Stone Ruination 2.0 Review

Name: Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: 100+ (That's what the Stone website says)

Yes, it's another beer from Stone Brewing but this is an interesting specimen that we have here. Not because of what's in it but rather the history behind it. Earlier this year, Stone announced that their Ruination Double IPA was going to be retired, because they were bringing on a newer version, more leveled-up version of Ruination for a couple of reasons. These included a bigger variety of hops, improved brewing techniques, and the change in palate for consumers who have grown accustomed to big, hoppy beers.

So today we have Ruination Double IPA 2.0, a newer and improved version of the original. Now I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I never had the original Ruination as I never got the urge to try it out for whatever reason. That said, I won't be comparing this to the original and will be looking at it with a fresh set of eyes, so to speak

Appearance - A mildly hazy dark orange color with no visible carbonation. The head is thin but is rather foamy with some good retention and the lacing is also sticky and fairly abundant.

Aroma - Strong Citrus and grapefruit hops start things off in the nose with some light toffee notes, followed by light spiciness & some buttery biscuit yeastiness that encompasses the nose.

Taste - Strong Grapefruit and citrusy hoppiness upfront with the grapefruit taking more of a central role than the citra hops. These are followed by some moderate toffee sweetness, a hint light spices and more buttery biscuits notes. The aftertaste is made up of some emerging bitter hop notes and some light yeastiness, both of which linger on the palate for quite a while after everything is said and done.

I'm not entirely sure what the original tasted like and probably never will but what I do know is that is a damned tasty beer. If this is considered by the brewery and beer drinkers to be the superior version of Ruination, then I'll take their word for it because they will get no argument from me in terms of the quality of this beer.

Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0 - 9/10

Stone Unapologetic IPA Review

Name: Stone Unapologetic IPA
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.8%

It's been over a year since I've reviewed anything from Stone Brewing, but given my geographical location, my chances to try out more offerings from them is uncommon to say the least.

For the time being, I'm going to take a look at Stone Unapologetic IPA, which is a collaboration with Heretic Brewing and Beachwood Brewing & BBQ. The beer also features brand new hops including ones from Yakima Valley in Washington that don't even have names yet.

Unapologetic pours a hazy orange color with a thin white head. There really isn't too much to speak of in terms of visible carbonation and the soapy lacing gives this a fairly clean finish.

The nose has some very strong grapefruit and citrus hop notes upfront with some toffee/caramel maltiness and piney hoppiness in the back end.

Interestingly enough, the flavor starts out very malt forward with some toffee maltiness followed up by some strong piney hoppiness & grapefruits with a bitter resiny aftertaste.

The palate has a very heavy body to it with some moderate carbonation. There's also a very slight thickness to this beer but doesn't venture anywhere near what I would categorize as "chewy."

Unapologetic doesn't do anything new with the Imperial IPA style, with the exception of new hop types in the brewing process. With that said, it's still a very well put together and hoppy Imperial IPA. Those who know the Stone brand well know what they are getting when they have this beer. It's no Gotterdammerung, but you aren't going wrong with trying this out either!

Stone Unapologetic IPA - 8.5/10