Entry 86: Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

Stone Brewing Co.

Escondido, California


Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale


Style: American Strong Ale
Availability: "When [they] can brew it"
Format: 22oz
ABV: 8.7%
IBUs: 90
Hops: (Bittering) Chinook, (Dry Hop) Simcoe & Amarillo


Bottle text & Info:

You can check out all the fine print here.
The long and short of it is. This was originally released in 2007 as the 11th anniversary ale. They liked it so much they released it in 2009 as the newly named "sublimely self-righteous ale." If you didn't read the link to the label. I just saved you an assload of time. you're welcome.


Tasting Notes
Pours a deep brown showing ruby on the edges. Huge, fluffy cumulous head that settles and clings sufficiently to the glass. Whoa, huge wafts of high alpha hops on the nose and not a whole lot else. A medium to heavy body on this with some dark belgian fruits on the front of with some booze and molasses before the hops take over. Citrus all over the back end finishing with some heavy bittering. There's a lot going on here but its easy to see how people will immediately classify this as a black IPA. Hard to argue with this. It got some complexity. Its high ABV. And its got hops galore. Unfortunately, this still suffers from the typical obnoxious marketing that is the head of the monster known as Stone Brewing.

Day 63: 03.04.10 Stone Old Guardian

Stone Brewing Co.

Escondido, California


Style: American Barleywine
Availability: Limited - Jan - Feb.
Format: 22oz
ABV: 11.1%
IBUs: 95


Old Guardian Barleywine Style Ale


Bottle text & Info:
everything you need to know about this years vintage right .... here.


Tasting Notes:
 Pours a glowing amber with some hazing and a pretty generous (for a Bw) light tan head. Mouthfeel is slight and oily but not overly so. Clings to the glass leaving huge streaks and significant lacing. Smells of sweet malts, alcohol and some citrus. whoa, HOPS! BOATLOADS OF EM! sorry for yelling. seriously though, this is pretty crazy. Some caramel/toffee which is piggybacked by pine, pine, and heavy grapefruit.  The unexpected hops are backed heavily by some english malt notes that keep the whole thing together. This is far better than lasts years - which i found sickeningly sweet ( and f*d me up pretty good.). This vintage has some real balance with some more huge alcohol, superb maltings, and smack you in the face hops. I feel exactly the same about this as I did the Cali-Belgie: like Stone's motto should be structure and nuance. This appropriately sums it up and at $6.50 a pop, you can grab a couple for the beer closet and not feel guilty. This one will age with the best of em.

Day 62: 03.03.10 Stone Smoked Porter

Stone Brewing Co.

Escondido, California


Smoked Porter


Style: American Porter
Availability: Year Round
Format: 22oz
ABV: 5.9%
IBUs: 53
Hops: Columbus, Mt. Hood


Bottle text & Info:
A rich, dark and delicious porter with chocolate and coffee overtones accented by a subtle smokiness from just the right amount of peat smoked malt. Unlike a rauchbier, the "smoke" in Stone Smoked Porter is an ELEMENT of the character rather than being THE character. -- Greg Koch, Stone Brewing Co.


Tasting Notes:
Pours a dark brown showing amber and hazelnut highlights when held to light. Three-quarter inch cream colored heads that retains really well. Medium bodied mouthfeel, with whoa, what's this? subtle hopping? A malt bomb with slight chocolate, vanilla and of course, smoke. You sort of expect Stone to smack you in the face with high alcohol and intense flavors, so on the face of it, this ale seem pretty straight forward. Nonetheless, a solid porter that's definitely sessionable. I've had better porters, and I've had better beers from Stone, but fans of milk stouts and porters won't be disappointed.

Day 61: 03.02.10 Stone Ruination IPA

Stone Brewing Co.

Escondido, California


Ruination IPA


Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale
Availability:
Format: 12oz - 6pk, 22oz
ABV: 7.7%
IBUs: 100+
Hops: Centennial, Columbus


Bottle text & Info:
Stone Ruination IPA. So named, the bottle's label states,"because of the immediate ruinous effect on your palate." Stone Ruination IPA is the first new year-round release from Stone Brewing since the introduction of the infamous Arrogant Bastard Ale more than four and a half years ago. "It is a really big deal for us to decide to release Stone Ruination IPA on a year-round basis," said Stone CEO Greg Koch. Stone Ruination IPA will be the fifth beer that the brewery will make available
all the time, adding to their current line up of Stone Pale Ale, Stone Smoked Porter, Stone IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale. Not surprisingly, those who seek, crave and rejoice in beers with big, bold bitter character will find true nirvana in Stone Ruination IPA. However, Stone CEO Greg Koch comments "I have found it quite interesting that people who previously felt that bitterness in beer was unappealing have discovered joy in the startlingly bracing and uniquely refreshing bitter character of Stone Anniversary IPAs." Still, Stone wouldn't go so far as to recommend Stone Ruination IPA to someone who prefers drinks that taste like LifeSavers candies. "This beer is, after all, a celebration of hoppiness," reports
Koch, which may explain the phrase on the front of the Ruination IPA's label
that reads "A Liquid Poem to the Glory of the Hop."


Tasting Notes:
Pours a glowing golden orange with some substantial hop haze. Soapy, slick pure white head rises but never quite materialized before quickly settling. Smell...hmmm... smells how i imagine the field in Yakima Valley smell. Heavy citrus with some seriously heavy leafy, earthy notes. About as close as hops in a boil kettles as you can imagine. Very grapefruit-like citrus (hello, Centennial) along with a strong dirt/root-like astringency. I have a love/hate relationship with this beer. I get paying over 12$ a six for a double ipa. Buttt......17$??? for 7.7%????? I don't know stone. kind of lame. don't get me wrong. I love the flavors on this. But the mouthfeel is too thin, malt bill way too low and alcohol about a percentage point and a half a way from justifiably calling this a DIPA. And the money...fahgettaboutit. i'll take a founders double trouble.

Day 47: 02.16.10 Stone Cali-Belgie

Stone Brewing Co.
Escondido, California


Cali-Belgie


Style: Belgian India Pale Ale
Availability: Limited - Year Round
Format: 22oz
ABV: 6.9%
IBU's: 77
Hops: Columbus, Centennial, Dry hopped with Chinook.


Bottle text & Info:

Tasting Notes:

Alright so half of these have the French speaking "Belgique" label and the other half has the Dutch "Belgie." Looks like we've got the Dutch which I've never actually seen. Only seen the French the last couple years. O.K., so this is supposed to be the exact same recipe as the Stone IPA, just with a belgian yeast strand. Let's check it out.

Pours a brightly clear glowing golden orange with a slow rising legion of extremely large bubbles leading into a quarter inch white head. This actually appears slightly darker than their original IPA. There is some faint citrus on the nose but it is mostly dominated by that of the yeast which is somewhat saison-like. Not gonna lie. I'm pretty excited about this. Anddddd....Yup. Delicious. I'm so glad they didn't pull back too much on the hops. An exotic and thrilling collision of flavors - high alphas v. belgian yeast. This is such a well put together beer. Sophisticated and restrained, this ale is delicate and complex. Some excellent orange citrus cut by candy-like sweetness, held together by some nice pale malts. I love that Stone kept the body on this light and crisp. A deftly handled special release. I hope that some of the great brewers in Belgian get to try this! It's a prime example of heights American brewers are now achieving and a fitting tribute to Belgian yeast.