14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
(has 1 batch)
Stone Brewing in Escondido, California, United States 🇺🇸
IPA - Imperial / Double Special Out of Production|
Score
7.55
|
|
We went to England this past spring as self-styled “IPA Hunters” on a mission to learn more about the confusing and often contradictory history of India Pale Ale—to look for some certainty where those before us have found mostly mystery and mercantilism. While our success in this pursuit is open to debate, there can be no question that we returned home inspired by the ghosts of Burton and by the experience of poring over 150-year-old brewer’s logs handwritten in (India?) ink. Stone Brewing Co., after all, traces its lineage back to the British Empire’s brewing history: We make ales, and all of our original offerings used traditional British styles as a jumping-off point. If this seems a roundabout way of letting you know that, yes, we are in fact brewing another IPA to mark our anniversary, well, so be it.
This one, however, promises to be different! From the imported white malt to the “Burtonised” water to the rare yeast strain to the most pungent hops Kent has to offer, we used all British ingredients to brew our “Emperial” IPA.* While we may have brewed Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA with our own distinctively modern, San Diego-style touch, what good is history if you can’t rewrite it to suit your tastes?
In this case, our tastes called for highly intemperate quantities of Target, East Kent Golding and Boadicea hops, bestowing upon this dry-bodied ale a powerfully spicy, earthy aroma. On the palate, peppery hops assert themselves early and often, with malt sweetness making a brief appearance before being beaten back by a long, complex, and decisively bitter finish. What better way to contemplate the fate of empires past, present, and future?
*Um, except for our filtered Colorado River water, of course.
Our Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA may defy today’s expectations of a British-inspired IPA. It’s not a "maltier" IPA, and no crystal malts were used in the brewing of this beer. British brewers in the 1800s made their IPAs as light in color and as dry as possible, and that was our inspiration. And though we still like to encourage everyone to drink our IPAs fresh, this one may be interesting to age. Especially on a 6-month-long ocean voyage…
This one, however, promises to be different! From the imported white malt to the “Burtonised” water to the rare yeast strain to the most pungent hops Kent has to offer, we used all British ingredients to brew our “Emperial” IPA.* While we may have brewed Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA with our own distinctively modern, San Diego-style touch, what good is history if you can’t rewrite it to suit your tastes?
In this case, our tastes called for highly intemperate quantities of Target, East Kent Golding and Boadicea hops, bestowing upon this dry-bodied ale a powerfully spicy, earthy aroma. On the palate, peppery hops assert themselves early and often, with malt sweetness making a brief appearance before being beaten back by a long, complex, and decisively bitter finish. What better way to contemplate the fate of empires past, present, and future?
*Um, except for our filtered Colorado River water, of course.
Our Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA may defy today’s expectations of a British-inspired IPA. It’s not a "maltier" IPA, and no crystal malts were used in the brewing of this beer. British brewers in the 1800s made their IPAs as light in color and as dry as possible, and that was our inspiration. And though we still like to encourage everyone to drink our IPAs fresh, this one may be interesting to age. Especially on a 6-month-long ocean voyage…
Sign up to add a tick or review
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Tap at J’s. Pours a deep orange/gold color with a finger of foam that lingers. Big peach nose with stone fruit and pine. Clean and crisp and lovely that lovely San Diego light body. Dank stone fruit as it warms. Smooth finish. So drinkable and the hops shine. Really nice.
Tried
from Draft
on 17 Jan 2017
at 20:21
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
22 oz bottle into a plastic hotel cup. Mostly clear golden orange with off-white head. Aromas of citrus, malt, floral notes, light tropical fruit. Tastes of citrus, floral notes, light malt, pine, light tropical fruit, hop oils. Medium body with a dry finish. Liked it more after it warmed up a bit.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Jan 2017
at 14:57
8.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
Bomber from Whole Foods Market Fair Lakes Aroma: hay, earthy, caramel, citrus ppearance: clear golden with a white head Taste: medium sweetness, medium bitterness, Palate: medium body, creamy, soft carbonation, bitter finish Tasty
Tried
on 07 Jan 2017
at 17:34
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 6.5
Bottle - Encore Series bomber. Pours clear orange, medium off-white head, good lacing. Aroma is caramel and pine, pretty old school. some melon and orange. Flavor is medium sweet, medium bitter, melon and pith. Medium body, creamy mouthfeel. Old school but well crafted.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Dec 2016
at 20:04
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
22 oz. bottle purchased at One Stop Market. Fresh Encore bottle with a date of 11-28-16, aroma is candied oranges, sweet malt, mild floral hints, canned peaches.
Flavor shows citrus up front and a lot of sweet malt though out. Hops come in at the finish as a leafy floral character. Medium body; average carbonation and mouthfeel. WAY more sweet then I was hoping for. It also shows a tad of the alcohol. Not a huge fan of this one but serviceable.
Flavor shows citrus up front and a lot of sweet malt though out. Hops come in at the finish as a leafy floral character. Medium body; average carbonation and mouthfeel. WAY more sweet then I was hoping for. It also shows a tad of the alcohol. Not a huge fan of this one but serviceable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Dec 2016
at 19:52
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle from Boise Co-op. Medium amber with a slight haze, soft, spare bubbly head. Different from the start, aroma is earthy, musty and leather. Taste changes gears, mild citrus, savory spice, sweet malt. Hops are not immediately evident, but shiw themselves st the finish with a short, bitter bite. A bit funky, not your run of the mill DIPA.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Dec 2016
at 22:20
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 10/22/2016. Pours slightly hazy golden orange color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky off white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big lemon, orange peel, grapefruit, pineapple, pear, peach, apricot, mango, melon, peppercorn, citrus rind, pine, honey, biscuit, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Great complexity and balance of bright citrus/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and moderate bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of huge lemon, orange peel, grapefruit, pineapple, pear, peach, apricot, mango, melon, peppercorn, citrus rind, pine, honey, biscuit, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Good amount of pine/citrus rind/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon/orange rind, grapefruit, pineapple, pear, peach, apricot, mango, melon, pepper, pine, honey, biscuit, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of bright citrus/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and moderate bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and minimal lingering hop astringency after the finish. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness, increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, moderately sticky/resinous, and fairly creamy/bready balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 8.9%. Overall this is an excellent English style DIPA! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of bright citrus/earthy hops, fruity yeast, and moderate bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the big ABV. Great mix of earthy hop character in combination with English yeast fruitiness; nice malt backbone without being too sweet. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Dec 2016
at 08:03