This year our brewing team was inspired by some exotic-ish additions of the lemony persuasion. Yes, it’s a Double IPA (can you really say you’re surprised?), but as we strive to do with all our Stone Anniversary Ales of the let’s-take-this-IPA-in-a-new-direction variety, we’ve brewed up a Stone-worthy divergence from tradition. The amount of rye malt we used isn’t quite enough to warrant the appellation “Rye IPA,” but it still adds hints of spiciness that contrast deliciously with the tropical fruit flavors and aromas of the Amarillo and Calypso hops. Add a few European specialty malts, some lemon verbena, and three more hop varieties to the mix, and you have a highly complex brew melding both bitter and fruity hop notes with rich toasted malt character punctuated by nuances of spicy rye and subtle lemon. 

The bastards at Stone bring forth an awesome addition this year. With a more fruity and lemon IPA. The beer has the basics of best enjoyed DIPAs with the flavors of grapefruit, pine and grassy hops along with caramel and honey. This time they added rye to it gives it a toasted bread flavor. Adding the herbal and spices of the lemon verbena and lemon oil is like dipping that toasty bread into massive amounts of lemon drops with orange and pineapple juice. There is some floral aspects as well. Like the way a flower smells is what is in the aftertaste. Not the same type of bitterness of hops but a bitterness of sweet like plants or flowers. There is no hint of the alcohol as the great flavors seem to hide it well. Overall not as mango tropical but a good combo none the less. Awesome IPA worth the pick up.