Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA

From TFP – We have no marketing speak we want to print here. This is the first look at Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA, Stone’s rendition of a British Imperial IPA. The beer is good, don’t cellar it, drink it fresh as possible. Cheers – Dan

Stone Brewing Co. – Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA – 22 oz. bottle poured into an imperial pint glass. 8.9% abv.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy yellow gold with a slightly red tint to it. Within the body you can see a few rising bubbles.  Atop sits a gorgeous fluffy white head that subsides to a respectable sized creamy cap.

Aroma: Candied orange and grapefruit, pine and more citrus.  As it warms, a light whiff of toffee peaks through.

Taste: Salty toffee, resinous pine and grapefruit hops and a very unique yeast flavour (ha ha see that, I spelled it the British way). I want to say it’s almost industrial, and it definitely has more character than the strain Stone uses in most of it’s beer. The beer finishes slightly sweet and very bitter.

Mouthfeel: Sticky, modestly carbonated, and full bodied.

Overall: I had uneasy expectations for this beer, as I am a California/USA craft beer patriot, and was worried Stone’s signature hopping style wouldn’t shine through in this beer. Suffice to say I was completely wrong, and that this beer rocks.  The malt and yeast are definitely something you would find in a British ale, but the copious amounts of hops and beautiful dry hopping make it awesome, and mesh well with the sweet and salty profile beneath.