Behold! Over the holidays, Stone Brewing introduced their first ever Stone Twelve Days of IPAs Mixed Pack. Twelve distinct IPAs including year-round favorites, archived wonders and a few new releases. Each IPA celebrates the style in its own unique way, showcasing Stone’s love of IPAs. Here we have the next six in the mixed pack 🙂

What Stone Brewing has to say…
New England-Style IPAs are all the rage. Fans of Stone repeatedly ask for our take on the style, which can be met with some criticism. Rooted in West-Coast style IPAs for decades, how would we do it? Fear no more. Our brewers took the approach to deliver incredibly hoppy and aromatic flavor while keeping it very balanced and upping the alcohol unnoticeably – nailing this astounding one-of-a-kind creation. 

Overall this unfiltered double IPA is juiced up with massive tropical and citrus notes. The mild bitterness and relatively dry body compliment the style, and the residual maltiness nicely rounds it out. Lingering lime peel and tropical fruit derived from the hops stand out on the finish, begging one to seek out more.

Gnome Tasting Notes
A pretty hazy copper, bordering on opaque in color, FML was probably one of my favorites out of this pack. Stone describes the flavor as “fresh-squeezed fruit juice, strawberry, blueberry, grapes and a hint of white sage,” and while I can’t say I picked up on all that, there was a definite sweetness to it which added a nice counter-measure to the bitterness. That could be the grapes Stone describes, but there was also a prominent citrus note from Mosiac and floral flavors from Loral. I love the addition of Loral with its noble hop characteristics. Herbal and floral notes in a beer have a way of rounding out a flavor and tempering the sometimes overwhelming aspects of citrus. Aside from the classic Stone IPA, FML was the most balanced beer out of the bunch and one I’d definitely keep in my fridge. 

What Stone Brewing has to say…
Since Day One, we’ve been abundantly forthright and fully transparent about our lust for hops. It’s led us to craft many an IPA, most of them imperial – some intense for their time and all timeless in their intensity. For Stone Go To IPA, we embrace our hop obsession in a new way, funneling an abundance of lupulin – borne bitterness into a session IPA that delivers all the fruity, piney character of a much bigger IPA. To accomplish this, we employ hop bursting, a technique wherein an irrational amount of hops is added during the final phase of the brewing process to bring out extreme flavors and aromas while also imparting a burst of desirably pleasant bitterness. The result is an alpha=acid rich beer that fans can enjoy more of without missing out on the assertive hop character you, like us, crave. So, sit back and to two with your new everyday go=to IPA and bask along with us in the glory of the almighty hop. 

Gnome Tasting Notes
Holy hops! Stone managed to pack 10 different varieties into this beer, all while keeping it below 5% ABV. Quite a feat. As you could imagine, all those hops really come through on the nose with a big punch of bitter citrus (think lemon and grapefruit) and pine; malt comes through as well with some crackery notes. A relatively dry beer, the taste follows the nose with a lot of hoppy bitterness… surprise, surprise! For the number of hops though, it’s still considered a session IPA. It’s something I could see having on a hot summer’s day – something with a little more punch than your typical session, but still mellow enough for those who might not enjoy too much of that hoppy flavor. Personally, I’m not a huge fan, specifically due to the aftertaste. It had a sour, bitter lingering flavor that wasn’t pleasant. At first, I attributed it to the beer no longer being ‘fresh,’ but we were well within that enjoy by date. I’m willing to give it another go, but don’t have high hopes.   

What Stone Brewing has to say…
A few of our brewers took a side trip to the famous Tianshan Tea City market to experience the legend themselves. They were blown away. Inspired, they began experimenting back home, learning how well the delicate, floral qualities of these teas worked in combination with certain hop varieties. This imperial IPA loaded with White Tea is the result of that bountiful trip and the resulting experimentation. The amazing aromas and flavor profile of the beer are witness to the joy of experimentation and a testament to making time for side trips. 

Gnome Tasting Notes
Loved this one. Such an interesting thing to mix beer and tea, but such an awesome outcome. A nice clear golden color with a thin bubbly head, this beer didn’t have a strong aroma, just some delicate floral notes with a little sweetness. The flavor followed the same path, with a gentle bitterness and floral notes with a little citrus. White tea with raspberry is one of my favorite tea blends so I might be a little biased, but the tea and hops balanced really well with the soft malt flavors to produce something both well-rounded and memorable. I’m tempted to say there’s also some honey going on, the sweetness isn’t cloying but adds to the overall taste without the added fruit profile. 

Definitely a fan. I hope Stone considers moving this brew to the mainstream lineup.

What Stone Brewing has to say…
We often associate space with the future. Progress. What’s next. But in reality, any cosmic body you’d encounter out there is unfathomably ancient. It may take cutting-edge technology to reach it, but upon discovery, you’re immediately taken back in time. 

It’s in this spirit we offer Stone Cosmic Runestone IPA, a blend of historic Nordic brewing tradition (Voss Kveik yeast and juniper berries) and American craft beer innovation (a healthy dose of Centennial and Sabro hops). Like the eons-old entity that is our watchful Gargoyle, journeying through the infinite universe, leaving cosmic breadcrumbs and waiting to be discovered by a fortunate explorer. 

Today, that’s you. 

Gnome Tasting Notes
Pretty golden color, with a little less than a finger’s worth of head. Got a little citrus (of course) on the nose, but it was the sweet citrus of tangerine or pineapple. Initially you get a real heavy bitterness in the mouth – this is possibly from the juniper. Aside from hops, juniper is an ingredient that can be used to increase bitterness without upping the IBU rating. Sneaky stuff, Stone 🙂 Historically, juniper has been used for flavoring and as a fermentable ingredient in beer and other alcoholic beverages such as gin. Ironically, there is a noticeable gin-like aftertaste in this brew. 

Overall, a pretty solid IPA but what really caught my attention was the use of juniper. Its sparked some recipe research in the gnome family 😉

What Stone Brewing has to say…
By definition, an India pale ale is hoppier and higher in alcohol than its little brother, pale ale – and we deliver in spades. One of the most well-respected and best-selling IPAs in the country, this golden beauty explodes with tropical, citrusy, piney hop flavors and aromas, all perfectly balanced by a subtle malt character. This crisp, extra hoppy brew is hugely refreshing on a hot day, but will always deliver no matter when you choose to drink it.

Gnome Tasting Notes
Nose wasn’t too prominent in this one, though there are definitely hints of those sweet tropical fruits. A little pine from the hops as well. Color was a pale golden, almost honey-like with a good, dense head. 

Upfront, there is a strong presence of earthy bitterness that eventually leads into the fruity tones noted in the aroma. Unfortunately, the finish wasn’t completely clean, leaving a slightly dry aftertaste that I’m never fond of. I was pleasantly surprised by the bit of floral that made its way through the typical citrus and pine, however. I suspect it comes from the Loral hop, which has characteristics of the older noble hops.

What Stone Brewing has to say…

By definition, an India pale ale is hoppier and higher in alcohol than its little brother, pale ale – and we deliver in spades. One of the most well-respected and best-selling IPAs in the country, this golden beauty explodes with tropical, citrusy, piney hop flavors and aromas, all perfectly balanced by a subtle malt character. This crips, extra hoppy brew is hugely refreshing on a hot day, but will always deliver no matter when you choose to drink it. 

Gnome Tasting Notes
Saving the best for last, Stone IPA is Stone Brewing’s best-selling beer for a reason. There are a few IPAs which I will always rave about and this one is among the very top. A beautiful clear golden color, this beer omits a kick of lemon on the nose with the expected piney notes from all those hops, and a touch of biscuit. As it warms in the glass the smell intensifies. Not too heavy in the mouth, I’ve often heard this beer described as perfect for any weather and I don’t disagree. It showcases a well-balanced blend of citrus and pine with malty/bready notes towards the end before finishing off cleanly. All in all, an excellent example of a West Coast IPA and one that set the stage for many of the beers listed in this review. 

Check out what Stone has to say about one of their most loved beers here. 

And as always, stay safe and keep supporting your local beer institutions! 

~ Cheers, Steph