Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA

I tend to drink alone when I sit to do a review, but this time I had the pleasure of sharing the pint with the lovely @ElizaDolores.  She is adventurous when it comes to beers and has never said no to me when I’ve poured beer.  The last time we shared a meal I brought some Ranger IPA to the table and she really liked the hop flavor of it, so I knew she might like the 14.

This is the first anniversary beer I have from Stone Brewery and I enjoyed it; makes me wonder what I’ve missed the past 13 years.  I read on the bottle that the brewers took a trip to England in search of inspiration and to learn more on the India Pale Ale style; always a good thing to do some research right?  Just like with all IPA’s. you’ll be able to smell the hops and I whiffed a bit of fruit sweetness from the malt.  It has an excellent hop flavor, the sweetness lingered, and had a peppery/pine finish.  At room temperature it remained the same, nothing overpowered nor rose in flavor, just perfect sips; a perfectly balanced beer.  Eliza noted she liked the color and density, “just yum!”

This beer is deserving of 5 caps.

 

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse

A wheat beer with citrus aroma, hints of orange and a bit of sweetness from the malt in the flavor department.  The beer is simple and refreshing, but after having different Hef’s the last few years, I’ve fallen out of love with it, and I think you can find other Hefeweizen with character that will be superior to the Franziskaner; however, don’t pass on it if someone offers you a pour, it’s a good quality beer, just not a title holder in my book.

A little history on me and the Franziskaner Hefeweizen.  This beer and style is one I began to drink often as I had yet to become adventurous in my beer choices during my transition from mass produced to craft beers.  It was easy to pick up the Franziskaner as my local grocery store always had it in stock, so this specific Hef and me go way back.  A Hefeweizen is not complex in flavor, which is why I introduce it to beer drinkers from the insipid aisle, and more recently my brother, who thoroughly enjoyed it.  I would recommend and say that this is a safe route to take for anyone that would like to try a new style of beer; introduce your palate to a sip that wraps around your tongue, and not something that washes down easily.