Enjoy By 04.01.13 IPA – Stone Brewing

Back in January I reviewed Stone Brewing Enjoy By 02.15.13 IPA and mentioned that there was a slight differences in the flavor character from batch to batch. This week, Stone released the fifth batch in the series, Enjoy By 04.01.13 IPA, and comparatively it’s got a very different flavor.

To briefly summarize, the Enjoy By series represents Stone’s idea of the freshest IPA you can buy, even coming with a recommended date by which to “enjoy” it by. So far there have been five batches of this IPA released, coming about 1 to 2 months apart from each other. Due to the nature of the hop industry, they have to do a slight bit of tweaking from batch to batch to accommodate hop availability. This gives each release a slightly different flavor from the last.

The pour is clear golden with a good amount of bubbly, white head. Aroma is very piney with a hint of citrus. Medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation. The flavor starts with a mellow citrus hop that leads into a sweet, bready malt and finishes on a resinous pine hop. The aftertaste has a dry, lingering piney bitterness with a bit of bready malt and a slight burn in the back of the throat.

Though very similar to the last release, this one definitely has a stronger piney hop characteristic that really makes it its own. Unlike the last release, which was very limited in the LA market, this one can still be purchased (for a short time only). The Stone Store in Pasadena has a limited quantity and some of the various beer retailers around town may sill have some at this time. I was lucky enough to have it on draft twice at Congregation Ale House during their Stone Week. I would say this is a must try for any West Coast IPA fans.

Cheers,
Beer Guy LA