Posted By kkozlen on Apr 6, 2011 | 2 comments

As I mentioned in my last post, Stone Brewing found a distributor here in Central Illinois, and they were partnering with a local bar for the launch.  I was looking through the list of 12 different Stone beers on tap, and there were certainly some great sounding beers to try.  I had a few samples of beers that weren’t too great (I guess I built up Stone’s reputation a bit too much in my mind).  However, when I sampled this one, it wasn’t too bad, so I went for a full pint of it.

Numbers: 8.7% ABV, 90 IBUs, Hops: Chinook, Simcoe & Amarillo

Appearance & Aroma: As you can see it was very dark brown, almost black, with a decent sized, creamy, tan head on it (which left some nice lacing on the glass).  There was an obvious hop aroma, which was citrusy and a bit piney, along with undertones of malty roastiness and chocolate.

Taste & Feel: The big head provided a creamy, smooth mouthfeel.  The body was medium, and the crisp bitterness of the citrus hops hits your mouth right away.  In the middle, a complex mix of the roasty, chocolate, dark caramel-like flavors.  However, the citrusy and piney hop flavors come charging back in the finish, leaving a bit of a roasty bittterness in the aftertaste, along with a bit of an alcohol warmth.

Food Pairing: With the huge amount of hops and the solid maltiness, I would probably pair this with BBQ, as the sauce would be matched with the roastiness and dark caramel flavors, and the hop flavor would add an additional flavor with each drink.  Additionally, this could also go great with a hardy chili, as the flavors would pair nicely with that as well.

Overall Impression: It was obvious from the beginning that this beer must have a very healthy dose of late addition and/or dry hops.  The hop flavor was good, and matched with a good amount of malt flavor.  Under the hops, the roasty and chocolate flavors reminded me of a strong porter.  Overall, it was a pretty complex beer, and fairly drinkable given the flavorfulness and big alcohol content of this beer.

My Rating:

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