Very fresh, very hoppy... Not overly bitter, but it's up there... And it lingers...
Here's the stats from Stone:
Stone Enjoy By IPA
Stats: 9.4% abv, 88 IBUs
Hops bill: Calypso during the mash; Super Galena hop extract for bittering; Simcoe, Delta, Target, and Amarillo for flavor; Motueka, Citra, and Cascade for aroma; Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy for dry hopping.
And my review:
Aroma:
Tropical fruit, citrus... Some pine... Did I mention tropical fruit... Oh yeah... Tropical fruit!
Appearance:
Clear and mid-straw colored, not too light or dark... Decent whitish head receeding to a thin ring that persists.
Mouthfeel:
Now this gets interesting... The beer is light to mid bodied with a decent malt backbone... There is some alcohol heat... The hop character provides initial bitterness that ends up lingering, all while you are enjoyong the fruityness of the flavor and aroma hops. The lingering bitterness is subdued but remains for a while... The most interesting part is the perception of mintiness that hits the front of your mouth and your lips! Like I said, interesting!
Flavor:
Yum... In a sort of a sip, think, sip again, repeat sort of way. Good initial bitterness, some dankness, much fruit, citrus, tropical, passionfruit... Then lingering fruit for a short bit, followed by the lingering bitterness and mintyness. I cannot detect any onion characteristics as has been reported in various online reviews. but then again, I love onions so maybe that characteristic is not great enough to cross my 'onion threshold'.
Overall:
A very good beer, not the double IPA that I'm used to but I'ld certainly get it again... Think, and again... Repeat... And it sneaks up on you...!
