Stone Smoked Porter Review

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. | Beer: Smoked Porter
Style: American Porter | ABV: 5.9% | IBUs: 53
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

Ah, smoked beer (or Rauchbier in German), what a treat! Drying malt over an open flame goes back for millennia, though with kiln drying becoming the standard way to dry malt hundreds of years ago, smoked malt has become a bit of a specialty. Until recently, the only place still smoking malt on any sort of large scale was Bamberg, Germany, the last real stronghold of Rauchbiers.

As with many traditional styles nearly lost to the ages, smoked beers have enjoyed a bit of a resurgence in America with the craft beer renaissance. One of the best known examples of smoked American beer is Alaskan Smoked Porter, which has been in production since 1988 and on my "must try" for years. While that beer might not be on shelves here on Houston, Stone's Smoked Porter is.

In production since 1996, Stone's Smoked Porter was one of the company's first beers back in their first year of production. As for construction, it's hopped with Columbus and Mt. Hood varieties, though (as usual) Stone make no mention of the malt varieties used. Here's how they describe Smoked Porter:

This beer pours a gorgeous deep mahogany crowned by a creamy head. Dark, smooth, and complex, with rich chocolate and coffee flavors balanced by a subtle smokiness, this brew is equally delicious with meats or fine chocolates.

Unfortunately, I'm fresh out of meats and fine chocolates, so this baby is going to have to fly solo.

Appearance: A dark brown, very nearly black, body with only a handful of red highlights. Up top, a generous, tannish and creamy head that sticks around a good amount of time and leaves great lacing.

Aroma: Lot of smoke over chocolate and roasted malt. Simple, yet effective.

Taste: Much the same profile in the mouth: peaty smoke over a chocolaty, roasty, and somewhat bitter malt backbone. A subtle hop presence contributes to the bitterness, giving this beer great balance. I could definitely handle more smokiness, but what's here is great. The aftertaste is smokey and roasty.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with smooth carbonation and a dryish finish.

Drinkability: About what you'd expect from a nearly six percent Porter. No problems whatsoever polishing off the 22 oz. bomber.

Verdict: Without the smoke component this would still be a solid Porter, but with it in the mix this is a most satisfying brew. If you've never tried a smoked beer, this is a good place to start.

Grade: A-

Stone IPA Review

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. | Beer: IPA
Style: American India Pale Ale | ABV: 6.9% | IBUs: 77
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

First released in 1997, Stone IPA is the company's straight-forwardly named India Pale Ale. One of the first beers in the Stone portfolio, IPA is still one of their biggest sellers. Considered a typical "West-Coast" IPA, this is one of the beers that helped define that category.

Stone describe their IPA as having "medium malt character with a heavy dose of over the top hops." The specific hop varieties used are Columbus, Chinook, and Centennial varieties, and the beer undergoes dry-hopping. For a company known for it's focus on hops, you know this is going to be a hoppy bastard.

With big brother Ruination receiving an A+ here on PintLog, expectations are somewhat high for Stone IPA. Let's see if it can live up, shall we?

Appearance: A slightly hazy, golden-orange colored body with a finger and a half of sudsy, off-white head. Decent lacing.

Aroma: An abundance of floral, perfumy, citrusy hops right off the bat. Beyond the hops, a sweet medium malt base and a few whiffs of booze. Damn, this smells good.

Taste: Up front, tons of grapefruity, piney, and assertively bitter hops lead the charge. Underneath, a solid caramel malt backbone keeps everything relatively balanced. Bright and tasty from the first sip to the last and never too bitter for the style. The aftertaste keeps the resiny bitterness going well into your next sip.

Mouthfeel: A slightly more full than medium body with smooth carbonation and a dry finish. Every now and then, a hint of alcohol burn.

Drinkability: As long as you're into hops, the only thing to slow you down is the almost seven percent alcohol content.

Verdict: As I had imagined, this is essentially Ruination's (relatively) little brother. In all honesty, this IPA is a lot hoppier (and a damn sight tastier) than many brewer's Double IPAs—just what you'd expect from the boys at Stone. Well done!

Grade: A

Stone Imperial Russian Stout 2009 Review

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. | Beer: Imperial Russian Stout 2009
Style: Russian Imperial Stout | ABV: 10.5% | IBUs: 90+
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

Stone's Imperial Russian Stout is one of the large class of beers I've been wanting to try for years that finally showed up on Houston shelves this year. First brewed back in 2000, this release marks the beer's tenth anniversary—a nice round number on which to start my experience with the beer.

Many people have described Stone Imperial Russian Stout as one of the finest examples of the Russian Imperial Stout style, and it consistently shows up on "best beer" lists. Bitterness is provided by Warrior hops, and though Stone don't disclose the list of what malts are used, they did mention in a blog last year that they added more amber malt to this vintage. Here's how the describe the resulting brew:

Intensely aromatic (notes of anise, black currants, coffee, roastiness, and alcohol) and heavy on the palate, this brew goes where few can - and fewer even dare try.

I've waited a long time to get my hands on a bottle of this, so let's crack it open and see if it lives up to the expectations.

Appearance: An opaque black body capped by a generous three fingers of caramel-colored head that sticks around for a long time and leaves good lacing. Top marks.

Aroma: An intense blast of dark roasted malt with plenty of dark chocolate, dark fruit, and dark coffee notes (notice a trend developing here?). But as big as the malt body is, this is not just a one-sided affair, with decent pockets of hops and alcohol to be found amongst the malt.

Taste: Just as strong as the nose promised, the complex malt base absolutely dominates and features notes of bittersweet chocolate, dark fruit, molasses, and dark roasted coffee. The hop character from the nose shows back up towards the end to offer a little added depth. While the alcohol content certainly lets its presence be known, its deceptively smooth, feeling closer to about eight percent. The aftertaste is roasty and chocolaty with wisps of alcohol interspersed throughout.

Mouthfeel: A thick, creamy full body with only mild carbonation cutting through and a dry finish. After your sip, there's enough of a coating left in the mouth to keep everything alive for a long time. The alcohol leaves some warmth and slickness, but not as much as you'd expect with it weighing in at a hefty 10.5%.

Drinkability: Quite the sipper, which is no surprise given the style, alcohol content, and IBU rating. A brilliant beer to savor after a meal.

Verdict: Certainly worth all of the the hype, Stone's Imperial Russian Stout is a damn fine beer that is well worth seeking out for any Stout fan. As good as this tastes now, I can't wait to see how this ages.

Grade: A

Note: While this review is being published in January, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh last June.

Stone 13th Anniversary Ale Review

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. | Beer: 13th Anniversary Ale
Style: American Strong Ale | ABV: 9.5% | IBUs: ~90
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

This year, Stone Brewing Company celebrates their 13th year of serving up world-class craft beer. In that time, they've grown into the 18th largest craft brewery in the nation, which is no small accomplishment. To mark the occasion, they brew up an anniversary beer each year. This is the first time we've seen a Stone anniversary brew here in Houston, and I couldn't be happier to finally get in on the party.

Stone describe 13th Anniversary as an Imperial Red Ale, though I've listed it as an American Strong Ale. It took them three iterations to get the beer to the level demanded of a Stone anniversary release. The brewery claim this is the hoppiest beer in their history, with more pounds of hops per barrel (4.5 lbs. to be exact) than anything they've ever released.

Chinook hops are used during brewing, and the beer is dry-hopped with a 50/50 blend of Simcoe and Centennial varieties. It's dry-hopped again just before packaging, making this the first double dry-hopped Stone beer available in a bottle. The backbone is built with pale, crystal and amber malts with just "a touch" of chocolate.

Stone intend you to enjoy this beer fresh, and have marked the bottle "do not cellar, enjoy in 2009." I recommend you follow their advice, though I'm still going to age a few bottles, just for the hell of it.

Appearance: An exceedingly dark brown body with just the barest red highlights. Up top, three tannish fingers of head featuring great retention and fantastic lacing.

Aroma: A pungent blast of piney, resiny hops on top of a rich caramel malt base. Based on aroma alone, I'd mark this as a Double IPA every time.

Taste: Up front, a brawny and bitter hop character composed of herbal, pine, citrus, and resin components. Underneath, there's a substantial toasty caramel malt backbone keeping things pretty balanced. There is plenty of spicy alcohol throughout, but the bulk is masked well. It all ends up somewhere in the Imperial Red/Double IPA/American Strong Ale region. The aftertaste is resiny as all hell and lasts well into your next gulp.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and creamy with good carbonation and a dry finish.

Drinkability: Slower due to the big hop character and alcohol content, though not quite a sipper.

Verdict: Stone 13th Anniversary Ale is a big, brash beer that's brimming with character, which makes it a fitting memorial to 13 great years of Stone brews. Cheers to Greg and the rest of the Stone team!

Grade: A

Stone Ruination IPA Review

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. | Beer: Ruination IPA
Style: American Double India Pale Ale | ABV: 7.7%
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

Stone Brewing Company, best known for their beer Arrogant Bastard, have become one of the big players in the American craft brew scene. Based out of the San Diego area, they've developed a reputation for uncompromising big beers, usually with a healthy dose of hops. Gargoyles are featured prominently on most packaging, a perfect fit for the playfully arrogant voice of most of their marketing materials. Stone is independent and has built a reputation for being eco-friendly, both very important things to me.

While they produce a normal IPA (named simply Stone IPA), they also produce a year-round Double IPA by the name of Ruination, billed as a "liquid poem to the glory of the hop!" Stone say they chose the moniker Ruination because they believe that this is such an extreme and great tasting beer, that your palate will be ruined for anything lesser. The beer better be pretty damn good with that kind of marketing.

Appearance: Somewhat hazy, rich amber-orange body with a two solid fingers of sticky, off-white head. Good lacing.

Aroma: Pungent, floral, citrusy, and piney hops are the focus here. There is booze and caramel malt underneath, but they're very much subservient to the hop onslaught. This smells damn good.

Taste: Aggressively bitter hops take charge of your mouth from the second they hit the palate, not letting go until they say so. Not just bitter, the hops are still grassy, floral, and citrusy. It's not all one-sided though, with enough caramel malt to keep it from being an absolute blowout. The alcohol is kept in check well. There is a terrifically long bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body that coats the mouth, allowing the aftertaste to linger for minutes. Moderate carbonation and a dry finish.

Drinkability: A little above average for the style, that is to say a relatively fast sipper. There are a lot of hops to contend with, but the alcohol is hidden rather well.

Verdict: Ruination is simply a massive beer. Stone have pulled off something masterful here, by keeping a beer so absolutely drenched in hop oil still somewhat balanced. This is a must try for all hopheads, and one of the best beers I've tried yet. Arrogant bastards Stone may be, but their products walk the walk.

Grade: A+