Stone IPA and Barrons Wattle Seed Ale

Oh the delicious offerings of Stone! What a great brewing company and the lupulin delivery viehicles they procure. So wonderful to sample these fine ales in their native environment!!!!!

Stone IPA

I’m in San Diego touring the city and what a wonderful way to spend my time than examining the beers that are local to this city. I’m only privy to some west coast ales in Tennessee, but not many. So I’m taking advantage of this opportunity to explore.

First up is the wonderful local san diego brewery, Stone brewing company. I love their Arogant bastard ale, and it’s a favorite of mine. Even though I can probably get their IPA back home, I haven’t reviewed it yet.

Served in a bomber 22, this beer pours a wonderful golden color with a rich hop bouquet. It screams cascade, but the wonderful thing about this beer and the hop aroma/presence is that its never overly assertive. Some hop heads might disagree with me here, but for me its nice when I have a hoppy beer that dosent leave my clothes smelling of hops after a pint. That being said, the flavor of this beer has that same character. The hops are solid, but not completely blasting you over.

I love this beer’s flavor. Great taste, without the grapefruit notes of cascade. Its also subdued a bit, but still strongly an IPA. the malt is extremely well balanced in this beer, with a smooth bitterness that’s not puckering. I had a hard time picking out the malt background of this beer. It tastes almost completely two row, with a ‘touch’ of toasted malt. The finish is quite hoppy and lingers nicely. It does not cloy with bitterness, its not sweet or dry either. Just well balanced and fantastic.

I recommend this to almost any hop head lover, although if you are a hop head, no doubt you’ve heard of stone and their fantastic beers.

9/10

Baron’s Wattle seed ale – black wattle superior.

So I’ve never heard of wattle seed before and have no earthly idea what it is. However, I must say, that this is a GREAT pint. Imported from Australia.

This pint pours dark, and looks overly aggressive on the roasted malt side, but I was pleased that it did not taste like that.

Rich aroma; very malt forward with nice chocolate notes and a hint of black licorace. Low-er corbonation which helps accent the sweetness of the malt.

Upon tasting, this beer first presents itself as a mild carbonic bite on the tounge, then it dissipates, coats, and unleashes a very full bodied flavor. I taste strong chocolate, hint of roast, and a spicyness that I cant place. Its almost tastes like the sting you get from a good cinnamon, but very, very mild. Quite rich, but not overwhelming. It must be the wattle seed or the yeast.

Very smooth beer. It is a sweet beer, but leaves your mouth dry. It may be a combination of the chocolate malt and the wattle seed that does it, but it leaves you wanting another sip.

The finish is nice with a lingering chocolate flavor. Somewhat like semi-sweet; not bitter, not sweet, but nicely in between.

Hops are very, very subtle if there at all. I love the flavor of this beer. Wish I could get it back home!!

8 out of 10.

Genessee Bock

This is a great beer. I love rich lagers and have brewed several of them myself. But this one is great.

Upon pouring, it has a great head, but dissapates farily fast (could be because of the glass), it has a rich malty bready aroma that has some light toasty notes. Its color is a deep red, almost black, but has a great clarity that allows that discernment. Upon tasting, the initial carbonic bite is solid, but it smoothens out with a great bready malty rich taste. Very easy drinking, and not sweet. I can tell this is a big beer, and its got a good amount of dextrins to it, but is nowhere near cloying.

This is a great beer. Perfect for a springtime evening, or a fall afternoon. Its nice smooth finish would be great all year round though. I think I'll have another!

8/10