Family India Pale Ale
Country USA (CA) ABV 6.9%
Price $$ Packaging 12oz/355ml, 22oz/650ml bottle
Characteristics Bitter, hoppy, yeasty

Overview Stone Brewing—along with a few other, mostly bigger breweries— has done a lot to ensure that the high-intensity, big-hop-character style of pale ale is frequently referred to as “West Coast” in style, rather than “Northwest.” This poster boy for hops is generally regarded as one of the best producers of these beers.

Flavors and aromas One of the surprises of our blind tastings was Stone’s IPA, which failed to live up to the expectations we have for this generally outstanding brewery. This beer seemed to come up a bit short on every axis: a light nose of lemony hops with some fruity esters led into a light palate with good carbonation and mouthfeel, low malt flavor, and low (by IPA standards) bitterness that nonetheless came off as rough and astringent.