Beer #177 - W/C 16 July 2018
BREWERY // It all started when founders Steve Wagner & Greg Koch discussed their mutual obsession for beer after meeting at a weekend college course named "A Sensory Evaluation of Beer". In 1996 they opened their brewery in San Marcos, California with their first customer being Pizza Port Solana Beach. The 20 years that followed saw huge growth with the brewery being the 9th largest in the USA and Stone being named "All Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth" twice by BeerAdvocate magazine. Stone now employs over 1100 people and has recently opened breweries in Berlin and Richmond, Virginia. You beer tourists should definitely be adding 'Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens' in California, Berlin and Virginia to your list.
BEER // Stone were asked to create a beer for the 2016 Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia. They decided to create a crisp, bitter IPA with fruit flavours to match the hops. The Stone team loved it so much they decided to add it to their year round line-up. A symphony of 8 hop varieties make for dank, resinous and lots of tropical flavours. The whole tangerines are dominant in aroma and flavour with the pineapple addition more of a supporting player. And it's all wrapped up with a slightly sweet, bready malt profile. This is not a sweet fruit juice beer- the fruit additions make for a complex profile with crisp pithy citrus bitterness. Best served next to a tropical lagoon. If one isn't available, your sofa will do just fine.
BREWERY // Stone
BEER // Tangerine Express
STYLE // Fruit IPA
ORIGIN // Escondido, California
ABV // 6.7%
TEMPERATURE // Cool - 30mins out of the fridge
FOOD MATCH // Teriyaki Chicken. Tacos de Cameron. Whole Grain & Bean Salad. Peach Melba.
GLASS // IPA Glass