Beer of the Weekend #460: Stone Ruination IPA
Blogging wise, the last couple months have been pretty pathetic. Unless I decide to become a hardcore fan of Hawkeye tennis or field hockey, I cannot lean on game scores to inflate my post numbers. That raises a good questions about my blogging habits in general, but I will worry about that later. In the meantime, what can I lean on? Beer.
The final “candidate” for my most recent LV recommendation is Stone Ruination IPA, brewed by the Stone Brewing Company of Escondido, California.
Joe Hotek recommended Stone because I said I was thinking about something “big and bombastic.” I think Ruination fits that bill. Nate Kaeding even name dropped it when I interviewed him a few years ago. According to the beer’s webpage it is called Ruination “because of the ‘ruinous’ effect on your palate!”
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a tulip. The color is gold with a bronze tint. Two fingers of head left a bubbly and spotted lacing, a ring around the edge, and trails of foam on the glass.
Smell: Elegant West Coast citrus and tropical fruit: grapefruit, orange, mango, tangerine, pineapple, all of which are tinged with a splash of lemon zest. It also features a little pine spice. Surprisingly, pale malts, caramel, and toffee are also present.
Taste: It is more of a mélange than a hop bomb, though it does offer quite a bit of hop bite and spice. It is tame at first, with much of the maltiness and citrus upfront. Sweet caramel, toffee, grapefruit, tangerine, mango, orange, and lemon zest. Then the bitterness comes into play. It is piney and also a little catty, and the bitterness lingers long after each sip. It mellows as the beer warms, though.
Drinkability: Okay… I thought this was supposed to “ruin” my taste buds. Perhaps it has and I just do not know it yet, but one thing is for sure: it is a damn good brew.
Fun facts about Stone Ruination IPA:
-Style: BA classifies it as “American Double/Imperial IPA.”
-Price: $2.99/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 50-55ºF.
-Alcohol content: 7.7 percent ABV.
-IBU: “100+” is listed on the website and bottle.
-On the front of the bottle, this is printed below the main label: “A liquid poem to the glory of the hop!”
The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.
The final “candidate” for my most recent LV recommendation is Stone Ruination IPA, brewed by the Stone Brewing Company of Escondido, California.
Joe Hotek recommended Stone because I said I was thinking about something “big and bombastic.” I think Ruination fits that bill. Nate Kaeding even name dropped it when I interviewed him a few years ago. According to the beer’s webpage it is called Ruination “because of the ‘ruinous’ effect on your palate!”
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a tulip. The color is gold with a bronze tint. Two fingers of head left a bubbly and spotted lacing, a ring around the edge, and trails of foam on the glass.
Smell: Elegant West Coast citrus and tropical fruit: grapefruit, orange, mango, tangerine, pineapple, all of which are tinged with a splash of lemon zest. It also features a little pine spice. Surprisingly, pale malts, caramel, and toffee are also present.
Taste: It is more of a mélange than a hop bomb, though it does offer quite a bit of hop bite and spice. It is tame at first, with much of the maltiness and citrus upfront. Sweet caramel, toffee, grapefruit, tangerine, mango, orange, and lemon zest. Then the bitterness comes into play. It is piney and also a little catty, and the bitterness lingers long after each sip. It mellows as the beer warms, though.
Drinkability: Okay… I thought this was supposed to “ruin” my taste buds. Perhaps it has and I just do not know it yet, but one thing is for sure: it is a damn good brew.
Fun facts about Stone Ruination IPA:
-Style: BA classifies it as “American Double/Imperial IPA.”
-Price: $2.99/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 50-55ºF.
-Alcohol content: 7.7 percent ABV.
-IBU: “100+” is listed on the website and bottle.
-On the front of the bottle, this is printed below the main label: “A liquid poem to the glory of the hop!”
The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.
