Name – Stone 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA
Country – United States
Type – Black IPA

Very interesting weekend to be the sports fan I am.  The Phillies clinched their 5th straight NL East title.  Penn State barely got by Temple.  And the Eagles lost a back and forth game with the Falcons that sees Michael Vick leave with either a head or neck injury.  I almost need a weekend away from this past weekend.  But beers were had and need to be reviewed.

Today’s review is for Stone’s 15th Anniversary Ale.  It is a hoppy black IPA that they have labeled Escondidian for the town the brewery is located in.  I personally wonder if the Trouble Brewing comic, that pokes a little fun at craft beer, had anything to do with the decision.  Regardless I think we all knew that the 15th anniversary ale would be hoppy.

I poured the beer into my Bruery snifter and it arrives….well…..black.  It has a light brown head that leaves a good amount of lacing on the glass as it subsides.

The nose is full of fresh hops.  I mean it smells straight off the vine.  There are hints of chocolate and roasted malts in there too.

The taste is really a lot of the same.  It is an assault of hops right up front.  Only in the back do I get a mild bit of roasted malt character with some chocolate and coffee notes to boot.  Then the hops come back and finish.  There is quite a bitterness from the hops that lingers around in the aftertaste.

To be honest this is exactly what I expected, a hop forward Black IPA.  Yes the roasted malt characters are there but this is by far the hoppiest Black IPA I’ve ever had.  It is even hoppier than this beers little brother Sublimely Self Righteous.  But I have to assume that’s exactly what Stone was going for.  So thumbs up on that.

I enjoyed the beer but not incredibly.  I always look forward to Stone’s Anniversary Ales and this was no different.  It was just slightly too hoppy for what I wanted.  But I am glad I got to try it.  I’ll just personally stick with SSR if I want a real hop forward Black IPA.  But you should be the judge for yourself.  Go on out and give it a try.

Grade – B+