Stone 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: Single, big-ass, bomber (1 Pint, 6oz) from Binny's in Illinois; 2011

Style/ABV: Imperial Black IPA, 10.8% 

Does Stone Brewing need an introduction? Given how much you hear about Stone Brewing from within and even outside the craft beer scene, it is amazing to think these guys have only been around for 15 years. In 15 years Stone has pumped out some seriously over-the-top but awesome beers. Stone is the brainchild of Steve Wagner and Greg Koch, two guys who loved beer. Greg and Steve didn't just love beer, they owned it. In 1996 Stone Brewing Co. came into full fruition.

Stone Brewing Co.

You probably know Stone for their badass Gargoyle logo, or maybe you know them for their divine Arrogant Bastard Ale. One thing is certain; these guys make some really good over-the-top beer. Speaking of, to celebrate their 15th Anniversary, Stone has released a limited one-off beer. This has become an annual tradition for Stone, and this will mark my first experience with a Stone Anniversery beer.

Today's beer, Stone's 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA, seems to be in line with Stone's extreme beer philosophy. This is an Imperial Black IPA. Black IPAs are an American style of IPA with a little more malt characteristic, a high ABV, and often utilize dry hopping. Stone goes above and beyond with their bottle artwork, painting their designs onto the bottle, and on this beer's bottle are some nice words of wisdom from Greg Koch and Steve Wagner. Now this is an Imperial Black IPA. Imperial anything usually means more alcohol, or more hops, or more everything. This is a bold beer, at 10.8% ABV, and I expect it to lay down a righteous ass kicking. I'm expecting a big hoppy bomb, possibly pushing towards 90+ IBUs, with hints of malt goodness.

Today's beer is brewed using Nelson Sauvin hops, a relatively new hop with a really unique profile. Nelson Sauvin hops are supposed to add a grape-like component to beers. It also can add extreme fruitiness to beers, with some people describing it tasting like passion fruit. This beer also uses Chocolate Malts, so I'm hoping to pull out a chocolate component. This beer uses Citra and Columbus hops, and is dry-hopped with the Nelson hops as well as Pacific Jade (bold, herbal, peppers, citrus). This is a sick line-up of ingredients, and with 10.8% ABV to back up this list of awesomeness... 

Is this an Imperial Stout? Had me fooled.

I admire beer when I pour it, but holy cow this is a ridiculous looking beer. This beer pours with a 3-finger, coffee-brown head. This beer is PITCH BLACK. I swear this is darker than a lot of Imperial Stouts. Even when held up to the light, there is nothing escaping from this beer. It's such an obsidian-colored beer that I cannot even tell you about the carbonation. Despite the 10.8% ABV I am getting decent head retention, and there appears to be some alcohol legs. There was smoke rising from the bottle when I popped it open, and I got hit with a blast of aroma within a second or two of opening this bottle...

...and man oh man is this aroma good. This is incredibly hoppy, and citrusy, and grapes, and then earthy. I am getting giant aromas in the form of sweet grapefruit and maybe orange. There is an overwhelmingly resiny quality to the aroma, and it really compliments the hops. There is a ton of grape and passion fruit, likely from the Nelson hops. There is an earthy component, but my untrained nose isn't really detecting any specific malt notes or any chocolate. At this point in the process the head has really winded down into a nice 1-centimeter coating. Beers with giant ABVs tend to have heads that diminish pretty quickly, for whatever reason, so it's not a big deal. There is also some nice lacing on my glass. 

Holy resin, Batman. This is a resiny beer. I also have isolated the chocolate malt, which is showing up in the body in a major way. This is actually super malty. This is super complex, with big citrus notes, some definite pepper, some woody/tobacco notes, tons of grapes and passion fruit, and an overlaying chocolate quality. In fact, the chocolate and grape cut through the whole palate and drop a ton of interesting flavors. I swear I'm getting a woody/tobacco quality along with the grape and passion-fruit. I think this is pulling around 100 IBUs, and it shows. This is bitter, and if you aren't used to bitter beers this is going to kick your ass. There is definitely some alcohol bite in the back end, and it kind of creeps up from your palate into your nose. But it isn't offensive, and compliments the huge resiny flavor of this beer. 

This is superbly complex, has tons of depth, and is incredibly fulfilling. At 10.8% ABV this isn't exactly something you want to chugging, but it is surprisingly drinkable. The body is resiny and full; this is a full-bodied beer. With waves of hops, malt, and hops and RESIN, you really feel the full weight of this beer. And it's wonderful. 

How do you rate a one-off beer like this? A beer so extreme that it defies most expectations established by day-to-day beers. This is a beer riding the line between Above-Average and Divine Brew, and because it is unique I'll buy into the hype and go ahead and throw done the Divine Brew. Pick this up if you can, while you can.

Rating: Divine Brew

Score: 91%

Even in light: pitch black

On the front end of my palate I get a lot of malt including chocolate, but there is a resiny hop note (the grape, passion-fruit) that rides through the front, middle and back. The middle is big hops, including grapefruit and more grapes. There is also some booze in the middle. The back end is dry as hell, and really gives way to those 100 IBUs. This is a bitter beer, 'nuff said. There is a pepper quality that comes and goes, which really compliments the resiny mouthfeel that dominates this beer. I also get a woody-tobacco quality to the beer, which may just be my weird interpretation of the spicy pepper component.

I suspect this beer is brewed more for the beer geek and the fans of Stone Brewing Co. than for the general public. This isn't remotely noobie friendly - and between the giant ABV, the huge resiny body, the extreme bitterness, and the giant hop kick - this is a beer that is really really good but also really extreme. This beer is kind of like Stone Brewing in a nutshell. 

I love how this beer looks, it is pitch black. I love the coffee-brown head, which hung around longer than I expected. I love that I'm belching up grapefruit. I love the Nelson hop notes in this beer: there are definitely notes of grape and passion fruit. Despite the huge malt presence and the chocolate notes, this beer is largely hop-forward and I do think this leans more towards hops. So I wouldn't call it balanced. 

But this is a one-off, an Anniversary Ale. If you like extreme beers, and if you are a beer geek, you owe it to yourself to try and snag a bottle of this while you can. Because it is muy bueno. If you see this beer, buy it! Pour it into your snifter, and grab some cheese and crackers, and enjoy your night. And thank you to Stone Brewing Co. for making awesome beer for the last 15 years. Respect.