Stone IPA v1.1

A rising tide lifts all boats.

Unless, of course, your boat has a hole in it. Then it just sinks faster. :-)

 

I can accept brewers making threads to promote their product in the regional forums and the Beer Releases forum, but when they start appearing in Beer Talk it's a bit too much.

I'd say they are just learning from their own playbook. Feature a big new number (date) on a bottle of Enjoy By and people start thinking it's a new beer to tick. Add 2.0 to the end of your brand and the idea of "version numbers" has just entered the beer world... unfortunately. I guess it turned into sales for them because now it's running like a proven concept. Beer Version 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 8.4, 8.8... Stone has figured out how to have flagships and appeal to tickers in the same product. It's very savvy in that regard. When I drink a Beer Version 5.4, I really hope I don't get an update alert while I'm half way done with my beer. Can I turn those alerts off please?

 

My guess is that the called it IPA 1.1 instead of 2.0 series because its just a very subtle change from original formula. Not drastic enough difference to warrant the 2.0 title.

 

No, 7 dry hops instead of 2 is not drastic at all

 

Love Stone and their entire take on craft beer and how they shaped the entire environment over the years. Cool video, love the update and news.

 

Cool stuff, glad they are transparent about the changes unlike a few other breweries. Will seek some 1.1 out!

 

Surprised about the negative comments without not even trying.....seems like most ready to give it a shot.

Had Stone called this a new name, we would have had the obligatory "another the IPA from stone?" comments.

The market will likely dictate whether a win or not. Looking forward to trying.

 

Picked up the new summer Mix pack with Ruination, IPA, Sublimey, and Wit, and I do not see any v1.1 anywhere on the IPA bottle. Tastes like the normal Stone IPA. 06/18/16 bottling.

 

I'll pick it up and give it an honest try . . . A sixer that is.
I wish we still had access to Ruination 1.0 as I don't believe that was improved upon. Their current flagship ipa is lacking in my opinion so maybe this will be an improvement.

 

Yeah, I to was at a shop today and saw 6'ers of Stone IPA dated in June but didn't see any 1.1 on the labeling anywhere. Is this the old version or new? I'm confused based on the video information.

 

The Stone IPA packaging in general has been all over the place.

-months ago they rolled out the "new" look
-then changed the box art back, but kept the new bottle look
-now changing the box art back to new, but having the old bottle art inside
-to then having just old art
-now saying the beer has changed and will have 1.1 on the box following April
-July now... no 1.1


Ugh.

 

Definitely enjoyed the original Stone IPA the last time I had it, and from the posts of people who've had the new one it sounds like the change is probably in the "noticeable but not a totally different beer" range so I will probably like the new version too. Stone IPA is pretty readily available around here so I'll have to be on the lookout for these bottled-in-May-or-later packs sometime when I'm in the mood for a hoppy beer again. (Probably when the weather cools down some -- for some reason the piney IPAs are something I end up craving more in the winter months, after the Oktoberfests and pumpkin ales have mostly vanished from the shelves.)

Maybe I'll pick some up when I stock up on what may be my last ever bottles of the Smoked Porter before it gets retired in November...

 

Maybe @StoneBrewingCo will be able to clarify which beer the 06/18/16 was.

Cheers!

 

I'm following you here and agree but have a little less skepticism than most on this one. IMO these guys recognize that they are in a position where they are so big that they are approaching that in-between zone on size that makes it harder to depend on "flagships" financially and staying "relevant" to the beer geeks while getting bigger.

Making what really does appear to be a refinement (change in dry hopping only) moves it in the direction that has the broader appeal to IPA fans across the country. A lot of these "flagships" have fallen off in popularity (Lag IPA seems to be an exception based on last numbers I saw) so from a business side it makes sense but as always, sales will dictate ultimate success. If anything they must really feel good about it as they now have to rely on a much more complex number of ingredients at a time where access to such seems more precarious.

 

Thanks!!!

On to the store!!

 

Thanks for the info, looking forward to the new batch. Cheers to you guys, love the beer and love the community you helped create!
Cheers

 

I trust Stone's founders' and brewmaster's opinion that the new dry hop improves the beer. Especially over loebrygg's deep thoughts. Looking forward to checking it out.

 

Thanks for the clarity. You guys are awesome! I'm going to grab some next time I'm in the store.

 

But of course the universe would pull yet another fast one on me ha ha! I hadn't had a Stone IPA in a very long time so I picked a few up not that long ago (but judging by the timing of that and what we have learned in this thread, it was the original). Of course the universe says, "Not so fast!" and a new version comes out not long after I revisited it. Stone IPA is not one of my favorites (I lean towards maltier stuff) but I will definitely give this a try and the old one is fresh enough in my memory that I will be able to compare and see what I think.