Shepherd Warrior
5 Stones Artisan Brewery

Pours a hazy, orange golden color with a thick, frothy head. There's a bit of lacing on the glass as you drink. Carbonation is a bit hard to see but seems to be a little below average which hopefully means some zest on the tongue. Really love the look of this one, very juicy and inviting.

Aroma is predominantly fresh hops with touch a of breadiness and some sour malts lingering in the background. Slightly dank, but mostly juicy. Loving the freshness.

Wow, this one packs a punch. Predominantly fruity hoppiness; citrus pith, stone fruit, orange. Some spice and herbalness towards the swallow. A solid buttery malt backbone throughout. Not very sour, which I am happy to report. Definitely strikes me as more of a New England style IPA rather than an American IPA.

Medium bodied with ample chewiness, lower carbonation but plenty of zestiness on the tongue as you swallow. Definitely drinkable at 7.2% ABV, but I'd struggle to have more than one or two of these.

I've never heard of this brewery before picking this up, but they have my attention. This is a finely crafted, very flavorful IPA, though I think it is miscategorized here as an American IPA. The packaging says only IPA, but I'd classify this as New England style. Nevertheless, this is probably one of the freshest IPAs I've had out of Texas, along with Pinthouse and Lone Pint, very reminiscent of some West coast breweries like HenHouse or Ghost Town. I quite enjoyed it, although at almost $19 for a pack of four pints I'd be hard pressed to buy it again. Looking forward to trying more from this brewery. Cheers!

EDIT: Couldn't stop thinking about this one and picked it up again. Wow, really enjoying this one at the moment.

Small pour. Hazy yellow color with a thin foamy head. Retention is mild and lacing is good. Nice aroma. Some cajun spices with citrus. Taste is the same. Medium bodied with mild.

This pours golden hazy with a nice cream colored head. Out of the can and into the glass alone sets very high expectations. The taste and feel certainly deliver on this expectation. It starts off like freshly squeezed cara cara oranges, the middle has a touch of ripe mango and it ends with the slight bitter of a Texas grapefruit. This beer is fantastic!

 

Price unknown for 4-pack of 12 oz cans purchased at brewery taproom – was part of large tab. Reviewed 10/9/19.
Stamped on bottom of can “CANNED ON 09/11/19”. In reefer at taproom, stored and served at 42 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Yellow, slight haze.
Body – Yellow, murky.
Head – Large (Maximum 7.5 cm, aggressive center pour), off-white, high density, average retention, diminishing to a seven mm crown and a thick partial cap. Large pieces of three-dimensional foam remain on the glass as the head contracts.
Lacing – Fair. Arcs of tiny to small bubbles remain as the level drops. See also above.
Aroma – 4.25 – Primarily melon with some citrus background.
Flavor – 4.25 – Follows the nose with Mosaic hops predominating and some Citra tagging along behind. It ends with a slight astringency. No alcohol (7.2% ABV) flavor or aroma, no dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl. Slight gastric warming occurs.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, almost creamy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25. One of the better brews which I have encountered using Mosaic hops. This definitely is a showcase for Mosaic hops with the Citra playing a supporting role and playing it well. If you can hit the taproom, by all means suck this down there. HEB is carrying some of their beer, but what I saw was being stored at room temperature so caveat emptor.