Beer - #264 - Stone - Ruination IPA

Plain old standard Stone Ruination IPA Brewed by Stone Brewing Co., styled as a Imperial/Double IPA  and that would be all a happening  in Escondido, California USA

354 ml bottle  (12 fl oz) of a 8.2% ABV beer, making this only 2.14 standard drink units in NZ and about 230 calories.  100+ IBUS too.  This bottle is best before 02 January 14, so just in time.

So called because of its truly "ruinous" effect on your palate, this massive hop monster will change forever your preconceptions of what defines good beer. This is Stone IPA's big brother, and we mean BIG. We essentially began with our already-awesome Stone IPA, threw in an extra-large helping of malt, and added a lotmore hops. And then some more. And then even more, resulting in a vibrant blast of citrusy bitterness that hits you on the first sip. Just one taste and you'll know why we call this indelicate jewel "A liquid poem to the glory of the hop!" We would say that no hops were injured in the brewing of this beer, but that would be a massive lie. In fact, the words "Stone Ruination IPA" are what older hop vines use to cause little hop vines to quiver with fright and lose sleep at night.  Paganism at its best!

This beer was highly recommended to me but my dealer :-)

Music for this trip is still Birdy, and the dinner is still ham, although I dialled it up and added eggs :-)

There is a hoppy bread yeasty aroma on opening. Treacle golden pour with a thin head, low key hop aroma, and there seems to be a warm malt aroma getting in on the act.

There is of course a kicker of hop grassiness, but there is also a back of some softer notes, fruity almost.  This has a bite to the palate and errs towards puckering and dryness of finish.

I don't know that this any better than other D/IPA beers. It's packaged up in a smaller package, and has a bunch of words around it, but it doesn't really set a benchmark, in my opinion.

Doesn't make it bad, just doesn't make it stand-out in a really crowded field.

It does have redemption though (and redemption is a word that I'm loathe to use). It had great colour, it's challenging without being a challenge. The assault doesn't really happen as a berserk thing, it's an measured and planned assault on the palate. It threatens to but doesn't finish dry, and there is a bunch of caramel and malts to carry this.

The pdubyah-o-meter and the arbitrary nature of things thinks this is, for me, and 8, making it a very good beer. It's not a 355ml bottle of extravagance or wonder. Don't know about the 100+ IBU count either. Perhaps I've become immune, or they only count if you're un-prepared. Or I don't understand that particular measurement.

It happens.

Related articles

• All The Same Beer review  Beer Review 0518: Stone Ruination IPA


• Brief Review: Stone Brewing Ruination IPA (labeerscene.wordpress.com)


• Stone Brewing Company - Ruination IPA (humuluslupulusmaximus.wordpress.com)