2015 Crime and Punishment

I was able to score one bottle of Crime last week in northern VA. I loved it (at least until I dropped my glass and spilled 2/3 of it). I said every cuss word I know. The heat was just the right amount. I could taste the flavors of the beer without my palate being overwhelmed.

 

The store by me just got some in. Honestly, I was going to pass since while I though the flavors worked well together, it was just way too spicy for my tastes. If it's been dialed back a bit, I would be willing to try it again!

 

Any reason to not simply rename them? You may have a handful of potential customers who won't even pick them up based on the previous release.

 

Is there any way to distinguish the new version from the old (labeled 2015?) I feel like I saw a bottle recently, but it honestly may have been the 2013 version.

 

I'm guessing "New and Improved!" is too glib and banal. Can't get the beer finder to cooperate but I hope RVA is on the release list. Still bummed that I have to wait until 2016 for the Black Enjoy By!

 

I think if they are labeled differently and have a different recipe, then they should be listed separately on here. Excited to give this new version a go!

 

@StoneGreg I for one would recommend creating new listings to the Crime and Punishment notating the year, especially since the flavor profile is different. I actually happened upon a single bottle of each at a local store a few days ago. Knowing nothing about them, I did the old "look em up" on my phone, saw the ratings, and passed. This is my personal experience and I cannot speak for everyone, but thought you should know.

 

Yes, a new listing would be helpful....as w/ W00t.

 

Saw it at the store yesterday, $19.99/bottle, maybe it's not too expensive and I'm too cheap but 3x (or more) the price of the typical craft bomber (IRI MULC), I can't see myself picking it up...

 

Agreed! I love Stone but their barrel aging program has taken a hit recently in terms of quality, the last version of Fyodor's for example was simply lacking. It's a tough sell to pick up Crime, Punishment, Southern Charred and DB Rye at around $80-85 dollars when I could easily purchase more beer of the same ilk for the same price! (forget about picking up 2-3 bottles of each!)

But this is the deciding factor for me and why I won't be picking up any of the new bba Bastard release, is that I've noticed that Stone has been aging their beers for less and less time as the years go on! Sorry, why are you charging the same amount for a beer that has been aged 12 months and is now aged for 4 or 5...

 

So selling out to the man to increase distro and profit is not OK, but selling out to the customers by "fixing" their lowest rated beer and asking to mulligan the listing is totally legit? If you say so...

 

I aged Punishment after having a horror story with Crime when I had it with family when it first came out. Greg did call me out for not liking it at at the time, but did advise me to spice up old IPAs with a beer like Crime. I ended up aging Punishment until about a week ago, and I had half of it straight up and the other half as the alcohol in a Bloody Mary. I ended up enjoying both a lot. I've seen the new one and now that I know they're toned down a notch I might just pick them up.

 

Good job, Greg. You don't want to run the risk of making your beers merely 'gimmicky', and last year's S&P were just awfully out of balance due to the overbearing heart. I'll give the new batch a shot! Are they still running on the same principle, with Punishment being the more robust, hotter of the two?

I also second these beers coming in too expensive. Firestone Walker, for instance makes top of the line barrel aged stuff, they run for 4-5 dollars cheaper, and they are 22oz bottles! I would love to see Stone be a little bit more accessible and competitive in this regard.

Cheers!

 

I don't believe there is a correct answer to your question, and if there is, it is not followed strictly. There are some beers that were only brewed once with no variants listed under 2 or more names. There are beers that have had ingredient changes multiple times that only have one listing.

I still have not tried either Crime or Punishment, originally because of less than appealing reviews and later because of the $/oz.

If the recipe changed then it makes sense to have a new listing, but I imagine the main reason for OP to raise such a question is to differentiate the two releases and encourage people to spend money on what has already been deemed a less than appealing beer.

GL OP!

 

Just curious as to what peppers were used. Love the beer but can't put my finger on the varieties.

 

Stone rules. My gateway.