Two recent beers by stone seemed to fit to be reviewed together. They are pretty different from each other though neither one of them is particularly hoppy. First up is Stone’s Sprocketbier, a dark rye Kolsch style ale.
San Diego beer drinkers may be more familiar with the Kolsch style of beer from the Ballast Point Pale Ale but this is a much darker beer. The beer has a strong smoky flavor with a slight bitter taste from the rye that puts it closer to a bitter stout. At 5.4% this is one beer you won’t mind having all to yourself. I found the flavor overall satisfying.
Stone’s Quadro Triticale is the third release in the Stochasticity series of beers. I didn’t get to try the second release and this one doesn’t make me feel overly sad.
The Quadro Triticale is a Belgian Style Quad, a beer that IPA fans don’t always like because it tends to be on the sweet side and not particularly bitter. This one has some added brown sugar and it really shows. This is a thick heavy malty beer with a sweet sugary flavor on the front end. Sometimes when the rye comes through it gives it a nice mild spicy kick but it tends to be overpowered by the sugar a bit too much.
I’m glad that I tasted this beer at a friend’s house so I didn’t have to buy a few bottles. It certainly wasn’t off-putting bad but it wasn’t particularly impressive either. If I had to choose between these two I say go with the Sprocket.
Paul McGuire
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.
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