Why no Love for Stone?

My attitude toward Stone can be summed up as: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

I have no strong feelings either way toward the brewery.

I don't actively seek out their beers but I won't turn one down if I'm offered it.

 

I like two things they make.

• Xocoveza
• Who you Callin' Wussie

The rest are sorta forgettable.

 

Ghost Hammer is great! Great crisp beer for those upcoming hot days.

 

I know it was brewed as a memorial to someone who passed away, but if they ever bring back "Suitable for Cave Aging" I know I will be all over that.

 

I think they are the Dogfish of the West Coast.

They put out a whole slew of good but forgettable standard beers. On the other side, their "collab with everybody" leads to more misses than hits.

 

ghost hammer is pretty solid

 

Ghost Hammer and the new Enjoy By cans are pretty darn good.

 

I love Stone. They are one of my favorite breweries. You'll never catch me calling them forgettable, and I think they have continued to do great work. They have brewed some of my all time faves and even their "misses" are still pretty solid to my palette.

 

Also, Arrogant Bastard was the beer that cemented my love of hops and craft in general and its still one of my favorite beers of all time. I love many of their other brews as well but AB will always get love from me. If I had to choose only one beer to drink for the rest of my life (but I could have as much of it as I wanted) Id be perfectly fine with AB.

 

so many great small local options > 18$ enjoy by 6 packs. Plus the elimination of great staples and the fruition of fruited ipas. Those are an easy pass for me.

 

The Enjoy By Unfiltered cans are fantastic. YMMV

Cheers

 

I like Stone's output for the most part, and will buy a six pack of the Enjoy By series every time. But I feel apathetic towards Stone as a brewery, and I think Arrogant Bastard is why.

Unnecessary backstory: I became a craft beer fan in the Midwest, through Goose, Founders, Revolution, and especially 3 Floyds. I moved to SoCal, and there was a beer that everyone was talking about. Everyone said it was hard to handle, and that you needed to be a real craft beer fan to enjoy it. Hell, the bottle itself swore that you were beneath it! So I excitedly tried a bottle, and...

It's a hoppy fucking red ale. That's it.

I dunno. It was hard for me to get past that really poor first impression. A real, "Wow, they think this is revolutionary?" kind of feeling. Learning more about the history has made me appreciate Stone A LOT more. But it was a really meh first impression, and I wonder if this is a common thing.

 

I think it kind of holds to the idea that Betty Crocker is the preferred cake of choice over many other expensive wedding cakes, not because our pallet are shot, but solely to the fact we grew up with it. In my opinion, AB is a decent beer. Def nothing along the lines of amazing. But it was one of my first beers, if not THE beer that introduced me to the craft beer industry. Because of this, I will always have a certain respect for Stone and for AB. I think many would agree.

 

I can tell you that when I first had Arrogant Bastard around 2002-03 it was pretty darn different. If this experience was several years ago, yeah, I can see your point but doubt it was really that hyped. Even so, it looks like Stone was ready to move on by spinning/selling off the Arrogant Bastard brand.

For me Stone is not making much noise. I'm at more of a drink local/regional for me, so I'm not really buying their product much (really just Xoco/Enjoy By). If I was on the West Coast I would certainly be buying more, and in fact, when I was in San Diego several years back I did.

 

One day Stone will release a Barrel Aged beer that has been in the barrel LONGER than a year. It will make me happy.

 

All I can say is: "Woot Stout, Woot Stout, Woot Stout!......."

 

Stone beer is good but just as important to me are the spaces they create to enjoy it. Escondido, Oceanside and the tap room next to Petco are some of my favorite places to have a beer. I've not been to Liberty Station, Pasadena or Berlin but I have no doubt those, and the new Napa spot when it's done, also provide an exceptional experience.

 

None of the older established breweries get much love on this board. Why should Stone be any different?