I guess the gift for a 27th anniversary is either a lemon or a shark. Either way Stone has a wide ranging array of hops in this new DIPA, including Riwaka, Peacharine, Mosaic as well as using Phantasm.
Stone Day – 27th Anniversary
Patio beer
Stone Brewing has been outside apparently, which is probably why Patio Magic Double IPA is now out.
“This 8.8% botanical creation uses a special ingredient from New Zealand called Phantasm, which is made from Sauvignon Blanc grape skin extract. When making white wine, grapes are pressed off their skins. The skins produce some of those amazing fruit characteristics also found in hops. In combination with certain yeasts and hops it intensifies the flavor and aroma experience.
Combine that with a hefty dose of the experimental hop HBC 843 from Hop Breeding Company, and you’ve got an immensely complex but simply amazing IPA.”
Christmas Beer Review – Gimme Yule, Gimme Fire from Stone
Christmas beers have been thoroughly invaded by IPAs but the holiday still brings wintry styles such as the bock beer. Stone Brewing has a new One Batch Dispatch holiday bock.
Here is my take on Gimme Yule, Gimme Fire: It is nice and malty. Very Germanic. The barrel char is not coming through in the typical Stone mega proportions. I was expecting ash and charcoal and whiskey but this is a pleasant little bock that does not taste 9% at all with a touch of sweetness to it. If it was labeled a Christmas bock, I would probably have viewed it in higher esteem.
A Different Whiskey Stone
Stone Imperial Stout. Classic craft stout. It is also now the base for Stone Imperial Whiskey. In partnership with Iowa’s Foundry Distilling Company, the “whiskey is made with the wort of Stone Imperial Stout (liquid resulting from the first stage of the brewing process), distilled and aged in 30-gallon charred oak barrels for 30 months. This is a monster of a whiskey clocking in at 127 proof.”
Nine Minutes
New month, new One Batch Dispatch from Stone Brewing . 9 Minutes to Midnight is a double dry-hopped imperial black IPA blended with a bit of whiskey barrel-aged Stone 25th Anniversary Triple IPA.
Violet
You will not see a lot of milkshake on this blog but this one from Stone Brewing has extra interest behind it…
“Stone Violetta Iris Mikshake IPA This beer is named for a breast cancer survivor Violetta Iris Dirkmaat, the mother-in-law of our Senior Manager of Brewing & Innovation Steve Gonzalez. It’s pleasantly sweet (like her!) with an unexpected combination of vanilla, blood orange and raspberry, and a lesser-known New Zealand hop variety called Moutere. Raise a glass of this rose-colored beer to the strength of survivors, and Violeta’s motto: Volharden.”
Review – 26th Anniversary Imperial IPA from Stone Brewing
Stone released their first anniversary beer under Sapporo and surprise, it is an Imperial IPA.
This triple dry hopped imperial IPA pours a surprising dark orange color. It is a shade under 10% ABV so it is quite a big beer with a very creamy malty mouthfeel to it. The hops coat the mouth with each sip. To start I get berry notes but that moves to a more lemon lime flavor as it warms up. Stone has a few hop tricks for what some might think is just another big IPA.
Travel Writing
Stone has a new One Batch Dispatch out now, Travelogue Triple IPA.
This is a big one, as they describe, “Our trek started with Amarillo hops – a favorite from Stone history that we’ve fallen in love with all over again – combined with Loral and Mosaic. Meanwhile, we used flaked wheat and oats, which you’d typically see used in a hazy beer, but filtered this one for a classic, bright appearance.
That all went according to plan. But the surprise came when this beer that we expected to be a double IPA, came out at a massive 10.7% ABV. Despite the big alcohol content, this beer is incredibly smooth, letting the intense tropical & citrus notes shine with a glorious lingering hoppiness.”
Past Breaking News (Part 2) – West, East and Far East
How’s this for beer business water cooler talk…
“Sapporo U.S.A., maker of the number one selling Asian beer brand in the United States, and Stone Brewing, one of America’s largest and most innovative craft beer brands, have reached an agreement for Sapporo U.S.A. to acquire Stone Brewing. Supporting both business’ long-term growth strategies in the U.S. market, the transaction is expected to close in August 2022. “
Could this work? Sapporo already controls Anchor and aside from can label designs that are a little plain, seem to be in the same craft brewing pecking order as they were before. But though Stone has slipped into seltzers and brand extending Buenaveza lagers, it is still primarily a hop house something Sapporo is decidedly not.
Sapporo does seem to have a California heritage brewery soft spot. Stone is a world brand despite the pullback from Berlin and having both a West Coast and East Coast brewing operation has benefits. Though if I signed on to brew at Stone and I was suddenly making Sapporo for a living, it might be stunting creatively.
For some, the past bold statements from Greg Koch and initiatives to keep craft independent will be “flip flop” fodder for semi-humorous tweets but to me…
The big question that I fall back to is that despite the relative security of a stable parent company, what happens if Stone doesn’t generate money at the clip required. What happens then? Or what if Sapporo decides five years down the road that they want out of a hyper competitive California and U.S. beer market?
As with Anchor Brewing, only time will tell if the two can work together. Maybe Sapporo, Stone and Anchor can do a Hoppy Holiday lager for Christmas.
Turning 26
Stone Brewing is one of many who are getting back to throwing anniversary shin-digs. Below is the info for number 26.
“The Escondido “mothership” is hosting an epic affair at a size and scale never-before-seen at this location! We’re taking over the entire Bistro & beyond for the main celebration from 3pm-7pm.
Hardcore Stone fans can join the Rare Beer Festival from 12pm-3pm, which includes an exclusive beer list and festival area in the gardens PLUS early admission to the main event.
Join us for the grand finale! The festival is returning to the grassy North Promenade behind Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Liberty Station with beer from 50+ breweries from 11am-3pm. “