Stone Enjoy By 2.14.14 IPA

The Stone Brewing Company is in Escondido, San Diego County, California. This 9.4% ABV beer is, according to the bottle, "Devastatingly Desirable." The name incorporates the limited "best by" date of the beer, because they really want you to drink it as fresh as possible. Specifically brewed not to last, the bottle is filled with warning slogans, "Live for the now, the present," "There is no better time than right now to enjoy this beer," and simply "Enjoy Now!" This batch was bottled on January 10, 2014.

The beer pours a very clear copper and amber in color. There is over an inch of thick, foamy head, off-white to very light tan in color. The aroma is hop forward, piney, zesty, musky, tea with lemon, over ripe melons, light tropical fruit. The taste is big and round, lots of over ripe melons and tropical fruits, lush, with a secondary wave of pine and grapefruit rind. The malt is toasted and caramel, big enough to hold up the big wave of hops, but not intruding into the flavors. The finish is spicy and moderately bitter. It is medium to full bodied, feeling smooth and round in the mouth. This is very, very good.