Tag Archives: California

Moylan’s Hop Craic XXXX IPA

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Moylan’s Brewing Company of Novato, California is a specialist in big beers, be they Imperial IPAs, Scotch Ales, or Barleywine-style ales. (Among others.) However, they felt they hadn’t taken the Imperial IPA theme quite far enough, and perhaps to rectify that, a Quadruple IPA might be in order. Thus, we have Hop Craic, a American Quadruple IPA. This is a massive IPA in every measure. It’s got a heavy body, the alcohol is a stout 10.4% ABV, and the hop notes are huge and balanced with strong malt flavors. The nose is strongly orange citrus but with a bit of molasses in the background. The middle bursts with lemon and orange, followed by pine, but then transitions into a heavily malty finish with notes of toasted grain and packed with brown sugar and syrup. The end of the finish is burned toast and pine. It’s exceptionally well balanced for such a powerful beer, and I’m enjoying it immensely.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Stone Enjoy By 10.31.14 IPA

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It is October 31st, 2014, and so on this night traditionally dominated by fancy dress and confections, I find the time has come to enjoy my bomber of Stone’s Enjoy By 10.31.14 IPA. The “Enjoy By” series is an occasionally brewed Imperial IPA meant to be consumed fresh, thus the prominent date in the title. It, like any Stone IPA is massively hoppy and staggeringly good. The nose is packed with heavy citrus and pine. The middle laced with lemon, grapefruit, pine, and just a hint of grass and brown sugar. The finish is bitter and piney and gives the beer a profile that is reminiscent of Stone’s ultimate hop-bomb, Ruination. The body is fairly heavy and the alcohol is a hefty 9.4% ABV, but it’s actually quite subtle, buried under the intensity of the fresh hops. Another top-notch offering from Stone, and you should look for an Enjoy By if you like massively hoppy west-coast IPAs.

I give it a 4.8 out of 5.

Stone Go To IPA

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Session IPAs are one of the new hotness categories that are popping up everywhere, and Stone’s entry into this market is To Go IPA.  In true Stone style, the cap decries light, easy-to-drink beer, so while it comes equipped with a session-style 4.5% ABV, it also has all the bold hop flavor we’ve come to expect from Stone.  The nose is bright with loads of pine needles and grapefruit.  The middle has pine resin, and grapefruit rind.  The citrus in the finish morphs into lemon and there’s a little bit of grain that tastes like wheat.  The body of this beer is light to medium as pretty much expected.  This is a fun beer, but slightly incongruous, with the lighter body but the big, bold, bitter flavors.  I liked it a lot, and it’s certainly different, but not really a lawnmower beer.

I give it a 4.2 out of 5.

 

Stone RuinTen IPA

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Since yesterday was IPA Day, I decided to celebrate it last night with the biggest, baddest IPA around. Stone’s RuinTen is an “extreme” version of their already insane Runation IPA which is an Imperial IPA designed to “ruin your palate” with over-the-top intensely bitter hops. So yeah, an extreme version of that. True to its billing, this is a big version of Ruination. I wouldn’t say that it’s any more bitter, however. It generally has the same flavor profile and intensity, but with a heavier body and more alcohol. They’ve cranked up the quantity of ingredients to get here, of course, but if any of it shows through, it’s a bit more citrus sweetness from heavy orange and grapefruit notes in the middle and finish than any additional bitterness. So overall there is a ton of pine, and a ton of grapefruit and orange, both bitter and sweet. The body is heavy, and the alcohol level is a relatively high 10.8% ABV. This is still a big, over-the-top bitter west-coast style Imperial IPA like Ruination, but if anything it’s slightly more well rounded and an excellent, excellent beer.

I give it a 4.9 out of 5.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout

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I suppose the name tells you all you need to know about the style. The interpretation is Stone standard, hop heavy and west coast. The nose is chocolaty and warm. The middle starts out the same, with some lovely milkiness and currant notes, then transitions to heavy bitter pine and coffee. The finish is roasted grain and fading coffee and anise. The body is quite heavy as you’d expect, and the alcohol level is equally stout at 10.6% ABV.

I give it a 4.6 out of 5.

Anchor IPA

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Anchor Brewing of San Francisco, CA, best known for Anchor Steam, their California Common Beer, also offers an IPA, much like every other ale brewery in the United States at this juncture in time. This is a west-coast style offering and the nose has grapefruit and orange and is slightly floral. The middle has more grapefruit and a bit of grain and pine. The finish is lemony. It’s a nice offering, flavorful and medium bodied with an alcohol content of 6.5% ABV.

I give it a 4.0 out of 5.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

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I was sure I had reviewed Torpedo Extra IPA at some point in the past, until I looked back through the archive, and realized that I hadn’t. So here goes. When Sierra Nevada first released Torpedo Extra IPA a few years ago, it showed up on the shelves of my local store and I decided to pick up a six-pack and try it out. Sierra Nevada makes good beer, but I honestly wasn’t expecting anything more than a run-of-the-mill me-too IPA. I was wrong. This is an excellent, hop-forward, full-bodied American IPA and it was immediately added to my regular rotation list where it remained for a year or more. It pours a dark gold, with a nice thick head. The scent is of grapefruit, pine, and honey. The middle is heavy with citrus, both grapefruit and orange. The finish is a bit bready, with a little more sweet orange and bitter rind right at the tail. It’s a pretty substantial beer at 7.2% ABV, but it hides it fairly well. Since the first time I tasted it, this has been one of my favorite every day American IPAs.

I give it a 4.6 out of 5.

Stone Ruination IPA

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Ruination IPA is another classic that I’m not quite sure how I’ve managed to miss reviewing over these last few years. I’ve certainly drunk enough of it, one would have thought that I’d have managed to review it, but apparently not. Well, late is better than never, so here goes. Ruination IPA is an Imperial (or Double) IPA so named because it “ruins your palate.” And so it does. This is not a great beer to drink with a meal, because the intense bitterness will utterly overpower the flavors of any food you might be pairing it with. Even hot wings. Not regular hot wings, but the ones with names like “Fire” or “Inferno” or “Atomic.” Sure, you’ll still have the pain from the high concentration of Capsaicin, but you won’t be able to discern the flavor of the delivery device. It might have been a chicken wing, or pig’s foot, or the fist of a cop who’s shoved his pepper spray canister directly into your mouth. This beer will numb your taste buds like no other I’ve ever experienced. So does that mean it’s not good? No, by no means. In fact, it’s fantastic. This is the epitome of a West Coast Style Double IPA, bar none. This is the standard by which they should be measured. The nose is actually slightly sweet and floral. It reminds me of honeysuckle. The middle is bursting with citrus in the form of grapefruit and orange, the sugary sweet juice is there, but overpowered by the bitter rind. The finish is bready with hints of pine and a tiny bit of booziness. The body is fairly heavy, and the alcohol level is a strong but moderate 8.2% ABV. I don’t drink this beer with meals any longer, but it is one of my all time favorite brews.

I give it a 4.8 out of 5.

Lower De Boom

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A barleywine style ale from California’s 21st Amendment Brewery, Lower De Boom is a big beer in a small can. A Red Bull® sized 8.4oz can to be exact. I can’t say for sure, but I speculate that the smaller can size is in consideration of this brew’s equally massive alcohol level of 11.5% ABV. The overall character of this beer is big, heavy, and boozy. The nose has licorice and fruitcake, and alcohol. The middle has toffee, a lot of citrus, both orange and lemon, and a ton of alcohol. The finish is sweet and it has a bit of toast, raisins, more licorice and a bit of heat right at the end from, you probably guessed it, the alcohol. This is a beer that you want to use as a digestif, and sip it slowly. When you do that, you get the chance to savor all of the rich and varied flavors, and enjoy a particularly excellent beer.

I give it a 4.7 out of 5.

Green Flash Barleywine Style Ale

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While Green Flash is known for their big hoppy ales, that doesn’t mean that they can’t do a top notch job with a big malty barleywine as well. I’m trying the 2013 vintage today, and there’s nothing crazy here, just all of the characteristics of a reference barleywine, with perhaps some influence from a Belgian Strong Ale. They claim that there is an “enormous charge of Pacific Northwest hops” that give it hoppy citrus characteristics throughout, but I’m simply not finding that to be true of the 2013, though it may have been true of earlier vintages, or it may just be that my bottle has been around long enough that the hop notes have started to break down, which happens after a few months. That said, what’s left is a great malty brew. The nose is rich and warm with brown sugar, raisins and figs. The middle is heavy and sticky and bursting with dark fruit, raisins, plums, figs, grapes, some caramel, and a mild heat from the alcohol as well. The finish is sugary and syrupy, with some slight toast and very faint hints of sweet citrus (orange and grapefruit) in the background, but not enough to take the focus off the heavy malt backbone. The body is heavy, and this is quite a big beer at 10.9% ABV which shows through in the middle, but not at all unpleasantly. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to be wowed by this beer, but I’m thoroughly impressed.

I give it a 4.6 out of 5.