Collective Distortion IPA
Stone Brewing in Escondido, California, United States 🇺🇸
IPA - Imperial / Double Special Out of Production|
Score
7.12
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India Pale Ale Brewed with Elderberries & Coriander
Collaborators: Kyle Hollingsworth, Homebrewer & Keyboardist for The String Cheese Incident / Keri Kelli, Rocker & Publican / Mitch Steele, Brewmaster, Stone Brewing Co.
We all enjoy turning things up to 11, and that is represented in this collaborative offering, an imperial India pale ale ably backed by Nugget, Comet and Calypso hops and amplified care of a healthy dry-hopping with Australian hop Vic Secret, adding citrus and tropical fruit oomph. To give this modern masterpiece some soulful, classic character, we traced the roots of brewing to the days when Old World herbs were used to spice beers and added coriander and elderberries. To stand up to that sumptuous spice and blaring bitterness, we included golden naked oats, which are lightly roasted and bring body and enhanced mouthfeel to the beer like a steady, unbreakable backbeat to an incendiary solo.
Developing this beer with two professional musicians from such different backgrounds was a fun and unique experience. Besides loving to play music, the three of us also share a common love for craft beer, so we were all excited to combine music and brewing. The jam sessions with Team Stone after each brew day were awesome, and it was an honor to share the “stage” with Kyle and Keri. The historic throwback of using elderberries to spice the beer, in addition to hops, was an interesting choice and makes this beer distinct and unique.
Collaborators: Kyle Hollingsworth, Homebrewer & Keyboardist for The String Cheese Incident / Keri Kelli, Rocker & Publican / Mitch Steele, Brewmaster, Stone Brewing Co.
We all enjoy turning things up to 11, and that is represented in this collaborative offering, an imperial India pale ale ably backed by Nugget, Comet and Calypso hops and amplified care of a healthy dry-hopping with Australian hop Vic Secret, adding citrus and tropical fruit oomph. To give this modern masterpiece some soulful, classic character, we traced the roots of brewing to the days when Old World herbs were used to spice beers and added coriander and elderberries. To stand up to that sumptuous spice and blaring bitterness, we included golden naked oats, which are lightly roasted and bring body and enhanced mouthfeel to the beer like a steady, unbreakable backbeat to an incendiary solo.
Developing this beer with two professional musicians from such different backgrounds was a fun and unique experience. Besides loving to play music, the three of us also share a common love for craft beer, so we were all excited to combine music and brewing. The jam sessions with Team Stone after each brew day were awesome, and it was an honor to share the “stage” with Kyle and Keri. The historic throwback of using elderberries to spice the beer, in addition to hops, was an interesting choice and makes this beer distinct and unique.
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8.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Hazy golden coloured body with a nice thin, single centimetre tall white head and no movement at all - nice but not great. Aroma of pungent citrus and grassy hops with a lot of white grape notes, some mineral smells and a hearty dose of passionfruit - very nice indeed. Medium to Full-bodied; Strong rich and pungent hop character with the white grape bitterness, some subdued earthiness, but a lot of herbal, grassy and yeast qualities as well. Aftertaste shows mostly a grassy and hop kick with the tropical fruits and sweetness abound and some noticeable but not horribly pungent alcohol warmth at the end. Overall, a very nice Imperial IPA that almost shows as a traditional IPA - full of flavour and not overly done. Generally, I despise beers that exist on reputation alone, but this one is a very nice one - a great beer that is worthy of a high rating, and it would get it whether it had a label or not. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Whole Foods in Falls Church (Tyson’s Corner) on 22-May-2014 for US$9,99 sampled at home in Washington on 07-September-2014.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Sep 2014
at 22:19
6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
22oz bottle picked up at Cork and Bottle Liquors
Pours cloudy golden with a medium sized off-white head, good lacing. Aroma is malty, caramel and fruity. Taste is the same with some pine resin in the finish
I’m loosing faith in Stone. A malty, sweet mess
Pours cloudy golden with a medium sized off-white head, good lacing. Aroma is malty, caramel and fruity. Taste is the same with some pine resin in the finish
I’m loosing faith in Stone. A malty, sweet mess
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Aug 2014
at 22:49
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle. Amber beer with a cream head. Tropical fruit and earthy aroma with grapefruit. Pine and grapefruit flavor with an herbal note. Medium bodied. Good bitterness. Pine and grapefruit linger with light herbal notes and light mat.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Aug 2014
at 09:50
7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Shared bomber, tulip glass. Medium copper/orange. Medium head. Coriander/elderberry/ oat combo works well together. I like how the character changed between first sip and the last. Mild hoppiness at first, then bitterness at the end.
Tried
on 16 Aug 2014
at 15:06
6.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bomber from Whole Foods. Pours a slightly hazy copper color with a large foamy tan head. Good head retention. Aroma of warm toffee malts, dark fruits, spice, resin and pine hops. The taste is candied citrus, candied ginger, heavy spice, strong herbal notes, anise, toffee malts, bitter hops. Medium bodied, slight lingering bitterness. Interesting, but not really doing it for me.
Tried
from Can
on 15 Aug 2014
at 11:18
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
I like the added elements here, elderberries and coriander, that make this IPA lean towards Belgian territory. Dark copper color with initial medium beige head. Aroma comes on like a Belgian strong ale. Taste has an even malt and hop duality, rich and toasty, sharp and bitter, all at once. A step beyond the IPA class, nicely done.
Tried
on 07 Aug 2014
at 20:00
7.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Pours a slightly hazy dark orange color with a medium densely packed white head that diminishes slowly. Partial rings of lacing on the glass. Hoppy aroma with notes of citrus and pine, and some malt in the background. Full-bodied with a resiny hops character and flavors of grapefruit and grainy malt. The finish is moderately bitter with a citrus and piney hops aftertaste. Enjoyable beer all around.
Tried
on 04 Aug 2014
at 20:45
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 5/19/2014. Pours moderately hazy dark orange color with a 2 finger dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big peach, pineapple, tangerine, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, elderberry, herbal, floral, grass, pine, light caramel, bread, light coriander, and floral/grassy earthiness. Very nice aromas with juicy citrus/tropical hops, light-moderate spice, and moderate malt sweetness; with great strength. Taste of juicy peach, pineapple, tangerine, mango, elderberry, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, floral, grass, pine, light caramel, bread, light coriander, and floral/grassy earthiness. Good amount of pine/citrus rind bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of peach, pineapple, tangerine, mango, elderberry, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, pine, floral, grass, light caramel, bread, light coriander, and floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity and balance of juicy citrus/tropical hops, light-moderate spice, and moderate malt sweetness; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a smooth, crisp, lightly creamy, and moderately sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with only a slight warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent spiced DIPA. All around great complexity and balance of juicy citrus/tropical hops, light-moderate spice, and moderate malt sweetness; and very smooth and crisp to sip on for the ABV. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Jul 2014
at 20:09
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
22 oz. bottle, pours a hazy orange with a small white head. Nose brings out resinous hops, caramel malt, and coriander - strange mix. Flavour is similar, bringing out a big caramel malt backing, with resinous hops, and medium spiciness. A little more malt than I would've cared, but this is still great.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Jul 2014
at 20:36
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle thanks to Matt. Pours a cloudy orange with small frothy off white head that diminishes to nothing. The aroma is strong pine, caramel malt, and hay. Medium mouthfeel with strong malt and resin hop, good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Jul 2014
at 11:22