10th Anniversary IPA
(has 1 batch)

Bomber drunk on 10/3/06 and a few draught samples at Kennett Brewfest on 10/7/06
Lucid, rather thick-looking copper-bronze body has some brass and pale-gold tints. The white head is large and forms well, being quite dense and slow to recede. Some patches of lace remain behind as it ebbs away. The appearance, although there is no haze or sediment on the bottom, still looks bottle conditioned, the head being strong and the bubbles being medium-small. However, as purportedly it is not, something else must be the culprit for this much-better-than-average appearance for a non-bottle conditioned beer.
But before getting to that, I’m greeted by damp lychee and white grapefruit in the nose, with a bit of resin slowly creeping in. Heavy sugar cookies linger in the back, dulling the hop appeal, somewhat, but some lime zestiness makes a brief appearance towards the end, transitioning in to esters of alcohol/fusels and some pieces of light caramel stickiness. Hops come off as powerfully bitter, from the nose, not having that light, airy, lively aromatic pungency of some of the top-class DIPAs. Lots of leafiness, and though you can sense some light tropical fruits, it’s not particularly strong or lasting. Though I appreciate that there is no medium or dark malt getting in the way, the hops just don’t seem vibrant and varied, which I find is utterly mandatory in this style. As the beer warms, the alcohol becomes more and more apparent, lending a sharpness to the finish.
Right away in flavor, however, I can see what is creating the head. A huge amount of dextrinous sugars coat the palate, not really providing much flavor, as expected, but giving that chewy, thick mouthfeel. Limes, mangoes, grapefruits and sharp pine resin wallop the palate in to submission with the massive bitterness. Carbonation is low, lending more power to the thickness of the mouthfeel. If this thing was bursting with flavorful hops and had some more complex malt character, it might be more apt in working with the thick, dextrinous texture, but as is, it’s just fatiguing from all sides. The hops drive home bitterness and acidity, without much complexity of flavor and the malt is just a monotonous sugar cookie flavor. All this, without even mentioning the alcohol, which is just punishing on the finish. Other than the obnoxious alcohol, I think it’s a success for Stone, as this over-the-top character is what defines them and what many find attractive about their beers. Not so for me, but that’s ok.

On tap at Capital Ale House - Downtown on 08/30/2008. Slightly hazy caramel body with a small white head. Big caramel and light citrus hop aroma. Caramel flavor with citrus and floral hops. Medium full body with moderately low carbonation. 8/4/8/3/15 - 3.8 10/30/2006: Clear amber body with a small white head. Sweet caramel and raw floral hops aroma. Sweet caramel flavor with some more raw floral hops. 8/4/8/3/17 - 4.0

Bottle delivered in beer swap 2.0 - light copper with huge ring of lace - bright and fruity aroma at first (with some flowery, perfume-like aromas), followed by some bready characteristics and sweet caramel/toffee - quite sweet and almost syrupy, but the abundant (but not oerpowering) hop profile keeps it from getting cloying - some herbal notes arise briefly, followed by sweet strawberry, orange and grapefruit - the simcoe hops become quite apparent as the beer (somewhat) dries out in the finish, leaving their long bitter twang to mingle with the fruit to make the beer almost tangy - very barleywine-ish, so it should age well.

Thanks to Hellomynameis for sharing. This is an excellent Imperial IPA. The aroma is full of hops; citrus, spices, there is a lot going on here. The flavor is full of hops as well, but before the hops comes the full bodied malt. The palate is outstanding on this beer; a very smooth but flavorful and full mouthfeel of hops with herbal, floral, and citrus flavors.