ESCONDIDO, CA (March 17, 2014) — On Friday, March 14, a devastatingly dank and ├╝ber-fresh Stone Brewing Co. beer, Stone Enjoy By 04.20.14 IPA, was bottled, kegged and loaded on refrigerated trucks bound for IPA enthusiasts nationwide. For the first time ever, Stone is making the ultra-hoppy brew available in limited quantity to retailers (not dispensaries) in 40 of the states where Stone beers are sold.
Stone Enjoy By 04.20.14 IPA features a massive profile of the resinous green buds (hops, not the other green buds), coaxed from a unique blend of 13 different hop varieties added throughout the brewing process. When combined, the deluge of hops creates nuances of peaches and tropical fruit qualities that are evident in the aroma, while the taste has an overwhelmingly sweet bitterness.
Since Stone Enjoy By IPA’s initial debut in late 2012, the beer has proved to be a groundbreaking way to enjoy fresh beer and has changed the way Stone and its distributors work together to deliver beer to increasingly fervent craft beer enthusiasts. The “Enjoy By” date printed on each bottle reflects the date, precisely 35 days after bottling, by which the beer must be consumed. And Stone continues to make sure it will be. In the unlikely event that any hop-potent beer remains on the shelves on April 21, it will immediately be removed.
“This is the most ambitious Stone Enjoy By IPA release to date,” said Stone President and Co-founder Steve Wagner. “This beer continues to be a fan favorite, so we are excited that it’s being offered in a record number of states. We encourage fans who want future batches of the beer to vote through their social media accounts and online.”
Stone is giving fans the power to choose where the next batch of Stone Enjoy By IPA will go by voting with the hashtags #EnjoyBy [five-digit ZIP code] on Twitter andInstagram, or by checking in with Untappd and adding a ZIP code to the notes section. Fans may also visit the newly revamped Stone Enjoy By IPA website and a new mobile-friendly online page once a day per device to vote with their ZIP code. Based on total interactions, Stone guarantees to roll out future batches of the beer to the locations that are most vocal about their desire to savor more Stone Enjoy By IPA.
How can one find this incredibly dank beer? Visit www.stonebrewing.com/enjoyby and use the interactive map to find exactly which retailers, restaurants and bars are carrying the beer in bottles or on draft.
Name: Stone Enjoy By 04.20.14 IPA
URL: www.stonebrewing.com/enjoyby
Stats: 9.4% ABV, 88 IBUs
Availability: Limited 22-ounce bottles and draft, beginning the week of March 17
Hops bill: Ahtanum, Super Galena, Simcoe, Delta, Target, Amarillo, Calypso, Cascade, Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Citra and Helga
Distribution: AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT and WA
- Appearance: Golden with a creamy white head.
- Aroma: Intense dank hoppiness, resin, peaches, and hints of tropical fruit are all evident in the aroma.
- Taste: Smooth malt up front, quickly dissipating into a massive onslaught of hops. The dankness and peach notes come through strongly.
- Palate: Smooth with hints of alcohol, and a perfect balance of bitterness and dryness on the back end.
- Overall: We took the opportunity with this beer to use several interesting techniques we’ve learned during our many years of brewing great double IPAs. The result is an intense dry beer with very little malt sweetness, but with plenty of malt flavor to provide a background to the enormous…or shall I say “ginormous” hop character. Hopping, as might be expected, was over the top. First, the brew was mash-hopped with Ahtanum, one of our favorite hop varieties, after which we kettle-hopped with a very small dose of Super Galena hop extract for bittering. Then, using a technique known in homebrew circles as “hop bursting,” we loaded up very heavily on the flavor hops at the end of the boil and in the whirlpool. Simcoe, Delta, Target and Amarillo were used in the late kettle hop. Simcoe, Amarillo, Calypso and Cascade were used for the whirlpool hop. As you can clearly tell, this beer was super hoppy even before we dry-hopped it, but then we went for it…dry-hopping with primarily Southern Hemisphere hops, including Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Citra and Helga.
Drink extra-super-dank-and-tasty Stone Enjoy By 04.20.14 IPA well before its shelf life to maximize the pungent glory that this beautiful, intense hop profile provides.
About Stone Brewing
Known for its bold, flavorful and largely hop-centric beers, Stone Brewing Co. has been brewing in North County San Diego since 1996. Founded by Greg Koch and Steve Wagner, Stone is the 10th largest craft brewer in the United States—a position it achieved without paid advertising, discounting or compromising standards. In addition to brewing, Stone owns two eclectic farm-to-table restaurants—Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens — Escondido and Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens — Liberty Station—and Stone Farms, an organic farm located near the brewery which grows produce for the restaurants. Stone also operates Stone Distributing Co., which distributes more than 30 craft beer brands throughout Southern California. For more information on Stone Brewing Co., please visit stonebrewing.com or the company’s social media sites:Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, YouTube and The Stone Blog.