Stone Brewing Company Ruination 2.0 American Double / Imperial IPA at 8.5% ABV (C$$11.49 at South Trail Co-Op, 650 ml, best before 28-Jul-2015am)
Pours clear pale amber with two fingers of rocky white head, good retention and spotty moderate lacing. (4/5) Nose is strongly hoppy pine resin, citrus, tropical fruit, caramel malt, slight dankness. (10/10) Taste is moderate sweet, intensely strong bitter. (10/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering and building intensely bitter, slightly sticky finish. (5/5)
The king is dead – long live the king! This is a worthy successor to the behemoth that was Ruination. Although it’s a shade heavier in ABV (8.5% from 8.2%) it feels a little cleaner, with a little more bright citrus hoppiness, and a little less generalized tropical fruitiness. I note that in addition to the usual starts-with-C suspects, nugget, and magnum, there’s Simcoe, and I think it’s coming through as support of the tropical fruit and pine, but I’m not getting any cattiness. The Azacca also helps with the tropical fruit, and though it’s no Nelson Sauvin, it’s an interesting hop all on its own. Taste is similar to the original, with just enough clean malt sweetness to support the massive bitterness, without being intrusive. This is DIPA the way DIPA should be done – just give me some nice lacing to look at while I drink it, and it’d be perfect. (19/20)
9.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
