Stone 17th Anniversary Götterdämmerung IPA

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013

Style/ABV: American Double Stout, 9.5% 
Reported IBUs: 102

Has it really been 17 years since Stone first showed up on the scene? I don't even know what to say to that. About Stone:

Stone Brewing are one of the more prominent breweries in the American craft brewing scene. They were founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, and moved to Escondido, California where they recently expanded their operations. Stone was founded by Steve Wagner and Greg Koch. Koch has a reputation among the craft beer community for voicing his opinion, not putting up with shit, and standing behind his beer. 

Götterdämmerung, or Twilight of the Gods, is the last cycle in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (some German opera shit, look it up). The title is a translation of the Old Norse phrase Ragnarök, which refers to a prophesied war among various beings and the gods that results in the destruction and then renewal of the world. This is some epic shit, so of course Stone named their beer after it.

Stone's 17th Anniversary Götterdämmerung IPA is brewed using all-German malts and hops. This beer features Pilsner malts, and Strisselspalt (noble hop), Herkules, Hersbrucker, Magnum, Merkur, Opal, Smaragd, and Sterling hops. The beer is dry-hopped with the Sterling hops. Dubbed a "German IPA," this beer pushes the envelope with its unique list of ingredients. Let's waste no more time, and glass this up.

Stone 17th Anniversary Götterdämmerung IPA

The beer pours into a dark, golden/yellow body, almost approaching amber or bronze. The beer kicks up three fingers of super dense, bready, golden-tinted head. The head is sticky and thick, and is made up of hop dreams. Bright light confirms the strong golden body, and the head still has a nice golden tint. The head is sustaining nicely, but leaving some lacing as it falls off. There's a stream of fat carbonation in the middle of my glass, and this beer looks to be semi or fully transparent.

Wow at the aroma on this. This beer has a bright and vibrant nose, with an explosion of Noble hop goodness. There's also quite a bit of resinous, woody, tangerine-citrus on this beer's nose, and it even hints at catty. Before I spend any more time jerking about how hoppy this beer is, I should point out that there is a nice Pilsner malt base present on the aroma. This beer kind of smells like an amped up, Imperial Pilsner. But not really. I am getting some biscuit...there's tangerine, resin, wood, BIG spices (tea/mint/evergreen/grass), and a slew of Noble hop ass-kickery. 

After the initial palate adjustment...actually, you don't really get that. This beer lays on a proper hop whoopin' right away, with a dense, resinous/woody assault of spicy and floral hops up front. There's a kiss of sweet caramel and tangerine in the mix, and then it's back to licking tree bark and stealing the moisture off your tongue. My goodness, this is pleasantly bitter. This is actually fairly sweet, with resin and sugar mixing it up in your mouth like horny teenagers exchanging saliva. I'm getting all the resin/wood, floral bitterness, and spicy, but there are punches of peach, mango, sweet citrus, tangerine, and bready caramel. The finish does reach for the spice and then punches you with bitter wood...and drying. 

At this point, I'm fairly certain that Stone simply isn't capable of making a bad IPA, and this beer is no exception. This beer is exceedingly bitter, and it even has a hint of booze, but it's still very drinkable for a 9.5%/102 IBU beer. The mouthfeel is medium-full to full-bodied, and is fairly smooth. The beer is propped up with some helpful carbonation and nice bitterness. Palate depth is outstanding, and this has moderate complexity. The finish is bone dry. I get a kiss of sweet Pilsner malts and sugars up front, followed by a blast of resin and herbal/spicy hops; that rolls into some citrus, sweetness, and more bitter; the back end is bitter, resinous, woody, and dry...there's a touch of booze on the back.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd) 

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this, so prepare your fundie hole and go grab a few bottles before this expires on the shelves. At around 6 or 7 dollars a bomber, this beer is an outright good bargain. It's also a nice twist on the patented American Imperial IPA. A beer as floral, bright, and bitter as this can stand up to some impressively spicy foods. I would pair this beer with strong cheeses, strong spices, or grilled meats. Stone lists a bunch of food pairings, including blue cheese, carrot cake, cajun shrimp, and crab cakes. They also list out a bunch of cigars you could pair this beer with, but meh.

Random Thought: Dear the four people who read this shitty blog, you'll be happy to know that I am feeling a bit better. Maybe it was all the amphetamines/decongestants I took, or maybe it was the cold front that moved through...but my nose feels about a hundred times better than it did two days ago. I'm seriously looking forward to the part of Autumn where we get a cold snap and all the plants die. I'll take cold season over allergy season every time.