Brewery: Stone Brewing
Country: Germany
Size: 33cl
ABV: 8.5%
Price: 29kr
Systembolaget: 88629
When I thought about doing a German beer tasting, I thought it would be easy quite honestly. Germany is so well-known for its beers I thought there would be a wide selection to pick from. There was a number to choose from, but there wasn’t that many different styles. I didn’t want just lagers in the tasting as quite frankly that would have been so boring. When I found that Stone had opened up a German branch of their brewery and I ould buy them here in Sweden I was more than happy. I know Stone as being a reliable brewers so I didn’t hesitate in picking their double IPA to test.
It was hazy golden in colour and produced a thick, heavy head that held well. The body was rather thick as well, and coated the glass well. The smell was pungent, with big and heavy passionfruit and elderflower notes exploding from the glass. It was a mix of ripe, fresh fruit and a late spring meadow. These attributes continued into the tasting, with a major grapefruit kick energizing the taste buds. The beer was fairy carbonated but not to a negative extent. The bitterness really came on strong in the aftertaste and unfortunately at that stage it almost became a bit too much. Sweet licorice and mango were noted hiding behind a deep layer of bitterness, which clung to every inch of the palate.
I thought this was a rather well made DIPA, yet nothing to put itself into the excellent category. It did the job well, with a nice fresh aroma and fairly well-balanced taste. Personally though I just found the bitterness of the aftertaste just a tad too much and dulled my enjoyment somewhat. Stone should be proud of what they have created, and I think the DIPA nerds would go crazy for it. I just wasn’t really a beer that I would go back to in a hurry.