Stone Brewing Enjoy By Brut IPA

Acquired, but first, a local brut IPA on tap at the shop nextdoor.

The 6 pack should be nice and chilled in the car.

 

Curious to hear what you think of it.

 

I got a message from a local shop saying I had a 10% off code for one 6 pack. I knew what I had to do, and made a call today to find out they had this release in stock. It was stored in the store's chilled beer cave, and then stored in my cold car and fridge while I worked through this photo, netting an appropriate pour temperature. Here are my thoughts on Stone's nationally distributed go at the 'Brut IPA' style.



Stone's Enjoy By 01.01.19 Brut IPA.

Pours a translucent copper-yellow with a finger of white foam after an extremely passive pour. Head retention is great, layering the beer in foam for a long while. Aroma is tangerine, papaya, orange and lemon zest, and guava before a dry cut slashes the tropical fruits to null. In the wake of the violence on tropical fruits, a brief display of nutty, earthy, bready malts are present. It smells short and staccato, not lingering on the senses long, but still presenting a dynamic display of notes. Flavor profile is rich notes of tropical fruits - papaya, mango, tangerine, peach, and orange zest - and more bitter hop notes of pine, resin, and dank (evergreen). Dryness is expected here, but the tropical fruits and 'evergreen' notes continue to linger on the tongue long after a sip. There is a lighthearted dryness cutting underneath, but doing nothing to substantially cut the notes down in a dry fashion. Biscuity, bready, earthy malts form a little substance beyond the hops. There is a touch of hoppy, alcohol burn at the back end, making it apparent the beer is 9.4% ABV. Mouth feel is lightly crisp, but carries a medium-thickness, which when combined with a velvety texture, smothers out the crispness. It's still a pleasure to sip upon, but not in the context of the brut IPA style guidelines. Overall, labeled a brut IPA, this drinks more like a 'midwest' IPA, i.e. a blend of typical Northeast, juicy hoppy notes with West coast bitter, biting hops. Aside from the aroma, it doesn't come off as dry, and is a little too thick and velvety to really nail down the style there. While still a good beer, it doesn't meet style guidelines of a brut IPA. All that aside, it makes for a very enjoyable IPA, provided you consume fresh *wink*

Score: 4.25 | 4.25 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 4 | BA Score: 4 | rDev: -4.1%

Personal notes: At the time of review, there are 9 other ratings in total, 2 of which are reviews. It amounted to a total score of 4.18, with the histogram showing 7 of those scores between 3.75-4, and 2 between 4.5 and 4.75. My review lands this beer 1 more reviewing in the "4" column of the histogram. I am perhaps being a bit harsh, but I really enjoy the Enjoy By series, but expect them to meet the style guidelines and expectations labeled. This drinks well, and I will gladly keep the other 5 in my fridge for video game nights. Hell, one of them may end up in my glass for a 'redo' review this or next NBS. But as a brut IPA it really just doesn't deliver the goods. Worth picking up for a kick ass brut IPA? No. Worth picking up for a kick-ass IPA? Yes. A touch disappointed in this outcome, despite having another 5 good beers to drink.

I know I got called out for reviewing something last week against the style listed on the site here and rating it lower, but this is both labeled by the brewer and site as a Brut IPA, which is categorized by a dry aroma and flavor profile, and crispness in texture - and it barely nicks the edge of the target for those attributes. I will not rate this higher purely because it's a good beer. It aimed for a target and missed. Likewise, I wouldn't hand a medal to a forward who beat a defender, shot, and pumped the ball deep into the crowd instead of the net.

Cheers.

 

I just picked up a 6er at my local today, will try one for NBS on Sunday. After perusing this thread, I'm very curious to try this.

 

Haha this isn’t a beer meant to be sessioned. Drink just one and enjoy it, you’ll be fine.

 

I've got one planned for NBS, but it'll be a late contribution after getting the first turns of the season.

 

I also have been extremely eager to try this one. I've only had one Brut IPA thus far from a local brewery. I'd love to see Stone's take on the style. If I see this I absolutely will buy it.

 

tastes a whole lot like regular enjoy by, and i don't find it particularly brut-y. kind of a half-assed attempt to follow the trend (like unfiltered enjoy by)...still an enjoyable beer though.

 

It looks nothing like the examples of Brut IPA I’ve seen thus far. It is much darker and I thought a very pale presentation is typical of the “style”.

 

I have yet to be impressed with any brew's I've had within the style. I'll give it a shot, but my expectations will be low.

 

Have you tried Surly Brut IPA? If so, what are your thoughts about that specific beer?

Cheers!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/356807/

 

I don't believe I have tried that particular brew actually. Though I recently had their Liquid Stardust which is a Brut IPA, and I was left unimpressed.

It was definitely on the dryer side, and very highly carbonated. From memory the malts brought flavors of cracker, and a bit of honey sweetness, there were some fruity yeast esters, a touch of citrus, with mild grassy bitterness from the hops. Overall it was certainly a drinkable offering, just not my particular cup of beer, I gave it 3.25 out of 5.00.

 

This was the first Brut IPA I drank. It wasn't bad, I will not be rushing back for more. I guess I'm hooked on residual sugars in my beer.

 

My local guys have an entire series for Brut IPA's, they are tasty but not something I seek out. Not sure on the color variance, all the Brut IPA I have had appear as above, Stone's is very dark and malty looking, actually Stone's looks more like their traditional IPA.

 

That is the murkiest Brut I have seen, to me a very clear appearance defines the style more than any particular color

 

The first one I had was by a local place Industrial Arts, and it was everything I expected from the style- crystal clear, refined flavors, dry and effervescent. Now I'm seeing them done in ways that make me scratch my head- including the description of this Stone beer.

The difference seems to be in approach: IA set out to make a flat out textbook Brut IPA, whereas these other places seem to be modifying what they already make to get it close enough. I know which way I prefer, even without trying this one.

 

It would seem, for a niche style like this, that staying true to style is necessary. After all, brut denotes dry, clear, and sparkling. Otherwise it is just a slight riff on a house IPA. Those pictured above seem to have as much to do with a Brut IPA as I have to do with an astrophysicist.

 

I think people are overstating the idea of a "brut IPA" being "true to style," while downplaying the idea that styles are partially codified by brewers labeling their beer.

At worst, the term is primarily a momentary way for brewers to get consumers to buy a new IPA... and at best we're experiencing a very awkward (and too fast for its own good) growth phase of this thing.

Color... clarity... it's really all fair game with the way things are right now. The only thing that isn't is the amount of sweetness - and that's because that's a code that is already relatively firm. Enjoy By Unfiltered IPA should be "unfiltered" (clarity level not being tethered to this), Enjoy By Black IPA should be a black/near-black color, and Enjoy By Brut IPA should be dry.

 

I thought it was tasty, but not as "brut" as I've had from other brewers. I think they just stuck a toe in the pool, but didn't jump in.

 

I can't speak to a beer I haven't tried but to me a fairly high level of clarity is as much as part of brut as a more translucent appearance is a part of neipa. truth is that brut is a new/non-existent style so any of us throwing out style guidelines are like me saying that interstate barriers should always be two to six foot masonry with decorative engraving, it's one laymens elaborate idea, it likely has no relation to professional reality