Fruitallica collaboration by Beavertown, Garage Project and Stone brewing

September 1, 2017 by cloudx30 tagged Beavertown, Double India Pale Ale, Fruitallica, Garage Project, Habanero, Hop Monster, Kiwi, Lacey Shadows, Metal beer, Metallica, Stone Brewing, The Modifyers, tropical IPA, Yuzu | Leave a comment

Rating: 5/5

Fruitallica collaboration by Beavertown, Garage Project and Stone brewing is an 8% ABV Double India Pale ale brewed with Yuzu, Kiwi and Habanero.

Label:

==Introduction==

Obtained this one at Stone brewing store. The recent release of their latest collaboration which has the name inspiration from Metallica. This beer intrigued me mainly due to the ingredients use. A tropical IPA with special fruits is always awesome. I have homebrewed an IPA with Kiwi before and the flavors do tend to stick out a bit. Which is really awesome for what they are going for. The habanero addition definitely makes for something that I’m sure will definitely kick ass. The last habanero beer I had was the Sulpin Habanero and that thing was really hot. I usually eat spicy foods but that habanero was really present With the use of Yuzu and Kiwi I’m sure would make for something that would calm that heat. Let’s take a look, Cheers!

Aromas:

Floral, hoppy, grapefruit, herbal, grassy and earthy hops, rich tropical fruit medley, stone fruit, guave, berries, peppercorn, habanero spicy hints, citrus fruits and banana hints.

Flavors:

Rich tropical fruit goodness, pineapple, passion fruit, mango, dragon fruit, papaya, yuzu, jack fruit, banana hints, kiwis, oranges, lemon peel, blue berries, cherries, Strawberries, cranberries, tangerine gummies, herbal, grapefruit, dank, grassy, piney hops, mild earthy habanero spice, stone fruit peach hints, floral hibiscus, peppercorn hints and guava notes.

Aftertaste:

Finishing rich with tropical flavors, herbal, garlicky, dank, grapefruit, grassy and piney hops, stone fruit notes and mild earthy spiciness. No alcohol in the taste, hazy medium body, smooth, crisp, refreshing and effervescent. A moderate to sipping kind of beer.

Overall:

A nice perfect IPA. The tropical fruits do come forward and the habanero is more hinted than heat creating a mild spice that can appease those that were not looking for a hot and spicy burning beer. Granted you feel it a bit in the throat near the end but is immediately washed away. A very nice balance of hoppy, spiciness and sweet. Definitely worth seeking for!

Anime Corner:

Lacey Shadows from The Modifyers was used in this pairing mainly for the colors that complement the beer well. While she seems more punk than goth or metal, she seems close to it. She is also very so that covers the Habanero part of things. Regardless, the colors she has seem to go well with some of the flavors as well. Overall, I think she fit the part nicely.

MechaHopzilla by Nola brewing

August 17, 2014 by cloudx30 tagged Akane Yashiro, Citra Hops, Double India Pale Ale, Double IPA, Godzilla, Hop Monster, Imperial India Pale Ale, IPA, Kaiju, Mecha Godzilla, MechaHopzilla, Nola Brewing, Titanosaurus, Toho | Leave a comment

Rating: 4.5/5

MechaHopzilla by Nola brewing is an 8.8% ABV Imperial India Pale Ale.

Label:
This “Hop Monster” is an American Imperial IPA boasting Bravo, Columbus, Centennial and Citra Hops. Beware of MechaHopzilla’s powerful flavor and it’s attack of half pound per barrel dry-hop aroma. Not for the faint of heart or palate. Hop heads, this one’s for you! Brewed with love, brewed in New Orleans.
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I love Godzilla and all the other Kaiju monsters! This one is probably my favorite label from the beers I have received thus far in this package from my friend Aaron Mendiola of www.beermetaldude.com. I have heard of a Hopzilla beer and even tried the Dogzilla beer long ago. However, a MechaHopzilla beer, this is freaking awesome! I have no idea what to expect from this beer but since it is an IPA, I can only hope it is a monster of a hoppy beer. Thanks again Aaron and cheers brother!

Aromas:
Grassy, Piney, floral and grapefruit hops, caramel, biscuit bread, tangerine, oranges, lemon peel, tropical fruit hints like mango, papaya, prickly pears, dragon fruit, brown sugar, toffee, orange gummy bears and rye bread.

Flavors:
Grassy, piney, grapefruit, floral and citrus hops, caramel, tangerine, orange preserves on biscuit bread, tropical fruits like guava, papaya, dragon fruit, prickly pear, mango, brown sugar, toffee, orange gummy bears, bubble gum hints, lemon peel, rye bread, peach, apricot and butterscotch hints.

Aftertaste:
Caramel, grassy, pine, grapefruit and tropical hops linger. No alcohol in the taste, a moderate to sipping drinkability, medium body, medium mouth feel as well as crisp and refreshing.

Overall:
This IPA is very good. Aside from the Godzilla and Mecha Godzilla reference, this one truly does work with the caramel and malty aspect of IPAs. The balance of this works while still maintaining a caramel sweetness, the hop complexities definitely make for one really good and hoppy IPA. If you do not like malty and hoppy IPAs, then this one may not be for you. Personally, I enjoy these myself so I recommend it.

Anime Corner:
Akane Yashiro, Titanosaurus and Mecha Godzilla were used in this pairing for the obvious Mecha Godzilla reference. I tried to find something that also pairs with MechaHopzilla’s colors and in this case, it was the Mecha Gozilla III’s shoulder cannons. The fact that it comes in can also helps the pairing out so well. The bitterness is definitely represented by Mecha Gozilla’s onslaught.

Speaking of which, it turns out that Toho had sued Nola over this beer. I hope they can still use the reference because honestly, this is one bad ass monster of a beer!
http://www.fox8live.com/story/23392839/toho-sues-nola-brewing-over-mechahopzilla-beer

Sources:
http://i.imgur.com/CLTMzsY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/bVrKySg.jpg

RuinTen a.k.a Ruination Tenth Anniversary (re-release) by Stone Brewing

June 20, 2013 by cloudx30 tagged DIPA, Double Imperial Pale Ale, Double India Pale Ale, food, hop, hop aroma, hop bitterness, hop flavors, Hop Heads, Hop Monster, Hopmaterasu, Hoppy, Hoppy beer, Hops, IIPA, india pale ale, IPA, Ruination tenth, RuinTen, Stone, Stone Brewing, stone brewing co, Stone Ruination, Stone Ruination IPA | Leave a comment

Rating: 5.25/5 *A triumphant fresh return to the golden standard.

RuinTen a.k.a Ruination Tenth Anniversary (re-release) by Stone Brewing is 10.8% ABV 110 IBU World Class Double India Pale Ale

Label:
Back in 2002, we first released out notoriously mega-hopped Double IPA, Stone Ruination PA, and in 2012 we celebrated its 10th anniversary with the release of a very special version that was even bigger and incredibly, even hoppier than the original. If Stone Ruination IPA is “A Liquid Poem to the Glory of the Hop,” then Stone Ruination Tenth Anniversary IPA was a “Stage dive into a mosh pit of hops.” Luckily for us, our fans love loud and aggressive brews, specifically when copious amounts of humulus lupulus are involved. The original release of this beer was so instantly beloved by those who dared try it [particularly us] that there was no way we could relegate in one-hit-wonder status. You are holding in your hands a veritable hop monster. We dropped the word “Tenth” but the decidedly indelicate recipe is the same as the one first unleashed in 2012. This belligerently delicious ale has the substantial malt backbone needed to stand up to the whopping five pounds of hops packed into each barrel. If all the hyperbole hasn’t frightened you away by now, we know you’ll love this audacious gem of hoppy splendor just as much as we do. Crank it up!
___

The IPA Gold standard is back with a vengeance. One release was not awesome enough. The second is enough to cause havoc with irreparable damage to the palette and I am sure you will love it. AS I remember correctly from last years beer, this not only was so bitter that it lingered, it actually started burning. Maybe not like a chile heat, but like a real hop plant bitter trip to Hell.

Aromas are just like I remember, a lot of hoppy aromas ranging from grassy, pine needles, grapefruit, herbal, dank, hop oil, tropics to the brim like mango, pineapple, papaya, passion fruit, dragon fruit, citrus, lemon peel, oranges, tangerines and peaches. The flavor are in your face bitter with straight burning hop character, pine needles, dank hop oils, grapefruit, lemon grass, herbs and slight floral notes, some nice biscuit and caramel along with the in between tropics of the citrus, tangerine, peach, mango, pineapple, passion fruit, dragon fruit, kiwis, papaya, lychees and some nice peppery notes. The After taste just lingers in Hopmaterasu ([Unquenshable Black Flames]Naruto reference) burning to the untrained palette. However, if you are willing to continue drinking, on top of those green hellish flames will lie some nice tropical residue to keep you from fading into the oblivion (Leave that part to the alcohol ). Very nice thing those hops do , ain’t that sweet of them. This beer is awesome. It is so awesome that I think it makes it the prime reason why they may only be able to release it one more time. Maybe even release it every year if not. I think that if they were to release it as a yearly, it may or may not detract from the original Ruination. However, it if they did do that, it would be nice to have a variety or Ruination to choose from. You know, Hard mode versus Expert mode sort of thing. Get this beer while you still can. Stop Reading this and go buy this beer before it is gone. As for the Brewery–exclusive-Camp-out-all-night-Black-Friday-style-for-only-enjoy-3-pints-Pliny-the-Younger…. eat it!!!!!!

Still need more convincing about the greatness of this beer? Read my past review

2012 Original Review:
https://brewerianimelogs.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/stone-ruination-tenth-anniversary-ipa/