Ahh IPA, my most favoritest of beers. Why do I love IPA? Because I love hops. I love hops to an extent that would be considered in most states. I love hops so much that I will gladly lecture you anytime you're interested on how American's and Belgians are the only decent brewmasters in the world. Simply put, none of the other supposedly great beer cultures of the world (the Irish, English or Germans mainly) use anywhere near enough hops, and the varieties towards which they are partial tend to be considerably less flavorful.
Americans, on the other hand, take boldness of flavor to an amazing extreme, and Belgians are masters of all the complexities of hops. So when Stone promised me an IPA that blended the techniques of both I was considerably more than intrigued.
Does it deliver on the promise? Somewhat. What I was expecting was a 50/50 blend of bold bitter Americana and the sweet malty explosion of a Belgian. Instead what you get is about 80% American IPA, and about 20% of the settling, soothing influence of the Belgian style. It is certainly smoother than your average American IPA: instead of the intense lingering bitterness one might expect, there is a very pleasant almost jammy-sweet aftertaste. Beyond that though, I wouldn't consider it very remarkable. Call me jaded, but I need harder hops from my IPA, and I almost think of this as more of a trainer IPA than the experts-only kind of product I was expecting.
