Sunday, November 16, 2008

Stone, Cali - Belgie IPA


Look: Golden Brown with minimal white bubbly head

Taste: Sweet, warming fruit flavors followed by hops

Conclusion: My brew reviewing buddy and I both jumped on this special edition brew when we saw it. This beer is essentially a hybrid of a Belgian and an IPA.

I was both intrigued(IPA) and disgusted(Belgian) when I picked it up. The fact it was made by Stone, however, swayed my opinion. I have never liked Belgians so I crossed my fingers and drank.

To my delight....it was GREAT! The first half of the drink you get the IPA bite, but it gets it's throat stomped on by the sweet and lightly fruity traits from the Belgian side of things. The thing I loved about this drink was that the Belgian side never becomes overly sweet as most tend to. Instead it's tempered by the IPA and the hop flavors come in near the end of the taste to mellow things out and prevent the sugary sweet Belgian coup.

This beer surprised me and I'd actually try another. I've never said that about any Belgian beer, so this is progress. Give me that diploma, I'm on my way to Belgian grad school! Well, maybe I'll start by aiming for my GED for now. I am again floored by Stone's genius and cunning.

8 Brews!

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