Light-medium malt character with a heavy dose of over the
top hops!
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by aracauna from Adairsville, GA, USA who has tried this beer once. (1/29/2006 8:36:40 PM)
"This pours a cloudy amber. The aroma is full of dried apricots and a slight pine from the hops. It’s a touch grainy. The malt drops out quickly but bitterness lingers nicely."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.7)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
[2] Review by willblake from Brick, NJ, USA who has tried this beer (1/18/2006 8:04:28 PM)
"07.08.05 RBSG Orange-amber pour, sticky head. Nose is surprisingly ketchup-like, banana, spicey hops, some spruce. Thin body and very dry. Flavor is not at all what I hoped it would be. Must have been better a few years ago."
Aroma:
6/10
Appearance:
4/10
Mouthfeel:
5/10
Flavor:
6/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(2.7)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
[3] Review by herbjones from Orange, CA, USA who has tried this beer (10/30/2005 11:20:59 AM)
"Fills the room with hop aroma when you pop this one. Not very good balance in this though. A little to over the top. But then big IPA's have never really been a favorite. The bigger is better hop lovers might find this appealing though."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
6/10
Mouthfeel:
4/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.3)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
[4] Review by EyeChartBrew from CA, Liechtenstein who has tried this beer a couple times. (7/3/2005 8:42:21 PM)
"Well, I'm all set for this bad-boy: a clean palate, my hand-washed and air-dried Ruination pint glass, and a thirst for something rare and different. After much internal debate, I settled on popping open one the best beers in my cellar: Stone 5th Aniversary IPA (dated: Sept 2001).
After a touch of foam-spewing, things calmed down enough to pour a nice pint glass worth of hop nectar, with a hugely complex head of foam (what would be considered to be, in homebrewing terms, a "rocky head").
First sniff of the aroma, and this beer's parentage of one of my favorite all-time hopmonsters (Ruination) becomes obvious. But it's not to say this is nothing more than an older and less refined version of Ruination (even though that may be partially true). Nay, this is it's own beer, and like the silk-screen label says, it has "a Disturbingly Cavalier Disregard for Common Sense"!
At first sip, the hops are present, that's for sure! But to be honest, I expected actually more hops than this. Maybe this was the be-all and end-all of hoppiness a long, long time ago (2001...!), but compared to Stone Ruination, Three Floyd's Dreadnaught Imperial IPA, Dogfish Head 90- and 120-Minute IPA's, and my own over-the-top Cross-Eyed Mary Double IPA's, the 5th Aniversary doesn't neccesarily hold the crown anymore. Rather, it abdicated to it's younger and more versatile offspring, the almighty Stone Ruination. The King Is Dead -- Long Live The King!
But, as ussual, I digress! Putting aside the hops for a second or two (but not much longer!), there is a background vibe with this beer that I didn't quite pick up on when I first had it in 2001. An almost exotic Belgian-esqe feel to the malt and alcohol presence. Could this be more along the lines of a Duvel with a metric shit-load of American hops, or am I getting dellusional? Regardless, the malt-bill definately does not disappoint, and in fact gives this beer even more complexity and character.
All told, this beer is unique, in that it is definately both the grandfather of modern-day Ruination; and yet, at the same time, difficult to pidgeon-hole into any modern-day frame-of-references. It's almost as if it was created and aged in a vacume..., a time-capsule for "all the way back" to 2001, when extremely hoppy beers were brewed once in a blue moon (or, in this case, an aniversary).
An exceptional beer that I will probably never see again -- but will always remember fondly...!
//TB"
Aroma:
10/10
Appearance:
10/10
Mouthfeel:
10/10
Flavor:
10/10
Overall:
10/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(5)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[5] Review by beerguy101 from Newark, CA, USA who has tried this beer (6/18/2005 2:28:46 PM)
"Medium gold color. Medium head. Aroma is floral hops, piney hops, resiny hops and hoppy hops, with some maltyness. A BIG West Coast IPA. Very hoppy (resiny, piney, floral, grapefruity..) you name the hop and it there. With all those hops it still a well-balanced beer. Very smooth taste. Big grapefruit and citrus flavor. Mellow. Some yeastiness. Hides the alcohol well. Nice beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
10/10
Mouthfeel:
9/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.4)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
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(3.7)
