As I mentioned previously, I found that Yankee Spirits in Attleboro still had some Stone 11th Anniversary Ale left. Susan and I split (sort of) the bottle tonight. Here are my thoughts.
Stone calls it a “dark IPA”. Well, it’s just that, a dark IPA. The beer pours a brown/black color with a small light colored head. It smells of hops, nothing but hops (a bit citrus and a bit piney). The flavor starts out entirely hops, oily, citrusy, piney. It lacks the aftertaste that most IPA’s have (which is probably why Susan actually likes this one). As it warms, you can taste a slight roasted malt character to it (which is necessary to make it dark in color), but the hops are still there. It’s a very good beer, one of the best “IPA’s” I’ve had (quotes are because it’s not really an IPA, but I don’t know how else I would classify it). I could easily drink this beer all night. It has a similar mouthfeel to a regular IPA, a little bit oily from the hops, but not too heavy and not as heavy as a double IPA (though a bit heavier than a regular IPA). This one is definitely recommended if you can find it. I’m thinking about picking up another bottle for myself.
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