The Best of 2009: #10

Stone IPA


Brewery: Stone, Escondido, California

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 6.9%

Rating: 4.5 Stars




Unquestionably one of the most widely-sampled IPAs, Stone's had 2134 ratings on ratebeer at the time of posting. I'm certainly blazing no trails with this review. However, we still can't get Stone beers in Minnesota (I think??) and I had to cross into cheese country to get some. I'm almost positive I've had it before courtesy of Cali Uncle Mike, but not since this little project started. Want to know a cliched, embarrassing secret?

I watched Julie and Julia last night and became the seven millionth person to re-dedicate himself to his blog. I'm ashamed to admit it. But, looking back at 2009, I had a lot of great beer, 340 first timers to be exact, and sharing them with a pregnant wife isn't near as interesting as sharing them with my now 12 followers.

So, to the Stone. The standard IPA rates a tad lower than the Ruination IPA, which is stronger and packs a little more punch, but I prefer the regular ole IPA. This distinction is a good representation of what happened to my beer tastes in 2009. When I tried some of my first outstanding double/Imperial IPAs in early 2008 I was blown away. Obsessed. But, a year later, I felt the field was getting a bit watered down. Everyone was throwing copious amounts of hops into everything, and I thought the quality took a back seat to the quantity. I was vacuumed back to the straightforward, standard IPAs. Still with the big aroma. Still with the sticky, mouth-gripping bitterness. But not as super-sized.

I recall the point in my life where I didn't super size simply because it was 'the best value.' Sometimes, even though the 44 oz fountain Super America Coke is the same price as the 22 oz, you really only need 22 ounces. Sometimes I don't need the copious amounts of hops. And in the beer world, the double IPA does cost more than the regular.

Having trouble staying on task for this review.

The tasting dates back to March 5, 2009. From a bottle, obviously. On that day, I said: "The smell reminds me of the best: Furious, Two Hearted. Just want to keep smelling it." I can name 20 beers I've said that about that have thoroughly disappointed. This one clearly didn't.

As opposed to the often buttery, syrupy double IPAs, this beer was crisp and sparkling, with good carbonation and cleanliness. The citrus aroma carried through brilliantly, which is often the biggest source of IPA letdown. And the bitterness, I often describe it as a back-end grab, takes over when the flavor begins to subside. Back-end grab: the beer, after swallowing, reaches back to the roof of your mouth, grabbing the moisture and pulling it down your throat as its last gasp of life. It leaves your mouth dry and...bitter. It's the IPA's signature, and I love how it is a continuation of the tasting. The beer isn't over when you swallow.

The biggest reason that Stone's IPA falls here over the dozens of good IPAs I had this year, and the reason I prefer it to the Ruination IPA, is its drinkability. It doesn't overwhelm you, isn't difficult to choke down and is enjoyable from the first sip to the last drip. On that March tasting I said I "could drink one after another all night," and I thoroughly believe I could.

The Best of Late

Been watching too much basketball lately to dedicate time to post. This doesn't mean I've slacked on the consumption. My stash is dwindling, though, and I want to make it last as long as I can, so I've been leaning toward the wines and the liquors more as of late. With that said, I've had some great beers recently, including a well-respected beer that didn't disappoint. Here's a
mini rundown of the best stuff I've had recently.


New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red

Brewery: New Glarus, New Glarus, Wisconsin

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 5.1%

Rating: 5 Stars


One of the best beers in the Midwest, and certainly the best fruit beer available. I imagined it would be akin to a Belgian kriek-like cherry bomb. Quite wrong I was. New Glarus uses one pound of Wisconsin cherries for each bottle (not your 12 oz. sixer bottle, mind you) and it's evident in the pungent aroma.

I was slightly worried when I realized this wasn't going to be as tart as the sour beers, because I typically loathe cherry-flavored things. In fact, the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat was one of my least favorite beers I tried in 2008. But this cherry was different. It had immense sweetness, but not like a Popsicle or sucker. It was sweet like the gooey inside-the-pie cherries, a real richness that couldn't be faked by synthetic flavoring. There was enough tartness to keep the sweetness at bay, though, and the late sparkle scraped my mouth so that I was ready for another sip.

Kristie and I enjoyed this one together, and it's exciting to me that I now have a better grip on the types of beers she might enjoy. I wish they didn't cost $10 a bottle, but it's exponentially better to enjoy a beer with company.

This beer (and the myriad of other New Glarus crafts) are well worth the 45-minute drive to Wisconsin, and I plan on making semi-regular trips from here on out.


New Glarus Crack'd Wheat

Brewery: New Glarus, New Glarus, Wisconsin

Style: American Pale Wheat Ale

ABV: 5.95%

Rating: 4 Stars


Prior to my whimsical February jaunt to Hudson, I'd had only one New Glarus beer--the infamous Spotted Cow. Thought it was below average and not worthy of the hype I'd heard from my Madison brethren. I had no idea they had as expansive a line of reign-free beers as they do. This one sounded interesting, and both employees said they'd had it and were pleasantly surprised.

It's an interesting idea. It is, basically, a wheat beer. But it's also dry-hopped with amarillo hops. To dry-hop a beer means to introduce hops after the fermentation has begun. It's a way to give the beer an extra hop kick and bring out the characteristics of the specific hops used. It's a pretty common tactic, but this is the first I'd heard about a wheat beer being dry-hopped. Though gimmicky, the idea sounded quite interesting to me, especially because wheat beers generally all get lumped into the same clovey/spicy/orange-peely heap for me.

It tastes exactly how you would imagine. The smell is all spicy wheat, and wheat is obviously the base of the beer. But the amarillo hops kick in toward the middle of each gulp and leave the beer's lasting impression. The beer is bottle-conditioned, another common brewing practice meaning the beer finishes the fermentation process in the bottle. Always a plus, and it usually guarantees a large frothy head, which I happen to enjoy.

Potentially the perfect summer beer, though later tonight I plan to enjoy their Berliner Weiss, which I've heard is phenomenal. Light as a wheat with the bold hops of a pale ale. I foresee many more of these come July.

Stone IPA

Brewery: Stone, Escondido, California

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 6.9%

Rating: 4.5 Stars




It's all basically been said about IPAs. We love the citrus, love the dryness, love the hops, love the mouthfeel. This is no different, and it's an excellent representation of the style. I know I've had it in the past, before my tastes were honed, so I wasn't surprised to like it again. Had to go to Wisconsin to get it, which makes no sense to me.