Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA

Despite my profound disappointment with their Levitation Amber Ale, I decided to celebrate the end of my family's grueling five day visit with a Stone Brewing Company ale. My initial intention was to grab and review the Self-Righteous Ale, a black IPA originally brewed as the brewery's 11th anniversary ale, but was tempted by the arrival of the brand new 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA. Here's the succinct review: god damn fuck yes.

The bottle text is unusually descriptive for a Stone brew: "From the imported white malt to the 'Burtonised' water to the rare yeast strain to the most pungent hops Kent has to offer, we used all British ingredients to brew our Emperial IPA." It continues, "In this case, our tastes called for highly intemperate quantities of Target, East Kent Goldings, and Boadicea hops, bestowing upon this dry-bodied ale a powerfully spicy, earthy aroma. On the palate, peppery hops assert themselves early and often, with malt sweetness making a brief appearance before being beaten back by a long complex, and decisively bitter finish."

I opened the bottle with mild skepticism, took a sip, and immediately exclaimed, "oh shit!" The beer unabashedly tramples you with that crisp, peppery hop wallop. The malty sweetness is very subtle, but just perceptible enough to help balance the deliciously bitter/citrus finish. I hate dropping $7 on a 22 ounce bomber, but Stone doesn't disappoint here. And at a robust 8.9% ABV, the Emperial IPA's alcohol to cost ratio is within reason. This brew joins the ranks of Russian River's Pliny the Elder, Stone's Ruination IPA, and Victory's Hop Devil as one of the best IPAs I've ever had the pleasure of inhaling.

Stone Brewing Co's Levitation Ale

Like all of Stone's brews, the text on the box and bottle are worthless. After a paragraph of rambling prose, the bottle states, "Stone Levitation Ale certainly defies the gravitational forces at work in much of the beer industry today- less character, less flavor, less creativity- and as for any supernatural forces at work in this beer, well we can only guess. (Though brewers yeast pretty much qualifies in our book.)" I'll agree with the bottle that this brew delivers more to the palate than a can of Schlitz, but it certainly doesn't dish up $14 per six pack worth of deliciousness. Unlike most of the other Stone light ales that are dominated by an intoxicating fruity undertone (try the Self-Righteous Ale, for example), the overwhelming Levitating flavor is, as mentioned on the bottle, brewers yeast. The beer is smooth and crisp, but unpleasantly bitter with no hint of floral hops or sweet malt to even out the finish. At just 4.4% alcohol by volume, Levitation Ale can't even compete with the aforementioned Schlitz, which weighs in at 4.6%. Overall, this one's a pretty disappointing contribution from one of my favorite west coast breweries that brings us such delights as their Russian Imperial Stout, the Self-Righteous Ale, and the famous Ruination IPA.