Stone Ale, India Pale, Ruination IPA

A liquid poem to the glory of the hop! Stone Ruination IPA: ru-in-a-tion/roo'a-na'shen/n: The act of ruining or the condition of being ruined; a severe state of damage; destruction achieved by wrecking. Stone Ruination IPA - So called because of the immediate ruinous effect on your palate. The moment after the first swallow, all other food and drink items suddenly become substantially more bland than they were just seconds before. By the time you develop a taste for this IPA, you may find that you are permanently ruined from being able to enjoy lesser brews. Good. We freely admit to doing this. On purpose even! People are sometimes crazy enough to thank us for this assault. To which we reply, You're welcome. Out of the smoldering ashes of the stone anniversary IPAs, the Ruination IPA is born. Rising like the phoenix comes this overhopped jewel, bringing with it not the acrid sting of smoldering embers, but the abundantly pungent aroma of hops. Bountiful hops. Glorious hops. If you are not already a confirmed hop head; if you have not already converted your palate to the glory of the righteous joy that the miraculous little green flower brings to the senses, then this is not the place to start, for it will bring you nothing but shock. All its richly layered subtleties will be for naught. Intense hop character will not only be perceived as binding and blinding bitterness. Does the experienced hop lover perceive this in a different way? Well, yes and no. The matriculated imbiber is not numb to the rambunctious rush of bitterness - indeed that is a major element of the allure - however, they are also able to look beyond the well spoken yet understand malt presence. The aromatic alcohol tones. The swirling meld of naturally occurring complex flavor compounds courtesy of our little friends known as brewers yeast cells. God bless the yeast, the malt and the hops! 100+ IBU's (International Bitterness Units). stonebrewing.com. Brewed and bottled by the Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, San Diego County, CA. 7.7% alc/vol.