Disenchanted with Stone?

The bourbon barrel aged one comes in sixers. Pretty decent price too. 16 I think.

 

Stone's world-class, IMHO, and they're widely available. Try Enjoy By, RuinTen, Old Guardian Extra Hoppy, etc etc etc. they have a plethora of great beers, again IMHO.

 

I like beer too!

 

I have been getting disenchanted by Stone in recent months to a year, but not because of stuff like their Green Tea IPA (which was amazing, I don't even know how people complain about that) or Xocoveza or Master of Disguise. They make amazing beer, and they take risks (see Points Unknown), but most of their "standard" lineup and their anniversary beers just aren't doing it for me anymore. And that's fine. They still make great beer, I just personally look elsewhere for my hop fix most of the time.

 

I love some of Stone's products and drink them regularly, especially ENJOY BY and the Stone IPA. Add RuinTen to that list. Their bistro is always at the top of my list on San Diego visits, and I'll always hit their little spots like the one in Ocean Beach and others. I'm quite excited for Greg and others for what they're doing in Germany too, and I wish them success in that.

However I'm not very happy about the new Ruination change and the Pale Ale change. I'm hoping that the Ruination might be partially resurrected as an occasional release, perhaps as a seasonal or just an occasional part of a variety pack or something like that.

 

Stone's cease and desist letter was totally legit. The brewery in Boulder was called "Kettle and Stone Brewing". For Stone Brewing to have an issue with that is completely understandable, especially since they do a lot of collaborative beers. "Kettle and Stone Brewing" sounds like a collab between "Kettle" and the very famous "Stone". It isn't that no one can have "stone" in their brewery name (Firestone, Blackstone, Whitestone etc...), but when it is "____ and Stone Brewing", it can definitely be seen as confusing to the consumer. It's also a bad name choice for the brewery in question (now called Vindication), as their brand would lack distinction being so similar to a nation-wide brand. It was a total legit legal action; the opposite of BS.

What if someone opened a brewery called "Ship and Anchor Brewing"? Would Anchor Brewing have an issue with that? Probably. Or "Face Paint and Clown Shoes Brewing"? Too similar to "Clown Shoes Brewing"? For sure.

 

diehard stone fan here. the green tea ipa was junk.

 

I'm with Jack/OP....I don't get Stones' IPA's either....No thank you on the dank brew.......

 

Stone hasn't been craft since craft became a "thing". It happens to almost all of them as they get large: the details get left behind in the process of macro. Still, the oldies are carefully mastered and are still decent enough to recommend. I just won't waste my time on the new (one and done) stuff when there are so many GREAT craft brews here in Dego.

 

Details like what?

 

I've been very pleased with Stone. Although I would never purchase some of their offerings which represent the extreme to me (aka Crime, Punishment) I continue to admire their quality, boldness and innovation. Long live Double Bastard!!!

 

Enjoy By is one of the best IIPAs available. I eagerly await each batch!

 

I love Stone. I think they're getting better. Love the 2.0 releases, Enjoy By, their collaborations (Points Unknown IPA most recently), and their standards - including non-IPA stuff.

 

I really enjoy Stone. The past couple of years I've passed over them a lot due to influx of new stuff here in TX. However I recently grabbed Points Unkown, Ruin Ten, and had an Arrogant Bastard on tap the other day that reminded me why I liked them in the first place. They do have a release now and again that isn't so great, and I'm not a fan of Old Guardian, but otherwise they're really good. And good prices!

 

Ruination 2.0 is a really great ale, as is Enjoy By.

But for some reason I missed the last Enjoy By Release, and I looked hard, in three different states, just couldn't find it anywhere.

Ruination 2.0 I've yet to see in stores. A local brewpub by me usually has it on draft and that is my only source for it.

Goto I have at my local supermarket, but it's outdated and has been sitting for too long. Too many other fresher options like Pinner, Green Flash Soul Style, or I can get growlers of Other Half and Singlecut's latest offerings.

I think with Stone expanding their distribution footprint we get less of the imperial product shipped to NY,NJ, PA. Either that or there is just more people buying it.

And I have seen Parts Unknown and Green Tea IPA's around, but I really don't like anything with a higher ABV% than 10.0 so I probably wont be giving any of those a shot.

Hopefully the new brewery in Richmond will alleviate some of present holes in their distribution chain.

 

So much hate in this thread!

Everyone needs to relax and have a beer.

 

How can anyone hate Stones offerings? Makes zero sense, and doubly so for those who love hops. IMO every brewery should be so aggressive offering straight up fresh product. Kudos to them they pushing the fresh thing, and not hiding behind a best by date that might be 6 months out.

 

With 216 current, and 279 archived offerings, I'm slagging the OP for not really trying.

 

I had a chai RIS last night out at dinner and enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to. Wife had a cali-beligum IPA out at dinner last night and enjoyed the hell out of it. I love Enjoy By, Arrogant Bastard, Double Bastard, Ruination 2.0, RIS, and even their saison. Didn't love PA 2.0, smoked porter, or green tea IPA too much. So, 6 for 9 of the beers I can think of off the top of my head from Stone I love. That's a HOF batting average to me, performance enhancement or no.