Lagunitas might not call this a Session IPA on the bottle, and I don’t blame them, but for hop-heads out there that is pretty much what it is. Session beers are anything under 5% in alcohol. Session IPAs are made by dry-hopping these lighter beers like you would with a stronger brew. This hits all of those parts nicely, coming in at a light 4.8% and 54IBU, this beer pours lighter than a pilsner and yet has all the delicious hop flavors I’ve come to crave.
All the dry-hopping gives this a delicious hop aroma that might make you think you are going to get an IPA. When I first tasted this, I thought it was a bit too much pine in the flavor. Over time I came to taste the tropical fruit and citrus flavors that I love so much. Though they don’t tell you the hops used here I expect it has mosaic hops in there somewhere. This is one of the first Session IPAs to hit six packs in San Diego and it blows away almost all of the competition. I still prefer the Modern Times Hoppy Wheat but it is different enough that I can enjoy both of these on regular rotation. With Stone’s own Session IPA set to release soon it has some serious competition.
Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.
If there is one thing I find is missing when I stop by Alesmith it is a lighter beer to go with Speedway Stout. Speedway Stout is an amazing beer but also so strong that it makes me wonder what the brewers could do with a porter. Thankfully, some seasonal beers have been satisfying me lately as far as darker mid-range options both from the My Bloody Valentine and the Evil Dead Red. Still, both of those options are a bit on the hoppy side so for someone like my husband who hates hops, there is still not much to love.
Enter the robust porter and you might have a winner. The guys at Alesmith told me that this one was released first about a year ago though I seem to have missed it. This is only the second time it has been available and they brewed enough that if you aren’t in the area by the brewery you should find it on tap at some local bars for a little bit.
Cask Nut Brown (Left), Robust Porter (Right).
The robust porter looks like a porter and tastes like a porter. It has a light smoky flavor at the front end with a mild splash of chocolate and some plum flavors from the malts. The beer is right around 6.5% and drinks quite nicely. I went for a pint after finishing off my taster and it went down quite smoothly. This is the sort of beer that would be a great addition to the regular rotation. I would love to be able to buy this in a six-pack sometime as well. If you are hooked on the Speedway Stout you should absolutely check out the Robust Porter the next time you stop by Alesmith.
Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.
Stone’s Enjoy By Double IPA is a great way to educate the general public about the importance of freshness when it comes to IPA. A good IPA will last for about 2-3 months before it becomes skunky. It can be so significant that a beer that was really well done at first is hard to enjoy six months down the road. With the Enjoy By series from Stone, Stone gets the beer out to stores within a week of brewing so that you know it is going to be fresh while you drink it before the enjoy date.
Stone Enjoy By 02 14 2014
Rich grapefruit and citrus flavors from the hops come through good and strong. This beer is light on the malts compared to the ordinary Stone IPA that I find a little too strong on the malts. The delicious flavors are made even better because you know it is going to be fresh when you drink it. I buy this over other similar beers because I don’t always know how fresh my IPAs are. Hopefully this will get other breweries to start posting enjoy by dates on the bottles. Freshness is so important that I love to buy IPAs from smaller breweries that don’t last long enough to become bad.
If you love hops you probably already wait with baited breath for the next batch of Enjoy By. If you haven’t tried this beer yet, you will find it to be a delicious adventure in hops.
Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.
Temecula is a bit far for me to go to hit up breweries right now. I may eventually make it up to hit up the breweries there but until then I rely on breweries with big enough distribution to get beer down to San Diego. I couldn’t resist when I saw Descend Black IPA at Bottlecraft in Downtown San Diego. It was everything I hoped for and I will certainly keep an eye out for more from this brewery in the future.
Descend Black IPA
I could smell the hops on the nose quite nicely though they don’t really show up in the flavor. To me Black IPAs have always been a strange beast. What separates it from a hoppy porter? Hard to say. This one certainly has a lot more in common with a bitter porter than anything else. On the front I could taste a strong bitter chocolate flavor. The bottle claims there is a malty caramel flavor on the back end. I could taste it but just barely. This would have been too bitter for my husband but totally hit the spot for me.
Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.
Alesmith has some delightful beer names and labels inspired by horror movies. I really enjoyed the Evil Dead Red last year so I was excited to see similarities listed for this one. My Bloody Valentine is a delicious dark beer with a hoppy after taste. At times it is smoky and a little caramel flavor. The hops are on the floral side and are balanced with it nicely. Light flavor of bittersweet chocolate rounds it out nicely.
My Bloody Valentine
The fresh batch was just released this week so make sure you grab some before it is done. It might hang around a little bit after Valentine’s day but probably not too long. I was quite satisfied with the first bottle and look forward to trying it on tap at the brewery soon.
Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.
