Stone 18th Anniversary IPA

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Walgreens in Chicago, IL; 2014 (Bottled on 084/04/2014)

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 8.5% 
Reported IBUs: 75

Oh man, I don't even know why I'm drinking this two months past the bottled-on date. I guess I'm just a beer hater, but whatever. 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. Also...farking woot and fizzy yellow beer is for bitches. 

How about that 18th Anniversary Ale? This one is brewed with El Dorado hops (they dry-hopped it with two pounds per barrel). This also features English Brown Coffee, Cara Munich, and Chocolate Wheat malts. This pours into a caramel-orange body that is surprisingly clear in bright light. It's very much a caramel-affair, with a finger of caramel-tinged head. There's good lacing and head retention, and carbonation. It looks very Stone. 

At 2 months past bottling, this has some faded iced tea hop notes. But it's not one-dimensional in that regard. I'm getting some earthy/herbal and medicinal notes, and big orange: orange juice, orange freezer pops, and big resinous pine. The big orange juice notes flirt with lemon. This smells dank as hell too. There are trace hints of some caramel/malt backings as well...although I'm not getting the coffee, cocoa, and roasted malts as described on Stone's website.

Stone 18th Anniversary IPA

This is very much Stone in the taste. The surprise here is the depth and complexity of the malt...the back end drops some really nice grain and malt characters on your palate. It tastes very much like how a brewhouse smells. And once you lock into that malty flavor, you can dig grain out of this, with biscuit, bread, and even some of the described coffee/toffee that was missing from the aroma. This is actually quite complex for an IPA, and if you served this to me blind and let me dwell on it, I would say/write very nice things. In a lot of ways, the malt complexity infuses a fresh, draft-like quality to this beer. I'm reminded of sessions at Solemn Oath. The hop notes in here lean towards orange, orange juice, lemon, and hints of pine/iced tea. This is balanced...not too sweet, not too bitter, not too dry. But it does finish relatively dry and clean. 

At 8.5%, this is pretty drinkable. Being an anniversary ale, and an anniversary IPA, you probably won't pick this up more than once. So this review is stupid. I realize that, but I'm mostly here for me. Anyway...this has good depth and complexity. Stone knows how to do many things well, but they mostly know how to cram a bunch of hops into a beer and make it taste solid. In that respect, this has above-average complexity thanks to the edition of the malts. This unravels with some good lemon, orange, and pine hops up front; that gives way to resinous pine and iced tea, with a little malt sweetness showing up; the back end drops the biscuit and bready malts, and subsequent sips unravel sweetened hops and malts, with fresh malts that add a nice touch of complexity. I can't fault this beer, but it's pretty par the course for Stone at this point.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. Yup, I'm gonna toss this an average. But it's really like an Average+. The "+" comes from that nice malt depth. I'd recommend passing on this at this point, since it is now 2 months out from bottling. Grab some Enjoy By or Stone's classic IPA instead. But I'm happy to have Stone around doing their thing...I'm pairing this with homework. Ah, the life of a grad student, amirite?

Random Thought: What the fuck is going on with the Chicago Bears? Holy drama. Holy suck. I'm a sports radio guy and you're damn right I'll be tuning in to Boers and Bernstein tomorrow. 

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.

Firestone Walker 16 (XVI Sixteenth Anniversary Ale)

Brewed By: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles, California

Purchased: 22oz (1 Pint, 6oz) bomber from Cardinal Liquors in Chicago, Illinois; 2012

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale, 13.0% 

Reported IBUs: ?

It's Friday night, so that means special beer. Woo. About Firestone: 

Tonight I'm looking at a beer from the folks at Firestone Walker Brewing. The brewery was founded by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone (son of Brooks Firestone) and David Walker (husband of Adam's sister). The brothers brewed their first beer in 1996, in a small facility rented from the Firestone Vineyard estate in Santa Barbara County. In 2001, the brothers-in-law purchased SLO Brewing Company in Paso Robles, CA, and set up camp. Despite being relatively new to craft beer, the brewery has a ton of accolades, and is known for their Reserve line and their oak barrel brewing system. You can learn more about the history of the brewery here and here. 

I like to read about what goes into the beer I'm drinking, and for that, I tip my hat to Firestone. I could waste a ton of space and time on this post, but Firestone breaks down their Sixteenth Anniversary Ale to a tee. If you're wondering about the Firestone Anniversary Ales, their website states:

"Since founding our brewery in 1996, we have specialized in the rare art of brewing beer in oak barrels. In the fall of 2006, we released a limited edition oak-aged strong ale called 10 to commemorate our 10th anniversary.  The experience was greater than any one of us could have ever imagined.  We now present XVI, our seventh release in what has become an annual autumn rite at our brewery."

The idea behind the Anniversary releases is to create a harmonious blend of various high gravity beers, with an emphasis on oak. The brewery describes a connection to wine making, which is a bit bashful. These are complex blends that should be the envy for any wine fan. This beer is made from 8 different beers aged in 226 oak barrels. The full list is: 

Velvet Merkin (8.7% ABV)  - Aged in Bourbon barrels 
-Traditional Oatmeal Stout (23% of final blend)

OG= 15P FG=5.5 IBU=32.5 Color= Black / 15% Oats / Hopped with 100% US grown Fuggles

Stickee Monkee (12.5% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon and Brandy barrels

-English Barley Wine (22.5% of final blend)

OG=27P FG=5.4P IBU=45  Color=28 / Brewed with Mexican Turbinado (Brown) sugar

Double Double Barrel Ale (14.2% ABV) - Aged 100% in retired Firestone Union barrels

-Double strength English Pale Ale (20.3% of final blend)

OG=25.0P FG=5.1P IBU=30 Color=16 / A Double version of our flagship created by Ali Razi

Parabola (13% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon barrels
-Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout (10.8% of final blend)                                                                                      
OG=31P FG=8.5P IBU=80  Color=Black / Hopped with Simcoe, Bravo, Styrian Golding and East Kent Golding

PNC (13.0% ABV) - Aged in Tequila barrels 
-American Strong Buckwheat Stout (8.1% of final blend)
OG = 25P FG = 5.0P IBU = 80 Color = 100 / Brewed with Buckwheat

Helldorado (11.5% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon Barrels and Brandy barrels
-Blonde Barley Wine (5.4% of final blend)
OG=24.7P FG=4.5P IBU=24 Color = 8 / Brewed with buckwheat honey & 100% El Dorado hops

Bravo (13.4% ABV) - Aged in Bourbon and Brandy barrels
-Imperial Brown Ale (5.4% of final blend)
OG=26.5 FG=7.7 IBU=35 Color=32 / Hopped with 100% US grown Fuggles

Wookey Jack (8.3% ABV)- 100% Fresh, Dank & Hoppy 100% Stainless Steel 
-Black Rye India Pale Ale (4.5% of final blend)
OG= 18P FG = 3.0P IBU = 80 Color =black  / Extremely hoppy double dry hopped BIPA

The final product, the Sixteenth Anniversary Ale, is 42% Stout, and for the first time in the series' history, features a beer aged in Tequila barrels. Clocking in at 13%, this is a pretty complex and big beer from the get-go. Let's see how the blend stacks up.

Firestone Walker 16

This one initially pours a lighter brown, but quickly fills into some nice black shoes. It's not quite RIS dark, but it's still pretty dark. This one poured with a finger's worth of brown/sandy-gray head, but the head quickly settled into a nice cauldron effect. In bright light, the beer shows its ruby red color, and slightly transparent body. Tiny carbonation is visible in this. There's some nice alcohol legs on this, and the head is clinging with some lacing. 

The aroma is nice, with big bourbon, vanilla, wood, brownie, pecan pie, coconut, hints of sweet hops ala tropical fruits and candied fruits, a dash of tequila, and a ton of vibrant spirit-esque-ness. Admittedly  the aroma is a touch nondescript. 

Things really kick up in the taste, with a swirl of various components kicking your palate, with big oak, vanilla, caramel/toffee candy, cocoa powder, tequila, hop kick with citrus and grass, and some big boozy complexity on the back end. I'm getting some dark fruits like raisins from the Stout base, with some roast and coffee as well (on the back). I'm also getting some slightly resinous hop kick, with some lemon, Pledge, and some zest. It kind of reminds me of the Griffin's Bow Oaked Barleywine from Sam Adams. I'm getting more tropical fruits now, and tequila...

This beer is very complex, and has really good palate depth. Everything is grounded/brought home around the oak, with sweet oak, wood, and nice sweet malts rounding the whole thing out. This is full-bodied, slightly sticky-sweet, and has lively supportive carbonation. The finish is sticky, dry, and sugary. It's Russian Imperial Stout-like, or comparable to a big Barleywine. It's hard to break this one down, because each sip reveals different layers of fun. Up front is a blast of hops, bourbon, coconut, brownie; the middle rolls into brownie, coconut, caramel, toffee, Stout, dark fruits; the back end is lingering hops, tequila, some roast and coffee, more sticky sugar, oak, wood...

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this, with my only gripe being that all the layers never really harmonize into sexy jazz. Maybe some time in the cellar will change that...and I do plan to age a bottle for a couple of years. Otherwise, this is a brilliant blend of brilliant beers, and the oak kicks ass. The whole thing comes together very nicely. I would pair this with rich chocolate desserts, a cigar, a burger with super raunchy cheese, or a medium-rare steak with butter on top. At around 20 dollars a bottle, this shit is expensive. If you enjoy craft beer, wine, or blended beverages, you owe it to yourself to check this out.

Random Thought: Is The Cabin In The Woods not the best movie ever?