Celebrate The End Of The World With Stone Enjoy By 12.21.12 IPA

The Mayan civilization predicted that on December 21, 2012, the world would end in a fiery apocalypse. But thanks to Stone Brewing Co. one can, in his or her final moments, toast to a life well lived with a heavenly beer brewed NOT to last: Stone Enjoy By 12.21.12 IPA. Today the beer has been bottled or kegged and is on delivery trucks heading to Stone fans in California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York City, and Texas.

Stone Enjoy By 12.21.12 IPA is loaded with hops —11 different varieties, to be exact – giving the beer a massive hop profile of balanced bitterness and dryness. The “Enjoy By” date printed on each bottle reflects a 35-day package-to-drink cycle, meaning that to fully experience the beer’s hop glory, it must be consumed by, or preferably well before, the end of the 35-day cycle. And Stone is making sure it will be! On December 22, if life as we know it continues and any beer remains on the shelf, it will be immediately removed.

“When we came up with the idea of Stone Enjoy By IPA we knew it would be a challenge to pull off because of the logistics that go along with bottling, kegging, and shipping the beer the same day,” Stone CEO and co-founder, Greg Koch said. “However, we were able to call on our great distributors and work with them to ensure they would get the beer out in record time. Seeing the interactions from our fans, we were able to confirm what we already knew…fresh beer, specifically Stone Enjoy By IPA, is amazing!”

Having released Stone Enjoy By IPA only twice before, it’s no longer a freshness experiment – it’s a groundbreaking way to enjoy beer. A novel idea at first, this beer is set to change the way breweries and distributors work together to get fresh beer out to the clamoring public. And the public is clamoring. Stone has measured “buzz” for the beer through the company’s social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the Stone Enjoy By IPA website. Based on the interactions, Stone has vowed to bring the beer to the locations that voiced their interest the loudest.

Where can one locate this awesomely fresh beer before the end of the world? Visit stonebrewing.com/enjoyby/ and use the interactive map to find exactly which retailers, restaurants and bars are carrying the beer in bottles or on draft in select states. If it looks like Stone Enjoy By 12.21.12 IPA isn’t in a nearby location, don’t fret. Stone will unleash rounds of this beer to other markets in the future—if the world lives to see another day, that is.

Hopheads are encouraged to use the following hashtags on Twitter and Instagram to request for the beer’s return to their city, or simply preach the sheer awesomeness of this IPA:

• Southern California: #EnjoyBy #SoCal
• Central California: #Enjoyby #CenCoast
• Northern California: #EnjoyBy #NorCal
• Texas: #EnjoyBy #TX
• Iowa: #EnjoyBy #IA
• Missouri: #EnjoyBy #MO
• Illinois: #EnjoyBy #IL
• Indiana: #EnjoyBy #IN
• Kentucky: #EnjoyBy #KY
• New Jersey: #EnjoyBy #NJ
• Massachusetts: #EnjoyBy #MA
• New York City: #EnjoyBy #NYC

All engagements may be viewed in real time at the Stone Enjoy By IPA website, stonebrewing.com/enjoyby/.

Name: Stone Enjoy By 12.21.12 IPA
URL: stonebrewing.com/enjoyby/

Stats: 9.4% ABV, 88 IBUs
Availability: Limited 22-ounce bottles and draft, beginning November 16
Hops bill: Calypso, Super Galena, Simcoe, Delta, Target, Amarillo, Motueka, Citra, Cascade, New Zealand Nelson Sauvin, and Australian Galaxy
Distribution: CA, TX, IA, MO, IL, IN, KY, NJ, MA, and NY

Tasting Notes, provided by Brewmaster Mitch Steele

Appearance: Golden with a creamy white head
Aroma: Intense dank hoppiness, resin, peaches and hints of tropical fruit are all evident in the aroma.
Taste: Smooth malt up front, quickly dissipating into a massive onslaught of hops. The dankness and peach notes come through strongly.
Palate: Smooth with hints of alcohol, and a perfect balance of bitterness and dryness on the back end.
Overall: We took the opportunity with this beer to use several interesting techniques we’ve learned during our many years of brewing great double IPAs. The result is an intense dry beer with very little malt sweetness, but with plenty of malt flavor to provide a background to the enormous…or shall I say “ginormous” hop character. Hopping, as might be expected, was over the top. First, the brew was mash-hopped with Calypso, a beautiful fruity hop that we also used in our Stone 16th Anniversary IPA, after which we kettle-hopped with a very small dose of Super Galena hop extract for bittering. Then, using a technique known in homebrew circles as “hop bursting,” we loaded up very heavily on the flavor hops at the end of the boil and in the whirlpool. Simcoe, Delta, Target and Amarillo were used in the late kettle hop. Motueka, Citra, and Cascade were used for the whirlpool hop. As you can clearly tell, this beer was super hoppy even before we dry-hopped it, but then we went for it…dry-hopping with one pound per barrel EACH of New Zealand Nelson Sauvin and Australian Galaxy.

Drink extra-super-dank-and-tasty Stone Enjoy By 12.21.12 IPA well before its 35-day shelf life to maximize the pungent glory that this beautiful, intense hop profile provides.

Suggested food parings, provided by “Dr.” Bill Sysak

Appetizers: Guacamole, kimchi, salt and pepper shrimp (or tofu), sausage-stuffed jalapeños 
Main course: Chicken-fried steak, Merguez sausage, gumbo, chile relleno, Thai drunken noodles
Dessert: Carrot cake, peach cobbler, ginger spice cake, pumpkin cheesecake 
Cheeses: Parmigiano-Reggiano, extra aged Cheddar, Rogue Creamery Caveman Blue, Mimolette
Cigars: Alec Bradley Trilogy Authentic Corojo, Altadis U.S.A Edición Limitada, Camacho Select

Twice named “All-Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth” by BeerAdvocate magazine, Stone Brewing Co. was founded in 1996 by Greg Koch and Steve Wagner and is the 11th largest craft brewer in the U.S. Headquartered in Escondido, CA, Stone owns and operates the farm-to-table restaurant Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Escondido, as well as Stone Catering, Stone Distributing, and Stone Farms. Other lofty ventures include construction of Stone Packaging Hall and a second restaurant with an on-site brewhouse, Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station, both with an estimated completion of first quarter 2013, and Stone Hotel & Headquarters with an estimated completion of second quarter 2013. For more information, please visit stonebrewing.com– @StoneBrewingCo – Facebook