and lemon aromas. One reviewer called it raspberry and maybe that is just a accurate. The aroma is unmistakable and makes a genuine statement.

The taste is as the aroma would indicate. You will find a ton of estery and hoppy oil notes, a huge blast of orange and citrus sweetness, and very fresh florals, perhaps raspberry or some other lightish fruit. The beer is modestly creamy, medium bodied, not overly complex, and I just keep coming back to that huge palate of orange burst and florals. Wow, this is a powerfully hopped up floral IPA. The carbonation is modest, the mouthfeel is light and a bit watery, and not at all bittering considering the hops. There may be a bit of biscuity malts in there but they are hard to detect and the creaminess, what there is of it, is wherein the maltiness lies. The finish is clean and fairly light and refreshing. This beer is worth seeking out just to experience a prodigious orange burst in the hop experience. L'Chaim.
Aug 09, 2008
Photo of Georgiabeer
Reviewed by Georgiabeer from Georgia

3.9/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Had this on tap at the Great Lost Bear in Portland, Maine. Pours an orange amber. Off-white head sticks around a bit and leaves some nice lacing as well. Spicy with pine on the nose, some white pepper and some crackery malt. The taste is a tad thin and with some grain based sourness up front, but with a nice piney and herbal bitterness and firm, chewy malt. The mouthfeel is firm, but not thick. Fairly nice, if a little one dimensional. Still, I enjoyed it.
Aug 06, 2008
Photo of Kendo
Reviewed by Kendo from New York

3.62/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A: Poured into a Duvel tulip. Body is brownish and hazy with a quick-settling ivory head that leaves no lace behind.

S: All hop juice -- pine and grass dominate and are pretty strong.

T: Those grassy hop flavors dominate in a big way. I get a hint of biscuity malt laying a foundation, but it's mainly about grassy hops. Also a touch of dry lemony bitterness as well. Grassy taste lingers.

M: Lighter than expected, heft-wise. Call it slightly lighter than medium.

D: OK -- leans a little too much toward one-dimensional dry grassiness to give it a better score here.
Jul 16, 2008
Photo of mrmanning
Reviewed by mrmanning from Canada (ON)

3.05/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Bottle-Deep mahogany liquid, pours a frothy, and short lived eggshell head. The aroma is heavy on the bread crust and dark fruit, with some hops (pine, citrus), and quite a dose of raspberry iced tea. Tasted of fruity malts, bread crust, some caramel, a little low on the hops, and certainly low on bitterness. Finishes with a blast of raspberry iced tea. Strange example of an IPA, and if I had to guess, I'd say an EPA.
Jul 03, 2008
Photo of almychristopher
Reviewed by almychristopher from New York

3.73/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
pours a hazy amber with a big rocky head with a bit of citrus smell. The taste provides a good hop flavor, still with the citrus, and maybe a bit of pineyness too. Of course the malts are there too, which lends to the mouthfeel, in combination with the carbonation level it balances out pretty well. I'd take another.
Jun 10, 2008
Photo of allergictomacros
Reviewed by allergictomacros from Canada (ON)

3.76/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
A - Pours a hazy amber with a copious and solid, rocky head and patchy lace.

S - Hoppy nose. Grapefruit, oranges and the like. Hint of graininess.

T - Hoppy flavour with an solid underlying malt balance. Not especially bitter though. Fairly sweet, grassy, and fruity.

M - Medium-slick body is substantial, but not too heavy. Carbonation is low, which I really like.

D - Very drinkable, solid IPA. Some nice flavours and feels really good, and is well balanced.
Jun 06, 2008
Photo of JMScowcroft
Reviewed by JMScowcroft from Vermont

3.38/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Look - Cool stoner label. Pours peach colored and settles a gentle amber in the glass. Nice looking, light on the fizz with a creamy, foamy head.

Smell - Hoppy and smooth, mouth-watering.

Taste - Bubbly and creamy followed by the hops, and then the hops stay. Just average here.

Mouthfeel - Hoppy and a slight bit overpowering, which is standard for this type of beer, but that's still no excuse.

Drinkability - A little below average drinkability. The mouthfeel creates an unpleasant aura so you won't go rushing for the fridge.

Best served very, very cold.
May 02, 2008
Photo of dsa7783
Reviewed by dsa7783 from New Jersey

3.91/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12 oz, single bottle recently purchased from my weekend haul at Monarch Liquors in Long Island, NY for $1.99...
First-ever beer from this American brewery...
A subtle pour resulted in a hazy, murky, cloudy, orange-colored hue with a gigantic foamy head that slowly dissipated and left a copious amount of lacing...
Modest aroma bursting with fresh hops, pines, citrus, and grapefruit...
Nice, true-to-the-style IPA flavor, with a noticeable suggestion of fresh, wet, piney hops, sour citrus, grapefruit, florals, and earthy tones...
Nice, creamy, rich mouthfeel bursting with flavor...
Good level of drinkability with a nice, impressive 6.9% ABV...
Very good stuff from this previously unknown brewery...
A well-rounded depiction of the style...
Recommended...
Apr 26, 2008
Photo of paulthebeerguru
Reviewed by paulthebeerguru from Florida

3.42/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Poured into a snifter. 420 IPA pours a hazy, yellowish orange with a hint of red to it. Atop the brew is a nice off white head, with decent retention which leads to some light lacing. The aroma is a strong, sweet floral smell, with some hints of citrus, as well as some sweet grains. The beer tastes like tea with wet hops. Tastes dry-hopped eventhough the bottle didn't say anything. The taste is a little light on the flavor compared to the aroma. Mouthfeel is smooth, yet a little dry. Mild to high on the carbonation level. At 6.9% some may not call this a session beer, but I beg to differ. It is smooth and has a different flavor than most IPAs, which makes the drinker take their time a little more, but not like a big beer.
Mar 29, 2008
Photo of Metalmonk
Reviewed by Metalmonk from North Carolina

3.24/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
My only bottle has an upside-down label, which I thought might have been intentional (considering the name of the beer) until I looked here. In any case...

The color is great, a sunset red/orange thing, and the head starts big and fluffy, reducing to a creamy layer after a little bit. Good retention there too, and notable lace. But without any unusual agitation, and having stored it upright, there emerged a zillion chunky bits into the glass on the pour. I usually don't mind those sorts of things, but with an IPA, it's not all that attractive. Kind of worrying, actually...

Nice aroma, pretty huge on the hops, very pure...you know exactly what kind of beer it is, so they nailed that part. There's a biscuity undertow from the malt to help with balance, but this is clearly all about hops.

Flavor is one-dimensional. If only a little bit of malty sweetness could get through, but it doesn't stand a chance. A pretty crazy hop-bomb: leafy, grassy, resiny, sour, even soapy...no real regard to balance. I like it actually, but it gets a little coarse on the tongue after a bit. Finishes with a harsh hop bite...surprising! (Maybe if all that sediment weren't present, it would be a different story, but this is my one and only bottle.)

Mouthfeel is light in weight but fairly heavy on carbonation, giving this a prickly texture. Just what it needed...yeah right.

I'm torn.

Here's where the "average" rating of a 3 shows its weakness. While I gave a 3 in most categories--because of attacking one-dimensional hoppiness and ugly sedimentation--it's anything but "average". What it is is nuts. Very unbalanced, no real depth, but damn it I love hops and it delivers on that front. Where the more sublime beers in this style waltz in with an astonishing beauty, this one staggers in drunkenly, pisses on the floor, and leaves with a grunt. It ain't pretty. Recommended to hopophiles only.
Mar 18, 2008
Photo of BlackBearForge
Reviewed by BlackBearForge from Florida

3.71/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
(Received in trade from Cookin420)

This IPA pours a hazy deep golden amber with a one finger creamy off white head but little lacing (perhaps my glasses fault).

The clean scent is faint, but what I pick up is fresh grassy hops with a faint sweet malt tone as well.

Flavor has an inital biscuity malt kick with a strong, dry and nicely bitter finish. Flavors picked up: butterscotch, pine, grapefruit and faint sour fruits. No big complex falovors but all nicely balanced I feel.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and nicely carbonated, and a little slick/oily.

Overall this is a good solid beer from a regional Maine brewery. Not a standout I think, but If it were available to me on a regular basis I imagine I would develop quite the taste for it, the bitter finish is quite nicely done.
Feb 10, 2008
Photo of bboven
Reviewed by bboven from Texas

2.7/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Very dark copper and hazy body, but a nice head and lots of lacing saves it.

Initial hops but they fade after the swirl and give way to some malt and yeast character. Nothing stands out here.

Something stands out here, and that's the huge metal aftertaste. The hops are there, lending a citrus-metal combo, with tons of harsh bitterness in the end. The malt is there faintly in the beginning, but completely lost by the end.

Nicely carbonated, slightly drying, but sticky and bitter in the back.

Glad I tried it, but I would not recommend it. Way too metallic and there's a punching bitterness at the end that's not at all curbed.
Jan 31, 2008
Photo of SirSaranac
Reviewed by SirSaranac from New York

3.66/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Well... I didn't have much of an opinion going into this review... this was a first for me, and I have quite the standard set for IPA's... but lets see what type of impact this brew has on me...

A- Looks great for an IPA... Nice 2 finger head that trails into great lacing.... Dark amber in color, visible sediment... Moderate carbonation. Interesting..

S- A nice well balanced hop oil hits the nose, but isn't real strong. Yeast and malt are also present, but neither are impressive in intensity.

T- A tasty piny hop hits the tongue and sticks until finally fading out. Although hoppy, it's rather one dimensional... but where is the malt???? Furthermore, the hops just isn't very intricate. The taste is good for what it is, but rather unimpressive in complexity.

M- Light... waterdown almost.... Nice hop bite however.

D- Well there's so many good IPA's out there, this is held to a high standard. This would satisfy my hop desire on most nights, and I would drink it socially... however, it's just not as good as other IPA's on the market. Solid beer though, I'd drink it socially on any occasion.
Jan 29, 2008
420 India Pale Ale from Stone Coast Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 119 ratings