840 India Pale Ale
Stone Coast Brewing Co.

840 India Pale Ale840 India Pale Ale
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From:
Stone Coast Brewing Co.
 
Maine, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
8.5%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.56 | pDev: 12.92%
Reviews:
48
Ratings:
49
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 25, 2012
Added:
Jun 28, 2005
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by RedChrome:
Photo of RedChrome
Reviewed by RedChrome from Connecticut

3.55/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Slightly hazed orange colored body. Half an inch white head shrank a bit before holding on a while. Only a handful of small slowly rising bubbles. Sticky lacing rings the glass.

An earthy pine blends with a light citric finish in the first nose full. Malt is very subdued, but has a light a butterscotch scent. A gritty soap like scent coats the scents.

Malt is stronger then in the nose. Grain flavors mix with a slight pine bitterness. Citrus is also faint. A very light alcohol warming ends up in the back of the mouth.

Decent viscosity in the mouth. Carbonation tingles a bit up top but slowly dies down.

A good offering. This would pair nice with a plate of cheddar and crackers. Nothing to stand out in a field crowded with good offerings. Try it, but don't bother hunting for it.
Aug 18, 2007
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.75 by shade13

Jul 25, 2012
Photo of mshallah
Reviewed by mshallah from New Hampshire

3.85/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Hazy, dark orange amber with a smallish head that's sticky. Fruity aromas of peaches with a caramel sweetness from the malt. Taste is the fruity, malty base with lots of bitterness building on top with every sip. Alcohol adds some warmth that borders on heat. Could use more hops in the aroma but other than that an enjoyable beer for a late night sipper.
Sep 26, 2008
Photo of BattleRoadBrewer
Reviewed by BattleRoadBrewer from Massachusetts

2.8/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
Served cool from silkscreened brown bomber into Boston Lager glass.

Pours with a gigantic rocky head that persists forever. Color is hazy, even cloudy, dark amber.

Aroma is spicy with fusels and a hint of hops that goes away as it warms up.

Flavor is hot with alcohol and spicy. Notably bitter.

Drinkability is poor. It's a sipper, tough to get down. I didn't finish this one.
Sep 19, 2008
Photo of ElGaucho
Reviewed by ElGaucho from Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a ruddy-orange-red hue with a nice dense off-white head and some sticky lacing. Nose is very rich and malty for a IIPA, with strong hints of sweet pastry and toffeeish complexity, along with a hefty heaping of piney, resiny hops. Hops come more to the front on the smooth palate, with a definite biscuity malt character lurking in the background, and a smooth yet punchy leafy hop finish. Refreshingly lacking in citrus style hops, although my bottle did seem to show some irony oxidation initially, so perhaps it was a bit past its prime. Still, a unique take on the style.
Sep 15, 2008
Photo of Boto
Reviewed by Boto from Connecticut

4.2/5  rDev +18%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22oz. bomber: This one pours a fairly clear, slightly orangish lighter amber color. A bit of an off-white head on mine. The nose is citrusy, and mainly grapefruit and a hint of orange. Maybe a hint of grassiness also. Some malts poking their head up also. The taste is good. Somewhat surprising to have some of the malt sweetness hit you first, followed by a citrus hop bite. Pretty well balanced. Nice!
Aug 17, 2008
Photo of Reagan1984
Reviewed by Reagan1984 from Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A buddy of mine brought this bottle over about a month or so ago. I threw it in the fridge and figured I'd get to it over the next several weeks. Then I saw the thread that announced this brewery was closing. I followed that thread on this site and was struck by the positive comments I heard. Last night that friend and I shared the bomber and raised our glasses to all those who had worked at the brewery. I informed my buddy that this may be the first and last time we enjoy this beer.

When poured from the 22oz bomber, this beer formed a nice creamy head that was off white and about 2 fingers thick. This head had lots of structure and remarkable retention. The beer was somewhat cloudy and a deep amber color. Lacing was quite thick and clumpy

Aroma was a nice mix of caramel notes and very ripe pineapple.

Flavor was quite pleasing and nicely balanced. There were some initial caramel/malt notes that gave way to a slight spiciness and a burst of ripe pineapple flavor. Then a nice hop bitterness made the scene and helped finish out the flavor profile. You did get a bready sense towards the end and warmth from the alcohol. You couldn't really taste the alcohol, but you knew it was there.

Mouth feel was medium bodied and the beer was slightly sticky. Carbonation was very mild and appropriate.

Nicely drinkable. A good effort.

Not sure it really stands out in the crowd which may be the issue the brewery faced.

I wish them all luck. If I see another bottle, I'd pick it up.
Aug 01, 2008
Photo of Kendo
Reviewed by Kendo from New York

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A: Sampled on the heels of their 420, I split the bomber with a friend. Poured into a Duvel tulip, the body is hazy brownish-amber with a small ivory head. Some rings of lace on the way down.

S: First impression is that it's not terribly strong -- the 420 had more hoppiness in the nose than its big brother. What's there is florally hops.

T: Some caramel malt followed by spicy hops and a bite of black pepper. Finishes dry, with some lemony citrus at the finish and then pine (resin or even tar) and grass lingering afterwards. Taste seems to get better as it warms -- at first it's all about the spice, but it seems to mellow a little as the temperature climbs.

M: A bit sticky or resiny, but not in a bad way. Medium in heft.

D: Pretty good overall -- better as it warmed up a bit.

Notes: I had this immediately following it's half-brother, Stone Coast 420. Definitely preferred the 840, as the 420 was a bit too one-dimensionally bitter. . . .
Jul 16, 2008
Photo of Matty1918
Reviewed by Matty1918 from Massachusetts

2.59/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Poured from a 22oz bomber into a pint glass.

8.6 ABV

Pours a very cloudy dark amber with a massive, creamy white head. Retention is very impressive...nice amount of lacing also.

A very malty aroma at first...very sweet like molasses. The hops are there in the background.... a little citrus aroma but this is all about the malts for the aroma.

Ummm the fist sip is...well...it's very malty with some hop bitterness there also. Not well balanced as the malts are very overpowering. A slight nutty taste in the end. This almost tastes like burnt syrup that was loaded with frsh hops. Maybe this would be better aged some bit.

Mouthfeel...not the greatest...alcohol burns the nostrils when you try to get a feel for it.

Well I'd have to say this was not very enjoyable. I would like to see how this is after say a year of aging.
Jun 30, 2008
Photo of indiapaleale
Reviewed by indiapaleale from Maine

3.06/5  rDev -14%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
The 840 pours a hefty dark, thick amber color. On top is a big, fat, fluffy head. Another one that looks like someone poured pancake batter on top of it. The head settle nicely though and I'm left with about a finger's worth of head that really leaves some nice lacing on the sides of the glass. Not a bad looking pour at all.

Smell is unique. First scent that comes to me is bubblegum but that quickly turns to some citrusy and earthy hops smells. A little bit of grapefruit and some herbal scents finish things up. I don't really get a lot of those big, fresh intense hop smells like some of the big West Coast dIPAs but I am going in with an open mind.

First thing that hits me is the bitterness that takes over my mouth. Its pretty intense and rather sharp. Once you get over that you can taste some citrus and also some very sweet and syrupy notes. Its note exactly balanced like some bigger IPAs. It falls into the category of one-sided. Its definitely a strong and warming beer and its not altogether a bad brew, its just a little off from the style. Maybe its the hop varieties used or maybe the balance? Who knows.
May 31, 2008
Photo of LeftyBWS
Reviewed by LeftyBWS from Pennsylvania

3.21/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 22 oz. brown bomber into a pint glass.
A: Ambery orange colored brew. First pour has a huge head, thick and frothy, 2 inches at least, and it doesn't want to go away. There are lacing rings spaced out down the side of the glass, as well. Looks tasty. The head is just as big on the second pour!
S: Murky mixture of hops and malts. I smell caramel and pine mostly, with some more muddled scents mixed in, kind of an earthy hodgepodge. It's not unpleasant, but it's not the nice hoppy bouquet I expect from a DIPA.
T: Grainy, malty and slightly sweet at first, with just a tingle of hops. The middle lets out some more floral hop flavors, but not much. The finish is more of the same, with a little alcohol taste lingering. This does not seem like an IPA.
M: Okay, but really missing out on the hoppy bite.
D: Meh, taste is fine, but this is really weird for the style.
May 23, 2008
Photo of Wasatch
Reviewed by Wasatch from Colorado

3.83/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Thanks goes out to ybnorml for this one.

22oz. Bomber

Pours a nice clean/clear golden amber/orange color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger plus creamy tannish head, lots of nice sticky lacing follows. The nose is malty, with some hops, some citrus, slight pines, with a good dose of caramel. The taste is sweet, bitter, dry, malty/hoppy (nice blend), with some caramel tones. Medium body. Drinkable, this is a tasty brew. Also this is my first Stone Coast brew, thanks Wayne.
May 05, 2008
Photo of Kegatron
Reviewed by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a clear dark amber with 2 fingers of foamy off-white head. Retains down nicely into a thin, creamy layer that leaves big, sticky hop lacing all down the sides of the glass. The aroma is big resinous hops, lots of citrus character, some peppery spice, with some sweet maltiness backing it up.

The taste is assertive, piney hops up front with a pretty big dose of tangy citrus character and a fairly beefy malt backbone to real things in. The mouthfeel is a thick medium with a creamy feel and just a touch of alcohol in the body.

This is solid all around DIPA from Stone Coast with big hops and I really liked the up front citrus notes that added some nice tartness with all of that bitterness. Pretty drinkable too for a higher ABV beer. Check some out if you come across it.
Apr 16, 2008
Photo of HopDerek
Reviewed by HopDerek from Pennsylvania

4.12/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a clear amber with burnt orange hues, 1 inch of foamy tan head has average retention and sticky lacing. Smells big of grapefruit and pine with some caramel mixed in. Tastes of grapefruit up front with a honey and caramel backbone and a strong juniper finish, like sucking on a pine cone. Medium in body with good carbonation, sweet with a dry and bitter finish. A solid IIPA with lots of hop flavors, enjoyable for a hophead.
Apr 12, 2008
Photo of mltobin
Reviewed by mltobin from Connecticut

4.23/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served in a cask:

The appearance was an amber tone with a medium sized head. Somewhat cloudy, served in a pint glass.
The smell was deep and hoppy, very nice indeed.
The taste was spicy, rich, and somewhat sweet, with a decent amount of hops present.
The mouthfeel was fairly pleasant while swirling around, with accents of all the ingredients, however the aftertaste just left me thirsty for water, it is a rich feeling that stays on your tounge.
All in all, a great beer though, and it was interesting to have it Cask Conditioned.
Apr 12, 2008
Photo of smcolw
Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts

3.79/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a cloudy light brown. The bottle overflowed when opened. Unfortunately this did not translate into potent long lasting head. In fact, there was very little lace after the head died down to an incomplete single layer of bubbles.

The smell is decent combination of mellow round malt and peppery hop.

The taste is all hop...another extreme beer. The body is okay. Basically, if you like sucking on a hop pellet, you'll like this beer. If not, it may be a case of the chef over salting the broth.
Apr 06, 2008
Photo of fitzy84
Reviewed by fitzy84 from Massachusetts

4.07/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Came in a 22 oz bottle. Appearance was quite nice; murky amber that started with a thick head and eventually led to some lacing. The smell is great: smoked hops and malts with a very strong citrus flavor. The taste has a bitter, bitter quality to it with some nice floral citrus flavors going on. Strong, medium body drink that allows the flavors to be very noticeable. Overall, very nice.
Apr 04, 2008
Photo of FACSman
Reviewed by FACSman from Massachusetts

3.41/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A - Dark amber with a thin head, moderate amount of lacing. Very light haze.

S - Malty aroma with moderate hop character. pine and grapefruit notes evident from the hops. Hints of toffee and citrus.

T - Enjoyable taste, but a bit heavy on malt without hop balance for an IPA. Slight alcohol hotness that disappears into a moderate hop bitter finish.

M - Heavy, with light carbonation. Long finish into lingering hop bitterness

D - Good drinkability for a rather high alcohol brew. Though the beers maltiness takes a bit away for it's style in this category.
Mar 30, 2008
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.44/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Sunny Sunkist orange with amber borders. Since the brewery says that whole Chinook hops are added after filtration, the static storm of superfine particulates is almost certainly lupulus dust. Subsequent pours increasingly make the beer look like a shaken snow globe. The putty colored cap sure isn't shy about plastering the glass with loads of sticky lace.

So why is the nose only barely hoppy? Repeated sniffs deliver nothing more than a faint citrusiness riding along on a buttery pale malt base. It looks like the flavor has some major work to do.

Apparently, the '840' of the name refers to the 840 ounces (that's 52.5 lbs) of hops that are used in each batch. Other than whole Chinook, the beer is brewed with Liberty, Mt. Hood and Tettanger. For whatever reason, the alpha acids are still prominent, while the hop flavor is in relatively short supply. 840 doesn't taste old, just less than expertly brewed.

While the malt backbone isn't massive, it's more than big enough for the style. As suspected, the maltiness tastes almost entirely pale, with the remainder being lightly toasted (along with a thin layer of butter that isn't the least bit bothersome).

Guessing IBUs is a fool's game, especially when there's this much malt running interference. This fool says... more than 75 easily. As is usually the case, the bitterness begins to recede and the hop flavor begins to flower as the beer warms. Eh, I'm still not gobsmacked by 840's magnificence.

The mouthfeel hits the target while missing the bull's eye. It could be a little more full and a little less carbonated. In the end, it's no better than comfortably above average.

Since I enjoyed Stone Coast 420 IPA, I expected 840 IPA to be, if not twice as good, at least as good. Whether it's an inferior recipe or a less than perfect batch or a bottle that's past its prime is hard to say. Bottom line: long on looks, short on substance.
Mar 20, 2008
Photo of BrianC
Reviewed by BrianC from Massachusetts

3.21/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I had a 22 oz. bomber of this beer. It was dark amber in color with a healthy head on it. I found it to be very drinkable, more than most IIPAs. Unfortunately, I have to attribute this to the lower hop character than your average IIPA. Honsetly, when I'm picking out a 22 oz bomber if IIPA, I want to be a bit overwhelmed by the hops. I'm really not looking for high drinkability. Does that make sense?

This isn't a bad beer, but I don't think it is appropriate to call it a IIPA. Maybe it needs a new category, Imperial Amber Ale, American Strong Ale. I don't know, it was just too malty, not hoppy enough for an IIPA.
Mar 09, 2008
840 India Pale Ale from Stone Coast Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 49 ratings