Stone 14th Anniversary Empirical IPA

July 25, 2010

Wow! 14 years of Stone Brewing, that is an accomplishment. To celebrate each year Stone creates a limited edition beer. This year the brewed an English style IPA called Empirical IPA. This English style ale had an ABV of 8.9%. I bought this limted edition brew at Total Wine in Palm Beach Gardens FL. I served the beer in from the screen printed 22 ounce bottle in a goblet.

The quarter inch, rocky, white head had a really good retention. The body clarity has hazy and I could not see any carbonation. The body color was a pale amber.

The aroma for this ale was very different from other stone selections. The intensity was medium to high as always with Stone but the English hop varieties shined. I got a bouquet of bitter, floral, herbal, earthy hops. There was a light malt sweetness hidden in all the hop flavors. The flavor was not as intense as I had predicted, don’t get me wrong though, it was still strong. English hops dominated with spicy, herbal hops with a light bready malt.

The mouth feel had a prickly consistency, and the beer had a medium body. The flavor had a long duration, the pepper hops stuck with you. The 8% alcohol was not very noticeable.

This was really good beer, and a nice change from what I am used to. I so often have beers that showcase American hops; this beer was a nice change of pace. It worth picking up if you get the chance. I would serve this beer some spice food, such as Indian or Thai.

Beer Score 3.55/5.0