Stone "Tangerine Express" IPA

Stone can pride itself on the sheer number of beers that they have produced that have been very good. I do not recall if they have ventured into the area of calling their beer hazy before, but I'm on record as being against this adjective in general. In this case, they've added fruit to the copious hops that are already listed on the label. The seven different variety of hops seem like they should be more than sufficient for lots of flavor, and I'm not sure why they decided to add the tangerine and pineapple. But, they are excellent brewers, so I assume they know what they're doing.

The beer pours a suitably hazy orange with a mediocre head of tiny bubbles that leaves a little bit of lacing in its wake before it becomes a thin but complete layer across the top of the beer with a few areas of concentration. The aroma is exceptionally fruity, and the tangerine and pineapple are standing out. I'm not even sure I can smell any of the layers of hops underneath all of the fruit. It's possible that some of the layers of fruit are actually hops. This is an intriguing one right off the bat.

First sip is fruity, but it's not nearly the assault than I expected. Instead, the hops are absolutely showing through with pine and lemongrass sitting behind the tangerine and pineapple loudness. Honestly, even the carbonation seems to be getting through the fruit, and that doesn't really make any sense. I'm not sure any of the sip make sense. It's not bad, but it's confusing. I'm going in for a swig.

Tip-in is moderate carbonation burn on the tongue while tangerine seems to stifle the pineapple and is joined by a bit of grass. The middle becomes boisterous with all the fruits everywhere joining with their meat, seeds, and peels as a vague malt tries to hold back bitterness. The finish is where the hops win over everything, and bitterness clamps on to the tongue and remains for the trail off.

Bottom Line: It's an interesting brew, but it is far from their best.

2.5/5