Japanese Green Tea IPA (2015)
(Batch of Japanese Green Tea IPA)
Stone Brewing in Escondido, California, United States 🇺🇸
Collab with: Baird Brewing Co. / Ishii Brewing CompanyIPA - Triple Special Out of Production
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Score
7.32
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Collaborators: Bryan Baird, Brewmaster, Baird Brewing Company / Toshi Ishii, President/Brewmaster, Ishii Brewing Co. / Mitch Steele, Brewmaster, Stone Brewing Co.
Our style of brewing has always been about taking chances. It’s an extension of our “What if” mentality, wherein we ask ourselves what would happen if we did things differently in the brewhouse, such as fermenting with a different strain of yeast or, in the case of this beer, incorporating whole-leaf green tea imported from Japan. The answer, embodied in this IPA when we first released it in 2011, was something truly magnificent, delicious and well worth brewing again. But what if we changed it up a bit? This time around, we exchanged Pacifica hops from New Zealand for Helga hops from Australia. The result is an IPA that’s as bright, herbaceous and bitingly hoppy as the one that’s had our fans requesting its return ever since its depletion from store shelves, but with a modern, hop-driven twist that makes this second draft unique and tasty in its own right.
Bryan Baird of Baird Brewing Company, Toshi Ishii of Ishii Brewing Co., and I selected hop varieties for this beer that would blend well with Japanese sencha green tea, and I think we succeeded. Heavy doses of Crystal and Australian Helga hops, accompanied by the Aramis variety from France, provide a wonderful, spicy, and fruity hop character that blends exceptionally well with the herbal and grassy sencha tea flavors. The very late addition of Japanese Sorachi Ace hops provides hints of citrus and dill. Aside from switching out the Pacifica hops for Helga hops, we kept the recipe the same. The ABV on this rebrew is slightly higher than the 2011 release because of the annual changes in malt enzyme strength and variability with the yeast. This was one of our team’s all-time favorite Stone collaboration brews and we are thrilled to be brewing it again.
Our style of brewing has always been about taking chances. It’s an extension of our “What if” mentality, wherein we ask ourselves what would happen if we did things differently in the brewhouse, such as fermenting with a different strain of yeast or, in the case of this beer, incorporating whole-leaf green tea imported from Japan. The answer, embodied in this IPA when we first released it in 2011, was something truly magnificent, delicious and well worth brewing again. But what if we changed it up a bit? This time around, we exchanged Pacifica hops from New Zealand for Helga hops from Australia. The result is an IPA that’s as bright, herbaceous and bitingly hoppy as the one that’s had our fans requesting its return ever since its depletion from store shelves, but with a modern, hop-driven twist that makes this second draft unique and tasty in its own right.
Bryan Baird of Baird Brewing Company, Toshi Ishii of Ishii Brewing Co., and I selected hop varieties for this beer that would blend well with Japanese sencha green tea, and I think we succeeded. Heavy doses of Crystal and Australian Helga hops, accompanied by the Aramis variety from France, provide a wonderful, spicy, and fruity hop character that blends exceptionally well with the herbal and grassy sencha tea flavors. The very late addition of Japanese Sorachi Ace hops provides hints of citrus and dill. Aside from switching out the Pacifica hops for Helga hops, we kept the recipe the same. The ABV on this rebrew is slightly higher than the 2011 release because of the annual changes in malt enzyme strength and variability with the yeast. This was one of our team’s all-time favorite Stone collaboration brews and we are thrilled to be brewing it again.
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6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
12oz can picked up at Total Wine in LV. Pours cloudy golden with a medium sized off-white head, light lacing. Citrus peel, green tea, alcohol, resin, bitter. Ok
Tried
from Can
on 20 Apr 2022
at 02:11
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draft at Stone on Kettner in San Diego. Nose is citrus, green tea, and lightly piney. Orange with a medium lightly lacing off white head. Flavor is moderately bitter with iced tea.
Tried
from Draft
on 17 Mar 2022
at 20:58
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Decent flavoured IPA. Green tea adds an interesting element here without getting too lost in gimmicks. Golden. Pour with decent head. Some citrus peel. Bitter finish. Tap at Stone in Richmond.
Tried
from Draft
on 01 Mar 2022
at 19:13
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
12 oz bottle that was part of the 2021 - 12 Days of IPA mix pack. The pour is a mostly clear golden yellow with a 1/2 inch white foam head that falls quick. The aroma is a round sweet fruit hop, along with grassy earthy green tea. The taste is big green tea, herbal, floral, and orange sweet. There is also a dry grass bitter finish that has some alcohol poking through. The palate is medium bodied with soft carbonation and the big green tea finish with the earth, grass and some smokiness. Interesting and surprisingly easy drinking beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Jan 2022
at 01:57
7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle, Stone 12 Days of IPA mix pack, Kroger. Slightly hazy deep gold with a small white head. Nose is grapefruit, pine, floral hops, green tea buried deep. Flavor is grapefruit, green tea bitterness, pine, orange peel. A bit boozy, but might also just be bitterness from the tea. Nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Dec 2021
at 01:05
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
12 ounce bottle from Total Wine Greenfield, 12/1/21. Says 2015 but I guess this is back. Slightly hazy orange, large creamy tan head, good retention. Aroma of grapefruit, tea, pine. Taste is grapefruit, tea, melon, pine. Juicy, booze well hidden. Could use more prominant tea notes, they are delicate. Overall pretty good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Dec 2021
at 03:00
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
Included in the 2021 12 Days of IPAs box. Looks to be the same ABV as the 2015 edition, so I’ll log it here. Green tea works exceptionally well in this IPA, adding woody, herbal depth to a citrus-n-pine-forward Stone pint. Caramel and stone fruit round out the profile, while a lingering pine bitterness clings to the palate. Killer IPA.
Tried
on 01 Nov 2021
at 00:34
7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle pours out golden topped with a white head. Nose is nice green alfalfa hops tea notes spice and some nice malts. Taste is more of the nice spice green tea notes and a sweet malt.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Oct 2018
at 20:03
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Slightly hazy golden and copper coloured body with a nice, two centimetre tall off-white head. Aroma of alcohol, light earthy hops with a touch of tea and a lot of floral elements. Full-bodied; Rich malt flavour with some good alchol flavours, some rice and grain and a big dose of piney and floral hop characteristics. Aftertaste is rich and grainy with some tea and floral flavours and finishes with alcohol, rich malt and a piney and resinous note. Overall, a nice and rich beer with some good flavours and showing a smooth and floral bite that lingers indefinitely. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased a few hours ago at Grape Vine in Sterling Heights, Michigan on 09-December-2016 for US$7,99 sampled at home in Dearborn, Michigan on 09-December-2016.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Dec 2016
at 13:08
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Où, Quand, Comment : Dégustée en fût au Farmhouse Tap & Grill (Burlington, VT), le 5/9/2015.
Visuel : Couleur : dorée-orangée. Apparence : légèrement voilée.
Arôme : Houblon floral, herbeux (thé, menthe), fruité (agrumes), aux notes épicées, résineuses et citriques, malt sucré
Goût : En entrée de bouche : Goût plutôt amer de houblon floral, herbeux, moyennement fruité (agrumes), légèrement résineux et épicé, présent toute la gorgée. Un support de malt sucré et de pain sucré est également présent avec un goût de thé vert, de bonbon à la menthe et d’alcool herbacé.
En bouche : Corps : moyen. Effervescence : moyenne. Texture : moyennement huileuse. Finale : longue aux notes sèches, composée d’une moyenne amertume d’alcool, de houblon herbeux, floral, aux notes résineuses et fruitées avec un léger goût de thé asséchant.
Visuel : Couleur : dorée-orangée. Apparence : légèrement voilée.
Arôme : Houblon floral, herbeux (thé, menthe), fruité (agrumes), aux notes épicées, résineuses et citriques, malt sucré
Goût : En entrée de bouche : Goût plutôt amer de houblon floral, herbeux, moyennement fruité (agrumes), légèrement résineux et épicé, présent toute la gorgée. Un support de malt sucré et de pain sucré est également présent avec un goût de thé vert, de bonbon à la menthe et d’alcool herbacé.
En bouche : Corps : moyen. Effervescence : moyenne. Texture : moyennement huileuse. Finale : longue aux notes sèches, composée d’une moyenne amertume d’alcool, de houblon herbeux, floral, aux notes résineuses et fruitées avec un léger goût de thé asséchant.
Tried
from Draft
on 05 Apr 2016
at 04:18