Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA

'We went to England this past spring as self-styled “IPA Hunters” on a mission to learn more about the confusing and often contradictory history of India Pale Ale – to look for some certainty where those before us have found mostly mystery and mercantilism. While our success in this pursuit is open to debate, there can be no question that we returned home inspired by the ghosts of Burton and by the experience of poring over 150-year old brewer’s logs handwritten in (India?) ink. Stone Brewing Co., after all, traces its lineage back to the British Empire’s brewing history: we make ales, and all of our original offerings used traditional British styles as a jumping-off point. If this seems a roundabout way of letting you know that, yes, we are in fact brewing another IPA to mark our Anniversary, well, so be it. 

This one however, promises to be different! From the imported white malt to the “Burtonised” water to the rare yeast strain to the most pungent hops Kent has to offer, we used all British ingredients to brew our “Emperial” IPA.* While we may have brewed Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA with our own distinctively modern, San Diego-style touch, what good is history if you can’t rewrite it to suit your tastes?

In this case, our tastes called for highly intemperate quantities of Target, East Kent Goldings, and Boadicea hops, bestowing upon this dry-bodied ale a powerfully spicy, earthy aroma. On the palate, peppery hops assert themselves early and often, with malt sweetness making a brief appearance before being beaten back by a long, complex, and decisively bitter finish. What better way to contemplate the fate of empires past, present, and future?' -Stone Site

'Consume fresh or age in the hull of a seafaring vessel for a year or more' -The label


That is certainly one verbose description, which will definitely be longer than anything I have to say. I am a lazy blogger these days, as you can tell.


My coworker Emily purchased a bottle of this for me when we had finished a pretty tough project, so we had a 'meeting' at the end of the week to try it out. This brew has a huge, yeasty head which compliments this thick and vibrant IPA very well. I tasted strong citrus (lemon and orange zest) and some of the pepper that the description goes on and on about. Nice and tart, with a bit of that 'tongue shock' I am always seeking in an IPA. The aftertaste is clean but lingering and the overall experience was very robust and well, tasty. The craftsmanship of the Emperial IPA actually surpasses the high standards I have for Stone, which surprised me quite a bit. I kind of hate when a limited edition beer is as excellent as the Emperial, as this will probably be a one time experience for me unless I pick some more up relatively soon. Maybe I should add that to my Google calendar while I am thinking about it....

Schlafly Reserve Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout

'A roasty, rich and malty Imperial Stout with a strong dose of caramel, oak, and Bourbon character. This is a perfect beer to pair with hearty, cold-weather dishes, smoked meats, and virtually any dessert (especially chocolate).' -schlafly.com

I would like to start this post off by thanking a few of my friends from STL for nabbing me bottles of this now and then. Thanks to Ryan, Marissa and Ben! Keep the beer coming, suckers.

And what a beer this is! I am more and more convinced that bourbon aged stouts are my favorite style of beer, at least when I really want to indulge. Schlafly's version does not disappoint at all. This beer had the bitterness you should expect from an imperial stout married with the milkiness gained from the bourbon barrels. It's hard to explain the taste without being extremely verbose, but it I can sum it by stating it is certainly delicious (and probably a bit much for non beer snobs). This is one of those beers that makes you think alchemy must be involved at some step in the process. Where did you acquire your philosopher's stone, Schlafly?

You should probably split the bottle with a friend though, I made the mistake of drinking a bottle by myself and I was acting a little loopy towards the end of the stuff. I distinctly remember annoying my girlfriend and acting like a lunatic in guild chat (World of Warcraft reference, ouch). This is a great beer and one I hope gets some distribution to Chicago soon. Until then, lets keep the St Louis friend pipeline going!

Sierra Nevada Harvest 2008 Fresh Hop Ale

'Our newest addition to our Harvest family is Southern Hemisphere Harvest. This is the first time we know of that an American brewer has put out a beer with fresh-picked hops from the southern hemisphere. The inaugural ale will debut in late April and will feature fresh Pacific Hallertau, New Zealand Motueka and New Zealand Southern Cross hops, all from New Zealand.


Like our Celebration Ale, the fresh hops in this beer are dried right after being picked then shipped immediately to Chico for brewing so that they retain their peak aromatics and flavors. To ensure the freshest hops possible, we went to the added expense of flying these hops from New Zealand to Chico so we could brew with them the week after they were picked.'

This beer was a gift from my neighbors Rachael and Chris (soon to be moving out of our building, sadly) and I am glad they got it for me. It's pretty rare to see a fresh hop ale in the spring or summer and Sierra Nevada likes to let you know why.

This beer has a nice aroma to it that tipped me off that it was fairly, but not too, hoppy. Actually I find most beers are either too bitter or not enough because of the amount of hops present. This porridge was just right. Some sharp spices gave this beer a little twang to it and kept it from being a standard fresh hopped ale. I liked it and I also liked its price at free gift (at the store it isn't bad at $4). For some reason whenever you can eat or drink something out of season it seems that much more exotic, which I enjoyed with this brew.

There are a few other limited Harvest beers from Sierra Nevada that I want to check out. This one was a good way to start off what ended up being quite a long drinking session!