Stone Enjoy By 04.20.15 IPA

Enjoy By 4.20.15  9.4% ABV
Double / Imperial IPA
Stone Brewing Co.

So as it turns out some people don’t like hoppy beers.  I’m friends with one of these individuals.  He vociferously dislikes hoppy beers and he is constantly letting everyone know it.  While I don’t like hoppy beers all the time, I do enjoy them.  They are not my favorite, but as they are so plentiful I find myself drinking quite a few of them.  While I find hoppy beers a great part of the craft beer drinkers experience, hop haters, like my friend, claim that the craft beer industry is alienating beer fans who don’t like bitter beers.

Breweries have taken note of these concern and have started to make hoppy beers that are more delicate, so as to ease those with less hop friendly palates into this beer style.  Stone for instance recently came out with their Delicious IPA.  Using Lemon Drop hops and being low in gluten this more mild, yet still true to it’s name, delicious beer, was meant to be enjoyed by every type of beer drinker.  I believe Stone succeeded in their goal and hope they bring back the Delicious IPA.

Stone Enjoy By 4.20.15 is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from the Stone Delicious IPA.  It is meant for “über beer geeks” the kind that can’t get enough of hops.  The type who think “The more bitter the better.”  This is NOT a beer you want to give to a novice beer drinker.  This is NOT a beer you want to give to a light lager fan.  This beer is aggressive, it’s bold, simple put it’s a Stone Enjoy By.

Part of this brew is gimmick, I have to admit.  But gimmick, none the less, it is Fu$&ing fantastic.  Right on the bottle as well as the specially made glasses¹ it is described as Devastatingly² DANK³.  After being a complete dork and looking up the definition for both words, I must admit there is no better way to describe it.  Especially given it’s blatant reference to the Stoner or Pot culture.  The beer does have 4.20 in the name after all.

If you are reading this review and don’t already have a bottle or two, I apologize.  I assume the rest of the country is like my home area and every available bottle has already been bought up.  Maybe, just maybe a local bar will have a keg of this left, but I doubt it.  Perhaps you can talk to a stoner friend who is also a craft beer lover and they might have a bottle or two on hand to celebrate today with, but you’d have to have something killer to share with them to get them to share this beer with you.

If you do have a bottle you are in for an experience.  The aroma alone I could smell for hours.  Then the taste and flavor.  Wow…Wow.  Words escape me.

A bitter punch from the instance it hits your tongue, no easing up no subsiding, as it continues on to the finish.  Sip after sip, this beer works your palate.  Devastatingly DANK indeed.  Cheers to all who saved one for today and Hoppy 4.20.15!

 

 

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1.  I bought the glass two days ago just for this review.  It was worth the $2. ↩
2.  From Google: 1. highly destructive or damaging.  2. causing severe shock, distress or grief.  3. (informal) extremely impressive, effective, or attractive. ↩
3.  From Urban Dictionary: 1. An adjective describing unpleasant dampness or humidity. 2. A word used to describe high potency cannabis that is still moist. 3. An adjective describing something as positive or awesome. ↩

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