Leave it to Stone to up the ante once again, this time by brewing their 13th Anniversary Ale (an Imperial/Double Red) with 4.5 pounds of hops per barrel (to compare, Stone notes that their ultra hoppy 10th Anniversary IPA was brewed with only" 2.5 pounds of hops per barrel. Yikes! Some more info, direct from Mitch Steele at the brewery:
“Big, red, and a hop monster!”Stone 13th Anniversary Ale pours brilliant deep red with a light tan foam. Up front, the aroma is all piney, resinous and citrus hops. Upon tasting, the hops are still on the front, and they are balanced with the malty, toffee like flavors contributed from the blend of crystal and amber malts used in the brewhouse. The finish is deliciously bitter, with a touch of warmth provided by the 9.5% alcohol. Bitterness comes in at 90+ IBU.
1 This is the first time we’ve ever released the Imperial/Double Red style. 2 We used more pounds of hops per barrel than any beer we’ve ever made. 3 We used Chinook hops in the brewhouse for bittering and flavor, then dry-hopped this beer with a 50/50 blend of Simcoe and Centennial. 4 As an added bonus, we then dry-hopped it again, just prior to filtering and packaging. That’s right, our popular double dry-hopped process, for the first time ever in one of our bottled beers!
I want some. Now. June 29th cannot come soon enough.
Stone, Mitch Steele, beer, 13th Anniversary, Imperial Red, Double Red, Hopback
