Stone Ruination IPA

Photo Credit: J.C. Edwards

The Brewers:
Brewmaster:  Steve Wagner
Company:  Stone Brewing Company
Location:  1999 Citracado Parkway Escondido, California
Website:  http://www.stonebrew.com/home.asp

The Beer:
Style:  India Pale Ale (IPA)
ABV:  7.7%
IBUs: 100+
Brewed with:  Columbus & Centennial Hops
Served:  On tap at Stanziato's Pizzeria (definitely worth a visit if you're in the Danbury area:  http://stanziatos.com/)

The Drink:
Drank out of some kind of weird, long-stem tulip glass (the restaurant's, not mine).  I would do this one out of a brandy-snifter or a regular tulip.

Pours a copper orange color, with a thinner head that hung around.  Laces very well (as an IPA usually does).  

Aroma of floral and earthy hops, with subtle citrus tones.  No real detectable aroma of special malts or adjuncts etc.  

Beer starts and ends the same way:  bitter.  Hops are upfront and and in your face, though complemented well by a full-body with a subdued flavor.  Carbonation is moderate and compliments the highly hoppy flavor.  Middle is full and dry as the citrus character of the hops builds.  Finishes bitter and fades slowly, underscoring the earthy and spicy characteristics of the hops.  This beer has a very long, dry finish.  

Overall:
This beer really is all about the hops.  Start, middle and finish are bitter and aromatic through and through, and I actually puckered a bit for the first few sips.  Malt is really only used in a supporting role to balance the hops and, as far as I could tell, contributed little to detectable flavor.  This is an excellently balanced beer; it is very difficult to brew a beer that's this "hop-centric" without creating an undrinkable monster.  Beware though, this beer really does have a "ruinous effect on your palate," as everything else I ate/drank at this meal seemed cloyingly sweet.  To me, this beer is something of a right-of-passage:  if you drink this and enjoy it, I think you can officially call yourself a hop-head.  If you aren't all that into hops, definitely steer clear, but keep this brew in the back of your mind, because when you do turn yourself over to the dark and hoppy side (which will happen), you're going to want to pick up a few of these.