Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Black IPA or IBA?

Everybody loves Stone's 11th Anniversary Ale!

Let me count the ways:

1. Hot Knives
2. Hedonist Beer Jive
3. Beer Advocate
4. The Full Pint

It is a delicious Black IPA.. or, um, India Black Ale (IBA).. or Double Black IPA - I've seen it referenced and sorted in all of these ways. But by any measure (or name), it's still delicious; and, a rose is still a rose.

While I haven't had it since last time I was at Toronado a few weeks ago, I was reminded of it tonight when, at Whole Foods (here, in Tempe, AZ - on a work trip), some bottles winked at me; I'm a sucker for the good beer (and winks), and so I *almost* bought one. In fact, there was a pretty good selection there overall, so a couple of the brews were tempting me, including Dogfish Head's Pumpkin Ale.. something I can't seem to find back in San Francisco. Ultimately, my better judgment prevailed and I simply left WF with some wholesome goodies for dinner (and for tomorrow's breakfast); I knew I'd be doing plenty of drinking over this upcoming weekend in NYC.

Friends and art (and spirits - of all sorts) await!

In the meantime, if you have access to Stone's 11th Anniversary Ale - especially on tap, and, even more especially, with friends - I would say to give it a go; it'll be like nothing you've ever tasted before. It is #16, after all!

2 comments:

JMW said...

I second that emotion about the Anniversary Ale, got to test it out at the Great American Beer Festival this weekend. If folks want to check out the full list of winners...look here: http://www.beertown.org/events/gabf/index.htm

After tasting the best of the best, turns ironically the brew I liked the best was Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewing Company. There's no place like home.

Eric said...

Awesome; thanks for the link Jay. I went to the GABF two years ago with my brother, and will definitely make it back one of these years; it's a good time. And who would have thought it would reach the point where it sells out a huge convention center days in advance?

And I'll echo your sentiment, West Coast beer rules! (and the Yay Area in particular) haha.