Stygian Descent
Stone Brewing in Escondido, California, United States 🇺🇸
IPA - Black / Cascadian Dark Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.64
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Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA Aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels & Bourbon Barrels
Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA practically named itself. The perfect melding of dark malts with a downright indecent amount of hops forges a complex flavor profile of assertive dark roastiness and big, bright hop notes for a singularly sublime experience.
Small Batch Brewer Cecil Menasco thought it would be an ingenious experiment to age our dark and deeply hopped Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA in rye whiskey barrels…and he was right. This time our small batch crew, never a self-satisfied bunch, added bourbon barrels. The result is transcendent: perfectly balanced dark chocolate, oak, dried fruit and citrus tones. As it warms, the spicy rye and sweet bourbon barrel notes complete this masterful transformation.
Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA practically named itself. The perfect melding of dark malts with a downright indecent amount of hops forges a complex flavor profile of assertive dark roastiness and big, bright hop notes for a singularly sublime experience.
Small Batch Brewer Cecil Menasco thought it would be an ingenious experiment to age our dark and deeply hopped Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA in rye whiskey barrels…and he was right. This time our small batch crew, never a self-satisfied bunch, added bourbon barrels. The result is transcendent: perfectly balanced dark chocolate, oak, dried fruit and citrus tones. As it warms, the spicy rye and sweet bourbon barrel notes complete this masterful transformation.
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7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
(Bottle) clear, bright, very dark brown colour with a medium tall brown head; rich aroma of whiskey, wet wood; balanced flavour, well hidden alcohol, long light bitter finish, smooth palate
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Aug 2017
at 18:03
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
500 c&c from Bine & Vine. Pours brown with a tan head. Aromas of rye spice and bourbon. Med + body. Flavor is rye spice, bourbon and darkish fruits. Malt tends to be lost in the mix. A touch of heat in the finish. It is smooth and excellently tasty. Very.
Tried
on 31 Jul 2017
at 14:44
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
500 ml bottle into snifter, bottled in 10/2016. Cork was nearly impossible to remove. Pours nearly opaque dark brown color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, apricot, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, pine, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, toasted oak, bourbon, spicy rye whiskey, dark bread, light coconut/dark fruits, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/tropical hops, roast/bready malt, bourbon/rye barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, apricot, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, pine, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, toasted oak, bourbon, spicy rye whiskey, dark bread, light coconut/dark fruits, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness. Light-moderate pine/citrus peel/roasted bitterness and whiskey/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, apricot, mango, lemon/orange peel, pine, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, toasted oak, bourbon, spicy rye whiskey, dark bread, and roast/toast/oaky earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/tropical hops, roast/bready malt, bourbon/rye barrel flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from hop/roast bitterness and whiskey/oak spiciness, increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/sticky/chalky/tannic, and lightly resinous balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mildly warming 11.6%, with zero barrel booziness. Overall this is an awesome barrel aged black IPA style. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/tropical hops, roast/bready malt, bourbon/rye barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV. Pretty much perfectly balanced between all flavors. Great presence and balance of both barrels; without being being boozy, or overly tannic/drying. A really enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 May 2017
at 20:32
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
500ml bottle. Dark brown colour with small to average, frothy, half-way lasting, minimally lacing, tan head. Intense BA notes, oak, toasted oak, leather, vanilla, rock sugar, brown sugar, sweet-ish dark malty basis, hints of peppermint, liquorice, bramble and blueberry. Taste is moderately sweet dark malty, less intense notes of BA, now more oak than leather, some vanilla, cautious hints of liquorice, peppermint an ddark berries; slightly warming, alcoholic finish. Very complex aroma, the basic Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA is neither just supplemented nor someway interwoven but widely disguised, especially concerning taste; useless amount of alcohol. Definitely no improvement of the outstanding original.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Apr 2017
at 12:20
8.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bottle shared. Dark brown pour with a tan head. Notes of rye whiskey, barrel, mouldy cellar, bitter piney hops, bitter chocolate, light varnish. Full body, medium carbonation, bitter-sweet and lightly sour finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Apr 2017
at 13:16
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Black color. Thin head. Some berry flavor, moderate toast and bitter hops. Good.
Tried
on 01 Apr 2017
at 22:42
8.5/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
500 ml bottle from Dominion Wine and Beer Aroma: whiskey, bourbon, roasty, rye, pine, earthy, wood Appearance: dark brown with a tan head Taste: medium sweetness, medium bitterness, Palate: medium body, creamy, average carbonation, long finish, Tasty
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Jan 2017
at 16:39
7.5/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
500mL caged and corked bottle pours with a dark mahogany colored body that supports a fairly tight mocha to root beer float like head. The aroma offers up a blast of oak and vanilla nuanced bourbon edged with a thin sharp whiskey sensation. Pulling ’beer’ aroma is difficult. The taste starts with smooth briefly sweet malts and then getting into dark roasted malts, burnt malts, a dash of spicy black licorice and then spicy wood. To midway it picks up a nice chocolate note with thin sharp boozy whiskey and sweet bourbon that’s a step or two behind. A few more sips and the whiskey note seems to grow with a correspondingly stronger boozy whiskey sharpness amid a thinner than expected body. As with most Stone barrel aged beers this one could be more with less barrel time. The beer notes, sadly, take a back seat to the treatment, but not by too much.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Jan 2017
at 20:50
6.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
Aggressively boozy, which I guess it should be, what with this beast being aged in both rye whiskey and Kentucky bourbon barrels. Clings to a slightly citric bent on the nose but the liquor creeps through, a characteristic ultimately coloring every aspect of the bottle. Starts thick and whiskey sweet, flirting with the slightest hints of burnt sugar and roasted malt, but then the IBUs come on strong, coupling with the spiciness of the rye to make for an unexpectedly jagged finish. The bottle says this brew’s been aged five months, but it could use a little more rest to round out the edges. Still, the flavors are complex and the fade alternates between hoppy bitterness and boozy warmth, not an altogether unpleasant experience.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Jan 2017
at 21:41