One of my favorite breweries, Beachwood has joined the growing list of Stone collaborators to create an Unapologetic IPA along with third partner, Heretic Brewing.
This IPA that was kindly provided to me by Stone pours a bright and cheerful orange. The first taste that comes through is Concord grape. Grape Ne-Hi to be exact. Then a heavy bitterness hangs like a shroud.
The aroma is great on this one. Zippy and filled with grape notes. But that promising start is undone by the heaviness. There is just an astringency that makes this below average. And then the cat pee notes kick in a little too harshly as well. And since these are such new hops. Belma? Yakima #’s without catchy names? I don’t really know what is causing the high points or the low.
This just verifies that the Stone IPA palate is not mine. That is no knock on Stone. Their Hophead fans are legion, so they are playing to their customer base for sure. And I know they have a session IPA out there that is more in line with my delicate sensibilities but I would have liked to see less hops here. Toned down the ABV a skosh as well.
All apologies but this IPA is not for me.