We welcome back our weekly column that includes nothing but the honest reviews of these usually fine beers. In the end though, they are nothing but opinions, so come up and try these beauties for yourself.
Stone Collective Distortion DIPA w/ Elderberries & Coriander
You hear of White IPA's more often now. It is a blend that generally uses a different yeast strain. Sometimes they pack in coriander and orange peel with that yeast. Stone decided to go in the other direction with this play on a White IPA that stays a DIPA. The nose is quite pleasant with hints of cologne, incense, oranges, and strawberries. As the nose rounded out, different aromas started to emerge. Light hints of elderberries, coriander, and chives bring a little more diversity to the nose. The taste starts off with strong hints of pine and lemon zest. Bitter flavors of perfume, armpit, and coriander soon add to the flavor. The finish is quick with only hints of lemon pith, rye bread, and toast. This is a nice twist on a Double IPA, if not a push towards an Imperial White IPA.
Mike and Tyler's Rating - 9.25/10
Stone Enjoy By 07/04/14 Imperial IPA
This is the first time one of the Enjoy By series has made it to our wall. For those of you who don't know, this Imperial IPA is released every 2 or 3 months. It is a push to encourage people to drink their IPA's fresh and so that you know that it has been bottled for no more than 35 days. Thus, Stone slaps a date right on the front as part of the name. Once the date hits, Stone picks up all the leftovers...though they never last that long here. We start out by sniffing at the delectable nose. Skunky herbal notes and green onions hit first, with strong aromas of grapefruit and lemon zest soon to follow. The taste is bursting with citrus and lemon pith while lighter flavors of peanuts and seaweed take shape. The finish is quite astringent with flavors of lemon zest, pine sol, and bleach. While some of the flavors don't sound appetizing, they certainly work.
Mike and Tyler's Rating - 8.75/10
Prairie Ale Saison
This marks the third (if you are counting) unique beer to hit our wall this week. I promise some old favorites ahead, but we take a break for the only non-hoppy beer added to our wall this week. This brewery is out of Oklahoma, which is yet another first for us. The nose is one of the most diverse and exciting aromas that we have ever encountered with a beer. It starts out with strong hints of oranges, apple sauce, green grapes, worcestershire sauce, and ketchup. However, after sitting for under a minute, other aromas quickly emerged. Hints of oak, dark candied sugar, floor cleaner, baked apples, and cinnamon finished off one fantastic bouquet. The taste wasn't as intense, but it certainly had a great flavor. Tart cherries, grapes, rosemary, and hay start off this beer. The finish is far more subtle with only hints of cherries and crackers. Tyler also picked up hints of his great grandmothers basement. He made sure to clarify that that is a good thing.
Mike and Tyler's Rating - 9/10
Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster Imperial IPA
Great Lakes Chillwave is done just in time for the Erie Monster to emerge. I generally prefer this beer over any other Great Lakes brew, but this years seemed a bit off from the get go. The nose has hints of ham, onions, mango, grapefruit, and hot dogs. An odd start to this beer, but we trudged onward and gave it a taste. Tyler tasted intense flavors of salami, but all I could taste was sickeningly sweet mango. Hints of perfume finishes off the front. This beer actually finishes decently with flavors of linen, mango, grapefruit, pine, and a little alcohol. However, it is too little too late to save this beer. Some IPA's tend to get better after a few days or even a week on the tap. I sure hope this is one of those, as right now it is the biggest disappointment we have.
Mike and Tyler's Rating - 6.75/10
Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Imperial IPA
We welcome another old favorite back to the wall. It has been a year, but finally the Hoptimum has returned. The nose on this one was near perfect. Fresh grapefruit, oranges, and lemons assault the nose with just that hint of cat pee/cat litter. It is a nose that can only be described as an American Double IPA. The taste is a little more subdued with flavors of linen, grapefruit, lemon, and lime. None of them is incredibly popping, and an odd mint flavors comes out of left field. The finish is chalky with hints of lime pith, cough syrup, wheat bread, and sun tan lotion. None of the odd flavors are bad, they just don't accentuate the other strong flavors.
Mike and Tyler's Rating - 8.75/10
