Stone Brewing Company Go to IPA Session IPA at 4.5% ABV ($3.33 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 355ml, best before 13-Jan-2015)
Pours slightly hazy pale gold with a short white head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim, minimal lacing. (4/5) Nose is brightly hoppy, citrus and piney, tropical fruit, light malt. (9/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate lingering bitter. (7/10) Light body tending to watery, moderate to low sustained carbonation, dry, mildly bitter finish. (4/5)
A pretty well done ISA. The nose is stupendous – lots of bright, beautiful hops and just a hint of a supporting malt backbone. But the taste, while fine, falls a little short of the braggadocio of the nose, coming across a little thin, with a sudden finish. It’s probably fair to say Stone didn’t have a lot of choice but to jump on the session IPA bandwagon. And, it’s also fair to say that they did a pretty fine job of it. But, it might also be fair to say they’ve got better beers, and I’d probably rather take the ABV hit on a single bomber of one of their hop bombs, instead of drinking three or four of these. Usually. Unless you’re looking for a really well-done thirst quencher at a really good price – in which case, hells yeah this does the job! (16/20)
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
