Beer #330 – Stone Pale Ale by Stone Brewing Company

Stone Pale Ale by Stone Brewing Company

It was a very nice day here in NJ.  Shame I damaged my arm in a freak curtain hanging incident or I would be out again on the trails riding my trusty steed.  Recently polished desk (makes it really slick), socks, and not paying attention led me to a fall where I came down and overextended my arm at the shoulder as I was trying to brace myself.  I need to rest it…good thing it wasn’t my beer glass drinking arm…

Beer #330 is Stone Pale Ale from Stone Brewing Company.  Escondido, California is where this American Pale Ale is brewed and it is brewed with an ABV of 5.4%.  I am generally a fan of Stone, so let us see how this beer fares.

Appearance – Amber color with a trace amount of a white head.

Nose – A bit more maltier than I was expecting with nice strong notes of caramel and bread.  The hops were there also but in a subdued way with some faint grapefruit aromas.

Taste – The malts are up front here with a slightly sweet bread like flavor.  Then the hops come on, much more pronounced then in the nose, with a nice, and for a Stone brew, not overly bitter grapefruit taste.  Definitely more malty than hoppy.  It had a nice crisp finish to it.

Mouthfeel – Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation make this quite drinkable.

Overall – A very, very good beer from Stone.  I could see this being a nice session brew for football Sundays.  I may have to pick myself up a six pack of this for just that reason to break away from my usual, much more citrus and hoppy, American IPAs.

Rating: B+

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Beer #312 – Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale by Stone Brewing Company

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale by Stone Brewing Company

Lets go Yankees!!!  Game 5…do or die.  Win or go home (even know they are home).  Should be a good one and I know exactly where I will be at 8:07 pm tonight.  For the time being though, it is time for my next beer.

Beer #312 is Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale by Stone Brewing Company.  You have to love those names Stone gives their beers.  This American Black Ale is brewed in Escondido, California and has an ABV of 8.7%.

It poured a very dark brown, it could have been black.  When I held it up to the light it had a faint ruby red color.  It had a nice light brown head sitting atop of it.  The nose was pine and grapefruit.  It had a very nice floral smell to it also.  Throw in a lesser aroma of dark roasted malts similar to coffee and I thought it was one fine smelling beer.  It started with the malts in the taste with a nice bitter black coffee taste with a bit of vanilla.  It worked its way to being quite hoppy with pine being the biggest flavor.  The coffee comes back at the end and into the aftertaste.  It was nice and bitter but not over the top like some of Stones offerings.  The body was leaning much more to the heavy and sticky and syrupy side.  It had an ample amount of carbonation.  For the high ABV, this was quite drinkable with the alcohol content hidden very nicely.

This was an excellent brew.  This was very yummy…I really enjoyed the mixing of the dark roasted malts with the IPA qualities.  Find it…drink it…enjoy it!!!  Oh yeah…go Yanks!!!

Rating: A

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Beer #303 – Stone Smoked Porter by Stone Brewing Company

Stone Smoked Porter by Stone Brewing Company

I’m not into this tonight (blogging…not beer), just a word of warning.

Beer #303 is Smoked Stone Porter by Stone Brewing Company from Escondido, California.  This American Porter has an ABV of 5.9%.

It was black and had a very nice tan head.  Nose was kind of light with chocolate, coffee, & roasted caramel malts.  Taste was better than the nose, slightly sweet and a bit of a bitter dark chocolate flavor.  It had a decent roasted coffee flavor and was a bit smoky near the back end.  It had a medium body with just a bit too much carbonation.

This was a decent American Porter but not even close, IMHO, to Robust Porter by Smuttynose or Red Brick Porter by Red Brick.

Rating: C

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Beer #145 – Stone Levitation Ale by Stone Brewing Company

Stone Levitation Ale by Stone Brewing Company

I would like to thank everyone who has visited this site since I started it in late November.  Just the other day I went over the 10,000 hit mark.  I really never thought I would get anywhere near that amount.  I’m glad someone is actually reading this and hopefully in the process, discovering some great beer. Thanks again and Cheers to all!

Beer #145 is Stone Levitation Ale  by Stone Brewing Company from Escondido, California.  Classified as an American Red Ale or an Amber Ale, this beer has an ABV of 4.4%.

Red Ale indeed…it had a nice reddish brown color with a head that just wouldn’t quit.  It took forever for that head to settle so I could get a decent photo.  I have heard the term floral hops before and after smelling this, I now know exactly what that means.  It had a distinct flower like smell.  That made me smile as it reminded me of warm spring days.  It was also heavy with pine and citrus aromas…very hoppy but what else would you expect from Stone?  There was tad bit of sweet caramel malts buried in there also.  The floral flavors hit me first followed by the citrus and then the pine but one thing I noticed was the malt flavors were a bit more pronounced then they were in the nose.  There is plenty of bitterness here but not nearly as much as in some of Stones other brews such as Ruination Ale or even their IPA.  The mouthfeel was nice, it had a medium body with the carbonation slightly stinging the tongue.  Good drinkability for me but, like some of Stones other brews, I could see the bitterness turning people off.  The low ABV makes this a good choice for a session beer also.

Very good beer here…absolutely nothing wrong other than maybe this wasn’t quite what I would consider an Amber or Red Ale.  I thought it was more like an IPA but then what do I know.  I am no expert, just someone who enjoys a good beer and I believe this is a very good beer indeed!

Rating: B+

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Beer #85 – San Diego County Session Ale by Stone Brewing Company

San Diego County Session Ale by Stone Brewing Company

Wow…who would have guessed it…more snow.  Luckily it was only a dusting and not a foot or you would have heard me yelling from NJ.  Think spring!

Beer #85 is San Diego County Session Ale by Stone Brewing Company.  Brewed in the style of an American Pale Ale, this collaboration beer between Stone Brewing Company, Ballast Point Brewing Company, & Kelsey McNair has an ABV of 4.2%.

This brew poured a hazy dark orange color with a minimal white head that got smaller with every sip.  The nose was very pleasant, heavy on the grapefruit hoppy aroma and something I think may have been honey?  The taste fell a bit short for me, there was a blast of pine grapefruit like flavors up front with an odd soapy bitter taste bringing up the rear.  There was a decent bitter aftertaste that I kind of enjoyed but that soapy taste didn’t sit well with me.  It was a medium bodied brew with some decent carbonation.  It was fairly easy to drink with the low ABV although I think it may be a bit too bitter (not for me of course) for most to be a session beer.

This could have been better but something about the odd soapy taste really bugged me.  Oh well, they can’t all be a Kingly brew but here’s hoping that tomorrows will be more suited for a King as opposed to a Jester.

Rating: C

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Beer #53 – Stone Ruination IPA by Stone Brewing Company

Stone Ruination IPA by Stone Brewing Company

Beer #53 is Stone Ruination IPA by Stone Brewing Company.  This American Double IPA or Imperial IPA has a very high IBU rating, 100+.  That equates to a very bitter drink.  The ABV comes in at 7.7%.  You just have to love that gargoyle on the label and make sure you read the back of the bottle as Stone does a great job describing their beers.

A beautiful clear golden amber with a big fluffy head sat in my Duvel tulip glass.  I make no bones about it, I love the smell of this beer.  The pine scent in this was huge.  Team that with some really nice citrus notes and you have, in my opinion, a hopheads delight.  I even got some floral aromas mixed in there.  This is a great smelling beer.  Taste is exactly what you would expect from the nose.  So many good flavors here, bready malts, pine, grapefruit, lemon & citrus all with that great hoppy bitterness.  Great mouthfeel, lots of carbonation in a medium bodied drink that is surprisingly smooth.  Very drinkable for me, but that will vary depending on how hoppy and bitter you prefer your beer.  One thing I have found out with this drink is that it goes great with spicy Thai food.  I always bring a bomber of this when we hit our favorite Thai restaurant, Four Seasons in Piscataway, NJ (
http://www.pad-thai.com/
).  If you ever find yourself in Piscataway, NJ…give it a try.  You will not be sorry.  Just be careful, medium spiciness there is quite hot.  Good stuff…now I’m getting hungry!

I love this beer, it is easily my favorite from Stone.  Non-hopheads need not apply though due to the bitter hoppy goodness found in this beer.

Rating: A+

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Beer #41 – Lukcy 13asartd Ale by Stone Brewing Company

Lukck 13asartd Ale by Stone Brewing Company

I hate the Jets and Rex Ryan.  I hope the Jets get their asses handed to them next week in New England.

Now on to beer #41, Lukcy 13asartd Ale by Stone Brewing Company.  Strange name for a American Strong Ale with an ABV of 8.5%.  One thing I love with Stone is their labels, a must read if I do say so myself.

This is a pretty looking beer, a nice reddish brown with a small head.  Nose was interesting to me, I got lots of peach with pineapple and grapefruit and caramel malts.  The taste was pine and grapefruit and citrus…very good indeed.  It had a nice bitter finish to it.  This was a medium bodied brew with some very nice carbonation and was nice and smooth.  The alcohol was hidden very well.  I could have drank this all night long but I wanted to throw the bottle at the TV hoping it would hit Rex Ryan in the head and knock him out.  That would have been a waste of a great beer.

This is a great beer, especially if you like something akin to an IPA.  A hoppy delight…yum!!!  Heres to hoping Stone brews this next year.

Rating: A

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Beer #16 – Stone IPA by Stone Brewing Company

Stone IPA by Stone Brewing Company

I’m a hophead.  Now that I have admitted it and it is out in the open, I feel so much better.  I seem to be in this phase of enjoying really hoppy beers.  Hops are good, hops are fine, hops, so much better than a glass of wine!  Hmmm, it seems I haven’t lost anything when it comes to penning great lyrics like the previous line.  Must be all the years of playing in the infamous Blood Sausages, you have heard of them…no?  But that is another story for another time.  Now it is drinking time!

When I saw this days beer in the store, I knew I had to get it.  I had heard so many great things about it and the hoppy goodness it is, it was time to see if it was all that and a bag of chips.

Beer #16 is Stone IPA by Stone Brewing Company.  This is brewed in the style of an American IPA with an ABV of 6.9% and an IBU rating of 77.  From the IBU’s, it should be quite bitter indeed.

This IPA had a gorgeous hazy gold color, decent size head (about 2 fingers width) that stuck around, and so many of those tiny little carbonation bubbles rising to the top.  The fragrance was classic IPA, lots of great hoppy, white grapefruit, & pine smells.  Smelled really delicious.  I knew right off of the bat I was going to enjoy this brew.  The taste did not disappoint as the hoppy grapefruit flavor hit me from the first sip to the slightly dry finish with plenty of bitterness.  It had a very nice carbonated medium body to it.  The one bad thing about this beer is that it was gone before I knew it.    For me, even with the bitterness, the drinkability was really high.  I could have easily had a few more of these.

I love this beer.  Again, I’m a hophead so this is right up my alley.  Although I must say Stone makes an even hoppier brew, Stone Ruination IPA, that I love even more.  More on that in another review!

Rating: A

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Beer #3 – Double Bastard Ale by Stone Brewing Company

Double Bastard Ale by Stone Brewing Co.

“Ye Shall Know the Bastard, and the Bastard Shall Set You Free”

What a lousy day here in NJ.  It was chilly, rainy, windy, & with Derek Jeter still a free agent looking for a boatload of cash, I figured the best way to end the day was with a bomber (22 oz.) of Double Bastard Ale by Stone Brewing Company.

This is classified as an American Strong Ale and with an ABV of 11.2% meant a fun evening indeed.

Poured into a tulip glass, this ale revealed a nice deep, dark red color with a decent head.  Caramel, cherry and alcohol hit the nose instantly with a sweetness that can’t be missed.  The taste was dominated by bitter hops with a malty sweetness and an alcohol presence that lets you know this is not to be taken lightly.  This Double Bastard was slightly thick and very smooth with a slight alcohol aftertaste.  It had just a touch of that warming sensation as it was going down.  One bomber was enough to make me feel very nice indeed.

This would make for a great drink on a cold winter night with nothing better to do then…well…drink beer!!!  Although with the high ABV, the amount that can be savored would have to be limited.

Rating: A

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