Beer of the Week – Stone Ruination IPA
So, imagine this story . . .
3 guys take off on a road trip headed for a football game in Michigan. Time is of the essence since they have limited time to get to their destination (beer and co-eds awaited). One of the guys had the pleasure of enjoying a Stone Ruination a year earlier, however he had no way of obtaining more in the state of Iowa. Let’s say that guy got online, found a liquor store in Michigan that sold Stone beers and secretly mapped out the exact coordinates to this liquor store. Let’s say that guy was the driver and grudgingly talked the others into making the trek to the liquor store to survey the hopped barley goodness. Let’s say the 3 guys went 10 miles out of their way to buy beer and make themselves 30 minutes late to their destination (along with spending $76). Seems pretty far-fetched, doesn’t it?!!
Well thankfully it’s not true! We only went 2 miles out of our way.
The Liquor Cabinet in St. Joseph’s, Michigan did indeed have Stone Beers. Along with Dogfish Head, Founders, Bell’s, Goose Island a decent Belgian selection. We were happy to see not only Stone Ruination, but their IPA, their pale ale and an imperial stout. We proceeded to buy a 12-pack of Ruination and a 6-pack of the IPA, the pale and Dogfish Head’s Aprihop Wheat.
We didn’t get a chance to enjoy the beer until later that evening. On the way to Ann Arbor, the driver of the car said something to the tune of, “Do you guys remember when you brought your first child home from the hospital? Remember how nervous you were to drive them home but how excited you were to get home and finally enjoy them? That’s how I feel about our beer in the trunk!”.
Yes, that driver has a problem (rest easy, I’m getting counseling).
So, onto the beer itself. We didn’t open one until much later that evening (many OTHER beers later). The hops smacked us right in the face – but they had a unique twist. As Aunt Linda’s friend Barbie said, “This beer smells like POT!” . . . . and she was right. Holy cow. I’d never noticed it before but the beer smelled like a cross between a crate of grapefruit and a Floyd concert.
The beauty of Stone Brewery is their ability to mesh alcohol, hops and malt into a nice mix. Nothing rises to the top and overwhelms the others – until now. I think Stone really tried to push their limits with this one. They REALLY tried hard to make this a true drinkable 100+ IBU brew. The hops are very ‘wet’ and green or oily. Its hard to describe outside of squeezing a handful of hop oil onto your tongue. It’s that hoppy. However, Stone again brought forth the expected malty flavors that counteracted the hops, which almost totally make you forget the carnage your tongue just experienced. It’s amazing really. Imagine drinking a spoonful of vinegar followed by a slice of birthday cake. Now do that 8 or 10 times in a row. That’s the concept behind a good Imperial IPA.
This beer is extremely drinkable for hop-heads alone. Outside of the IBU lovers you might find this one to be a hard sell. It smacks you in the face with hops but brings you back to planet earth with the taste of malted goodness. IBU n00bs might find getting past the bitterness to be a real battle, so beware.
We found this gem at a cool $18.99/6-pack. At 7.73% ABV it’s definitely not a session beer – or as we learned, not a beer to drink at 11:00 at night after multiple Bell’s, Miller Lites and car-bombs. It makes you enjoy your next morning tailgate much less. Trust me.
Overall rating: A
Beer of the week – Shipyard XXXX IPA
You’d think something that says “Imperial IPA” would be overly malty and packed with hops galore. Well, Shipyard, you ol’ bastards pulled one over on us.
I’ll give the beer a resounding ‘meh’. The overwhelming flavor of alcohol let’s you know they TRIED making this an imperial IPA. It has a nice color and decent hop characteristics, but the malt doesn’t do it’s job of masking the alcohol. I’d compare it to a lower-end IPA, sans the ‘old’ funky/skunky flavor common in a lot of those.
At $2.50/bottle and 9.25% ABV you should get a lot more. Unfortunately you’re stuck with an expensive moderately hopped PBR with a flavor similar to a day-old vodka martini.
Overall rating: C-
