Stochasticity Project Grapefruit Slam IPA

According to the bottle, this India Pale Ale with grapefruit peel added is from the Koochenwagner's Brewing Company of Escondido, San Diego County, California. This also just happens to be where Stone Brewing Company is from, with Stochasticity being a Stone product. 

The beer pours a gleaming copper and amber in color. There is about an inch of off-white foamy head. The aroma is citrus, passion fruit, grapefruit peel, flesh and juice. There is a sweet and tangy grapefruit note that reminds me of the Caribbean grapefruit soda, Ting. The taste is a blast of fruits, especially grapefruit (no surprise), followed by an immediate and massive wave of astringent bitterness. This is like drinking grapefruit tonic water, but with a better body. I like parts of this, but its bitterness rises to ridiculous levels, and this from a dedicated hophead. Stone has some really good beers, but too often they seem to substitute massive bitterness for making truly complex and flavorful beers.