Do Stone Enjoy By batches vary?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Longhorn08, Jul 3, 2019.

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  1. Oh_Dark_Star

    Oh_Dark_Star Pooh-Bah (2,386) Mar 4, 2015 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I do like this can!
     
    #21 Oh_Dark_Star, Jul 6, 2019
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  2. Oh_Dark_Star

    Oh_Dark_Star Pooh-Bah (2,386) Mar 4, 2015 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I think out of all - you two hit the nail on the head. No more need for my opinion - I will second yours! The first Enjoy by Unfiltered were unusually good and Stone DIPAs (and IPA's for that matter may have had their day, but they are very much out-classed by today's up and coming breweries!
     
    #22 Oh_Dark_Star, Jul 6, 2019
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  3. unlikelyspiderperson

    unlikelyspiderperson Grand Pooh-Bah (3,966) Mar 12, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I don't necessarily disagree with your theory of palates being the culprit but I do think in a big IPA that is pushed out for fresh consumption a few times a year there is a good chance that hop lot characteristics (and the likely inexact blend of varieties used batch to batch) change a fair bit and are fairly noticeable to folks who have conditioned themselves to notice that sort of thing. Just think how many breweries have done series of the same malt bill with different hops, it obviously makes a difference. And there is no way that stone is able to source the exact same volume and quality of all the same hops for such a hop forward beer year in and year out. Either way I think it's a nice beer and usually get at least one of each release and more of the ones that I really like
     
    #23 unlikelyspiderperson, Jul 6, 2019
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  4. Roguer

    Roguer Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,811) Mar 25, 2013 Connecticut
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I don't disagree that there could be minor batch variations - just that Stone isn't often tweaking the recipe from batch to batch (with the exception of specific releases such as Brut, naturally), according to them.

    Changing up the actual hops used makes a huge difference, especially single hop IPAs. Perhaps not everyone can tell the difference between specific noble hop varietals, but just about everyone who enjoys IPAs can tell Galaxy from Centennial from Citra - whether or not they can "name that varietal in two sips!" they can certainly tell the difference, which is enough.

    Minor batch variations, though, wouldn't be nearly so significant, especially in a big, strong IIPA which uses multiple hop varietals - and a brewer like Stone is unlikely to have significant QC issues with their most popular IPA.

    Could we (we:beer geeks) tell the difference, side-by-side, if we could get different batches of Enjoy By at the same freshness? Perhaps! But .... we can't.

    I guess my point is this: mathematically, say the ideal taste of any beer is "X." There is some deviation from how you experience "X." Chalk up deviation "N" to batch inconsistencies, but "P" to palate variability on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour basis (and feel free to add other variables, like "G" for glassware, "H" for human biases, etc. :wink: ).

    With a beer like Enjoy By, I would suggest the variability of "P" is greater than "N" - either might be small for a given sample on a given day, and your experience could be very, very close to "X" - tasting Enjoy By exactly how the brewer intended, the Platonic metaphysical ideal of Enjoy By, if you will. However, the farther you get from "X" ("Man, Enjoy By was suuuuper dank and oniony this time!" -Person who had exactly one bottle), the more likely it becomes that "P" is the dominant factor, even if N > 0.

    Cheers!
     
    #24 Roguer, Jul 6, 2019
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  5. Gemini6

    Gemini6 Savant (1,199) Oct 5, 2013 Michigan

    Exactly. The quality of the beer is inversely proportional to the amount released. It's like beeronomics or something.
     
    #25 Gemini6, Jul 6, 2019
  6. unlikelyspiderperson

    unlikelyspiderperson Grand Pooh-Bah (3,966) Mar 12, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Have you looked at the enjoy by 7/4 thread in the news and releases? several of us posted side by side photos and perceptions with versions from the CA and VA breweries and there are marked differences in appearance and smell/taste. It was actually really surprising to me because I also expected that stone would have top notch QC and, if nothing else, be able to produce a consistent product. In fact a few of the CA cans look very different from one another in the photos.

    In general I do agree with you that the majority of the differences people perceive are based on our palates variations over time. However, seeing the differences I did when I did the side by side of enjoy by last week, and considering all the talk about the variability and importance of hop quality in that hop buying thread, I am inclined to believe that any hop forward beer brewed at that scale is going to have a very hard time maintaining a consistent flavor/aroma. Even if all the same ratios of all the same hops were used, lot variation and yearly quality variation, and the effects of storage (I've got to believe that the 7/4 was brewed using older hops than the new years edition) are going to lead to variability. I'd bet dollars to donuts that stone has people sampling the available hops for each batch and tweaking ratios to attempt to keep those things as similar as possible the way that big winemakers do, but I have no doubt that there is more variability than stone would like, or admits to.
     
    #26 unlikelyspiderperson, Jul 6, 2019
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