Stone "Sublimely Self-Righteous" Black IPA

What have I not already said about Stone? The fact is, these guys can put out a fantastic beer, and I'm here to enjoy those. One issue I didn't bother to deal with was picking the right glass to use. It says IPA on the can, so I just went with an IPA glass, but this should probably have been in a porter snifter or something with the dark hues that come with a black IPA.

It says black on the label, but this beer is a deep ruby red. It's almost hypnotic to look through the clear depths of the beer at the dark red filter into the world. The off white head rises significantly during the pour, but it settles to a rocky top with quite a bit of lacing on the sides of the glass. The aroma is a somewhat musty malt and dried pine needles. This description is, honestly, not a great one, as the malt is slightly sweet and the pine is scented with flowers.

First sip is very different. The smoky beer has charred oats and grains with the bitter hops sending me on my heels with pine needles becoming too harsh. The sip is, honestly, not my favorite. But, if there is one thing I know about Stone it is that they can brew a beer, and they know what good beer is like. Could you judge a Rembrandt based on a single brush stroke? Likewise, you can't judge a good beer based on a sip.

Tip-in is earth and lightly smoked oats with carbonation dazzling the outsides lightly. The middle rises with the carbonation lancing the tongue while thick grains mixed with muddled pine and flowers to make a calm and solid center that doesn't veer too heavily sweet or bitter. The finish is where the smoke comes out and a dryness leads into a bitter trail-off.

Bottom Line: Mixed and ultimately average. I expect better from Stone.

2.5/5