Stone Brewing Company Cali-Belgique IPA Belgian IPA at 6.9% ABV ($7.79 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650ml, no bottle date or best before)
Pours slightly hazy pale amber with two fingers of tight off-white head and great retention, heavy lacing. (5/5) Nose is lemon, pine, clove, barnyard funk, hint of banana. (9/10) Taste is minimal sweet, strong bitter, moderate funk and pepper. (8/10) Medium body, moderate sustained carbonation, lingering bitter funky finish. (4/5)
Well, that’s a bit of all right! Very little malt presence at all, strong bitter in the mid body, and lingering, building peppery funky finish. The barnyard brett-like funk is distinctly Belg-ish in character, and unlike anything I’ve seen from Stone before – actually strongly reminds me of the De Ranke XX Bitter. Taste seems just a touch less emphatic than the nose would indicate, and the body tends a little to the light side for the style. Minor quibbles for a very good Belgian IPA. (17/20)
8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
