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
7.30
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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.
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.
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7.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle @ The Cad’s 10yr Shindig. Pours a hazy golden color with a small white head. Has a fruity malty spicy hoppy weak green tea aroma. Fruity malty spicy grapefruit hoppy bitter weak green tea flavor. Has a fruity malty piney hoppy bitter grapefruit finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Apr 2015
at 09:12
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle at the Cads 10th Anniversary bash, thanks to Paul, 29/03/15. Lightly hazed golden with a moderate off white covering. Nose is green tea, straw, hops, orange pith, mandarin. Taste comprises earthy hops, pine needle, green tea infuse, spice, peach, citric pith, mandarin. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with herbal tones and an earthy hop rinse. Decent stuff, good balance, works well - would never have guessed this was more than 7% ABV.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Apr 2015
at 04:27
7/10
Smooth like Green Tea. Can't taste the alcohol. Thanks Martin.
Tried
from Can
on 14 Apr 2015
at 18:31
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle shared at The Cad’s 10yr Shindig. It pours clear golden with a small white head. The nose is earthy, sweetish, big green tea aspect, umami, seaweed and some musty notes. The taste is crisp, bitter, earthy green tea, floral, light alcohol, lemon rind, lemon sherbet, minerals and pepper with a dry finish. Plenty of lingering bitterness. Medium body and average carbonation. The aroma is a bit odd, but I think the green tea comes through quite well. Unusual, but not bad.
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 Mar 2015
at 06:51
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottle at Toms 10 yr anniversary. Gold clear lasting white head. Tea and citrus hop aroma. Way too much tea for me. Good dipa flavour. Just not keen on the tea.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Mar 2015
at 07:39
8/10
Tried
on 29 Mar 2015
at 07:29
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
On tap at Goodnight Irene’s in Wildwood, nj. Hazy gold color. Small white head. Pine hop nose. Big hoppy and green tea flavor. After that, the hops dominate. Lots of green tea flavor coming through. On the fence with this one.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Mar 2015
at 20:20
8.2/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
Courtesy of Matt
Cloudy orange light amber color, compact head. The aroma is delicate; malty, fruity and floral. Lean mouthfeel, moderately sweet; the malt and hops combine to create a marmalade feeling; very strong bitterness, strong hop resins, moderate hop fruitiness, and mild astringency from the tea.
It doesn’t show the signs of the high alcohol content.
Dangerously drinkable.
Cloudy orange light amber color, compact head. The aroma is delicate; malty, fruity and floral. Lean mouthfeel, moderately sweet; the malt and hops combine to create a marmalade feeling; very strong bitterness, strong hop resins, moderate hop fruitiness, and mild astringency from the tea.
It doesn’t show the signs of the high alcohol content.
Dangerously drinkable.
Tried
on 23 Mar 2015
at 14:17
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Pours gold into a snifter. White head with little retention recedes to hug rim. Caramel, nut and tea aromas. Thick with sweet caramel and green tea upfront turning hot and warming in the lasting earthy resin finish.
Tried
on 19 Mar 2015
at 17:41
6.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 5
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
I really liked the lower alcohol content version of this better. For some reason, the green tea flavor is much more pronounced in this version, and not nearly so good an addition as in the earlier one. The tea is actually a bit oppressive this time out.
Tried
on 13 Mar 2015
at 14:23