Happy Friday to everyone!! I know this is a political site, with political diaries. But from time to time we have foodies, cat-lovers, dog-folks, and the great garden and birdwatching reports.
Because I teach a class on the history and culture of beer and brewing, I though that I'd do a diary on beer.
So . . .
This is the Friday Beer Report. I'll talk about beers I'm enjoying and highlight a beer for the week. I also invite everyone to share their plans for weekend beers.
First, on tap for me tonight is a homemade stout and a homemade mead.
On Saturday I'll be lucky enough to head to a homebrew party, where there will be six excellent beers on tap, including an IPA.
Now, on to the beer of the week.
My beer of the week is from Stone Brewery, out of Escondido California, just outside of San Diego.
Stone is one of the great success stories of microbrewing. They occupy a great niche in the market by consistently making high-quality beer, by not being afraid of experimenting with recipes, and by avoiding the mistake that so many brewers make of sacrificing quality for national marketshare.
All of their beers are good, but let me talk about a couple of my favorites. I like most all beers, but tend towards the "heavies"--India Pale Ales, Stouts, Porters, heavy Ales, &c. &c. So, I'm a big fan of Stone's India Pale Ale (IPA) line, and they are well-known for their IPAs.
The Stone IPA is a very good IPA, with a nice hoppy flavor that doesn't destroy the malt behind it. The amount of hops flavor in a beer is measured by International Bitterness Units, and the Stone IPA clocks in at 77 IBUs. By comparison a Budweiser is about 11-12 IBUs. If you like beers that are a bit fuller in flavor, the IPA has become alot more popular in the United States in the past few years, as American specialty beers have trended towards a fuller, more hoppy flavor.
The thing about an IPA, though, is that it doesn't destroy your palate. A good IPA is sharp at the beginning [those are the hops] and then finishes much lighter. The Stone IPA is an excellent example of this. The Stone IPA is also a good beer for introducing yourself to the world of IPAs. It's not overly strong, has a great taste, and drinks pretty easily. It has some caramel flavor to match the citrus flavor.
If you like stronger beers still, the Stone Ruination IPA tests out at 100 IBUs. The amount of hops in this one means that it is technically an Imperial IPA, not an American IPA. Stone does a nice job of balancing out the extra hoppiness with a fuller malt flavor. This is not an overwhelming beer, though. That is, it doesn't have the "fullness" of a Porter or a Stout. The flavor comes across with a bit of citrus, alot of hops. But like a good IPA the initial sharp flavor on the tongue is balanced by the lightness of the finish.
[NB: If you want an example of an IPA with an absurdly high amount of hops, try the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. Not for the faint of heart.]
Like many of Stone's beers, the IPA and the Ruination are usually sold in 22oz. bottles. That makes for a nice one-beer session if you are simply sipping. Given that the Ruination IPA is 7.7% abv [Bud is about 5%], you won't have many 22oz bottles before you are done.
I'll probably also be opening both a Stone Vertical Epic 08/08/08 and a 07/07/07 this weekend, which should make for a nice comparison.
So, Kossack tipplers, what are you drinking this weekend?