Shepherd Boy
5 Stones Artisan Brewery

No date on can :(

Pours an almost clear, golden copper in color with a beautiful, creamy finger thick head on top that lasts quite awhile. There are some particulates in the beer, most likely from the dry hopping process. Plenty of lacing as you drink, carbonation looks average. It's quite beautiful.

Quite a pungent aroma of tropical fruits, citrus, berries, a hint of pine and some earthy/herbalness riding a buttery, crackery maltiness underneath. A bit of lemon candy in there as well. Quite fresh, and I like that it hints at some balance.

Taste follows the nose quite well. Lots of tropical fruits and citrus up front with the pine coming in as it sits on the tongue and towards the swallow. The buttery, crackery malts are there throughout offering great balance, along with some yeasty herbal/earthy undertones. Finishes with lingering lemon and grapefruit rind on the tongue along with a bit of malt. The alcohol is somewhat detectable, as it is a bit higher ABV for a pale ale.

This is medium bodied with a creamy, chewy mouthfeel and perfect carbonation. I love these brews with the smaller, soapy bubbles. It does finish dry and thins out a bit after the swallow, otherwise spot on. It's not quite a palate wrecker but the flavors do stick around for a bit on the tongue.

This is my second beer from this brewery and I have really enjoyed both of them. These are some quality brews and I would happily seek them out again. This one in particular has a good mix of drinkability and sippability. Highly recommended for anyone seeking out a hoppy pale ale.

Got in a BIF from OzzyLizard. 16 ounce can into Pint glass, no can dating. Pours a Lightly hazy/cloudy golden appearance. Great head retention and spotty soapy lacing on the glass. Aromas are big and juicy with normal Citra notes of tangerine, grapefruit, passion fruit, berries, pine, cracker malt, herbal/floral/grassy hops. A bit of yeast ester earthiness. Very vibrant, juicy, and dank nose. Taste follows with big grapefruit, orange peel/rind, passion fruit, wood, mint, berries, peppercorn, pine, cracker, bread, herbal, floral, grass, and yeast earthiness. Large sized pine/woody/rind bitter finish. Medium carb and body. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky/resinous/oily hops on the finish. A bit crisp on lingering resins with mild hop astringency. Good level of aggressiveness for a pale ale. Advertises citra hops as DDH, but the palate character does show a strong feel of Columbus hops mostly as well. Taste leans more toward earthy pine and woody resins. Certainly smells fresh to me. A very west coast style hazy. If you like them that way. Always love classic C hops as well.

 

 

“CANNED ON 02/12/19” stamped on bottom of the can. In reefer at brewery. Stored upside down at 42 degrees and served at 42 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 4.5.
Body – Dirty yellow, hazy. When held to the light, it becomes vaguely transparent.
Head – Large (Maximum 6.3 cm, aggressive center pour), cream, medium density, excellent retention, slooowly diminishing to an irregular two to eight mm lacy ring, a complete rocky layer, and some torn curtain lacing after the head retracts.
Lacing – Good. Thick complete rings of mostly tiny to occasional small bubbles, connected to the next ring by short, stout columns.
First pour – Light yellow, slight haze.
Aroma – 4.5 – Orange, citrus, and a bit of pine.
Flavor – 4 – Begins slightly bitter with some mild citrus tastes. Ends with some slightly chalky bitterness. No alcohol (6.3 % ABV), no dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, watery, lively carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 4.25 – A very good APA.

a wonderful pale/ipa type with loads of citra hops. sometimes when things like this are so cloudy and obviously dry hoppy, they also have some vegetal and green hop burn to them, like an overdosed or over saturated thing going on, but this one doesnt at all, which i think makes it unique right there, especially for citra hops, which seem to have a higher incidence of this across the styles. the citra is obvious in the nose and taste, classic meyer lemon candy and pungent citrusy freshness, a nice earthy grain base backs the hops up nicely as well. sometimes i find the hazy ones to be really filling too, but not this one, and starchy and almost frothy as the malt feels in it, there isnt a heaviness to it, and i could drink these all day. i love how robust the citra is but how clean the beer finishes, and it was smart to allow a little bitterness to enter the fold. i was bummed i didnt get to try the imperial version when we were in, but overall this was one of the best hoppy beers we had in texas. these guys are doing a lot of things, and doing all of them very well. this is really excellent beer, maybe closer to ipa than pale for me, but the distinction in a beer like this is irrelevant. yum!

 

Recommended by just about everyone/ so grabbed a Crowler 8/18/18 at WhichCraft while in Austin. Just popped it 12/15/18 at home. Refrigerated entire time.
Unsure if the 4 months made big difference or not. The only thing seemed diminished compared to reviews was the nose... then again my nose ain’t as young as it once was.
Thought was an excellent APA. Poured a beautiful draft with nice small bead head that had outstanding lacing in glass. Attractive haze pale straw yellow . As mentioned Nose seemed muted in the cold pour; but flavor was excellent. Rich juicey and both citric and tropical fruit with a complementary pine base and finish. Really nice bitterness that fit great with the fruit, but not so big that I thought I had an IPA. Citra dry hopping was done better than most. Feel was bright and refreshing. I myself always like something a little softer smoother than this; prefer more sipper than quencher. But I’m in minority and this was still very good.
Overall I was very impressed. Having just been at Treehouse; and recently at Trillium, Foundation and Maine... I agree with an earlier review. Definitely holds it own with the big NE boys and girls. Frankly it reminded me of an APA cousin of Epiphany... and for me that’s saying something. 5 Stones have got something going on with this brew; and says a lot about their thinking and craftsmanship.
Next time I’m in Hill Country I’m checking these guys out. Ideally @ while catching some cool tunes at Gruene.
Well done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A really enjoyable beer! Had it on tap. Juicy, hazy yellow color with an excellent head and lacing. Extremely fragrant with citrus. Taste of orange, grapefruit and peach. Not hoppy or bitter. Very smooth feel. Excellent beer.