Stone  Enjoy By 04.01.13

I just want to start off by saying thank you to Joe and Dunn for inviting me to be a part of this blog. I am very excited to be able to share my East Coast experience of craft beer, and at the same time gain some insight on Midwest and West Coast styles and perspectives. 

My name is Taylor, I currently reside in Beverly, MA (about a half an hour north of Boston). I count myself blessed to be in what I consider a hot spot for craft beer. Now, if someone mentions Boston beer, the immediate association is Samuel Adams. Look, I'm not going to discredit the largest craft brewery in America because I believe they put some great beers, but there is much more to the New England craft scene and I hope I get the chance to share that with you.

But today we are going to the West Coast to try the hot- off- the- press Enjoy By 04.01.13, a DIPA from Stone Brewery based out of Escondido, California. I love the premies of this beer- while many beer fanatics that acquire rare beers want to save them and age them, Stone purposely brewed this beer NOT to last. Freshness being the main ingredient. This beer was bottled on February 22, 2013, SIX DAYS OLD!

I have been waiting and waiting for this beer to hit the shelves. It doesn't always come to Massachusetts but when it does, its gone in a couple hours. So naturally, when I heard that my favorite craft outlet had gotten a shipment today, I packed up my things and left work early. 

A: It pours a crystal clear golden color. Its very crisp looking. Even with an aggressive pour you're left with about an inch of snow white head. The retention on the head is moderate, leaving a slight lacing around the glass as you drink.

S: Big notes of citrus come to the forefront; grapefruit and orange mixed with hints of tropical pineapple and mango. There is a very nice floral undertone that gives it a piney sweet scent. 

T: Again the grapefruit is the first thing to hit the senses. The hops provide a huge wave of tropical flavors that immediately stimulate and destroy the palate. Its quickly followed by a delicious sweet piney characteristic from the malt and then shortly gives way to a fantastic bitter finish. This beer has amazing layers that compliment each other perfectly. The freshness is absolutely present in the taste, you almost get earthy notes on the backend as if the hops where picked and thrown directly into the barrels. 

M: Unbelievably smooth for 9.4% ABV. Its light and crisp on the tongue but leaves your mouth with a very nice foam like coating. The bitterness lingers on the back end as a reminder to keep drinking. Very nicely carbonated. 

O: I'm a hophead and this one really impressed me. Everything that you want in DIPA, big hop notes that wreck the palate with waves upon waves of tropical citrus flavor. If your looking for a balanced beer....look elsewhere. This one is for those in the pursuit of hoppiness!

Feel free to follow me on Instagram @BEERSOFTHECRAFT

Cheers!

Buffalo Bill's "Alimony Ale"

I hope you guys are excited as I am to get this blog up and going. It's something that Dunn and I have talked about in the past but it wasn't until just recently that we started to really take a genuine interest in it. I hope this blog will be informal, fun and informative. 

Just as an "intro" to those who don't know me...

My name is Joe Pedersen and I currently live in Grants Pass, Or (southern Oregon near the California boarder) where I am a youth pastor at a small church. My love for craft beers started about a year ago when I was living in Grand Rapids, MI. Dunn and I found an awesome liquor store that sold individual bottles of tons of different crafts from around the country. It started as a "trial and error" type of tasting but the more we tasted and learned the more I started to appreciate the art and "craft" of microbrew/craft beers. Lately I have been on a Imperial IPA fix...so many of my post may be about IPA's APA's and all the different variations within that realm. 

My beer and coffee Instagram account is "Westcoastcraftandcoffee"

I'd love to hear where the rest of you guys are coming from as well...

I recently bought a six of Buffalo Bill's "Alimony Ale". I'm not sure what drew me to this beer other than I was looking for a new American IPA to try. Buffalo Bill's is mainly out of California, so they are not too big in my area. I have had another one of their beers before, but in MI...Dunn you might remember this one...it was their Blueberry Oatmeal Stout. I remember thoroughly enjoying that beer, as weird of a combination as blueberry and oatmeal sound. So I figured Alimony Ale was worth a shot.

• It poured a beautiful carmel copper color with little to no head, which was a little disheartening. I may have had a bad pour as well, but none the less the experience wasn't off to a great start. 
• It had a sweet, maybe carmel, taste in the front with an interesting citrus/veggie taste to go with that beginning. (reminded me a bit of a east coast Magic Hat #9 to begin with)
• As I finished, I really noticed the carmel/malt in the body. The interesting citrus taste dissipated and it seemed to have a burnt finish...hard to explain.  
• It was not what I was expecting from a west coast style American IPA. It had a fuller body with the carmel and "burnt" notes than a "normal" beer in this category. 
• Overall, I would not recommend this beer. I'm definitely not going to be buying another six. It's worth a try if you want to drink something a little different but I wouldn't say it's six pack worthy. 

If you've had this beer before I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Looking forward to reading what you guys are trying these days!

- Joe