A liquid poem to the glory of the hop

Stone are at it again. The blurb on this bottle of Ruination IPA isn't as polarising as that of Arrogant Bastard, but the need for the brewers at Stone to talk to consumers is just as strong.

I've waited some time to try this beer. It is supposed to be a must have for hop lovers but I am not drawn in by the 100+ IBU boast on the bottle. It's bitter; big deal. IPA and hop bombs are about hop flavour and aroma to me and thankfully this beer has this trait in spades. Lots of citrus and sherbet wrapped up in oily resins. And of course it is bitter, but not shockingly so, and it certainly wasn't the ruin of my palate. Along with all the hop goodness is a sugary but not too cloying malt body that gives up a distinct alcoholic warmth. It suits the rich golden colour of this beer, but the bits floating in the glass suggest I left this one a little too long before sampling. Or perhaps the floaters are the very essences of hops precipitating out of the beer before my eyes.

Such Arrogance

"...this is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory - maybe something with a multi million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it's made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you're mouthing your words as you read this..."

And so Stone Brewing Co. introduce you to their most infamous beer. I like this bit of blurb because it's undeniably true. If you are a macro beer drinker this beer will smack you about the face and call your mother a very rude name. I can't say it is a very complex beer; the intense bitterness swamps a lot of the flavour, but the malt is heavy and sweet and holds its own rather well. It's a big hitter at 7.2% and tastes it too. The foam is rich and here to stay, lacing the glass all the way, marking the tentative sips that this intoxicating beer persuades you to take.

Worth the hype? Perhaps. It undeniably does what it suggests on the bottle, but the marketing approach taken is strange to pushers of craft beer in Ireland and the UK. Here craft brewers want a small share of the macro market and attempt to lure in the more adventurous drinker who might want to try something new with promises of a rewarding experience. Stone, with this beer at least, are using some form of reverse psychology to goad drinkers into trying their beer. In reality we all know that this beer will almost never fall into the hands of committed light lager drinkers and it won't get the chance to hurt the feelings of too many people.