Stone Pale Ale
May 17, 2010
Looking around on The Brew Club, before reviewing the Stone Pale Ale, I’ve come to the surprising conclusion that we’ve never reviewed a beer by Stone Brewing Company!
Stone is one of ‘those’ breweries that everyone in the craft beer world knows and loves. They have a reputation for making great beer, and they have an immediately identifiable brand in that gargoyle guy that graces their labels.
OK, so we’ve never reviewed a beer from Stone. There’s a first time for everything, right? So here we go – why not come along and see what the Stone Pale Ale is all about then?
Stone Pale Ale, according to their website, is their flagship beer which was first introduced way back in July 1996. It’s considered an American Pale Ale and checks in at 5.4% ABV.
It pours a nice coppery color, seems to be perfectly clear, and creates a decently sized foamy off-white head.
While I’m not able to pinpoint particular hop varieties yet in the aroma of beers, I know (from their website!) that Magnum and Ahtanum hops are used and I imagine they are what contribute to the mildly hoppy aroma (duh). To elaborate a bit, the Stone Pale Ale has a characteristic hoppy aroma that one might expect from an American Pale Ale, but to me I pick up something sweet like caramel and and the hop aroma is more piney than citrusy. Overall though, its not in your face and everything is quite mild really, and there is hardly any alcohol in the scent profile.
Getting on to the taste, its very similar to how it smells, but I’d say that the piney hop flavors are a little stronger than they are in the aroma. There’s a sweet caramel that seems to balance the beer, but I think the hops are the dominant ingredient here. Piney, but sharp and clean. The Stone Pale Ale has a nice hop bite to it.
See, until just recently I’ve been avoiding ‘hoppy’ beers like American IPAs. What I’ve been finding though is that I like hoppier profile beers that aren’t as extreme as some of the the American IPAs can be. I’ve found that American Pale Ales, like this example from Stone, and even something a little more obscure like the Mt. Tam Pale Ale are great beers with hoppier profiles that I’m finding that I really enjoy!
Getting back on point, I really liked this first beer from Stone and I was finished with it about three paragraphs ago it’s such an easy drinker! Nice mouthfeel, great aftertaste, I would say it IS a good session beer! It doesn’t seem to push any flavor envelopes, and I doubt you will hear ‘extreme’ being attributed to it, but it does come together in a very nice way. I’m going to try revisiting this beer in the Summertime. Please remind me!
Rating: 
What do you think of Stone’s Pale Ale? Too ‘average’ tasting for you or just right for an APA? What’s a good American Pale Ale to try?
Posted in 3 Star Reviews, Ales, American Beers
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May 17th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Stone…The brewery my brother Jim takes for granted! http://beerandwhiskeybros.com/2010/05/11/a-brewery-i-take-for-granted/
I have to say that I really like many of Stone’s beers, but I rarely buy them. I get them out at bars on tap though. In all the beering I have done, I actually haven’t had this one! Probably because when Stone is offered, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is also offered and I gravitate towards the SN beer. I’ll have to give this one a try.
Don´s last blog ..Throwdown! Pilsner Pugilists!
May 17th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Obviously I rarely get them either! I think I liked the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale a little bit better actually, but this was still a good beer. Def worth a try.
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Rogue Brewery Dead Guy Ale
May 17th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
You drank an IPA, Scott! And you liked it!! It looks like you found a way into the wonderful world of hoppy beers.
My first (and still a fave) IPA was Stone’s Ruination IPA, which has more of a citrusy sweet hop character, rather than a piney one. Finding the grapefruit-like IPA’s opened the style up for me, and now I can go pretty hoppy and still enjoy the beers (piney or citrusy, it’s all good now). Before that beer I was having trouble acquiring the taste. You might venture there next.
Perhaps Stone Pale Ale is your first step on the stairway to hop heaven, Scott.
May 17th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Not a fan of their regular IPA but I think this pale ale is one of the more solid and good western style PAs I’ve had.
Michael Reinhardt´s last blog ..La Divine Brasserie De Silly
May 17th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Thanks guys – gotta dip the toe in to test the waters, I’m glad I did because its better than I thought! Good suggestion Jim, maybe Ruination will be my next Stone beer to try!
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Avery Hog Heaven-Barleywine Style Ale
May 18th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
I agree with Mike, this is a GREAT pale ale. In fact, it’s probably my favorite of Stone offerings…it has some English qualities to it. It’s pretty cheap too, around here at least.
nate´s last blog ..Nils Oscar Barleywine
May 18th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Ruination… that’s a hop bomb and a half.
Big Tex´s last blog ..Advocacy
May 18th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
See Scott, you have to convert my brother Jim’s palate to a regular person’s. If Jim says, “it’s not that hoppy”, that means that you could peel paint off of your car with the beer. If he says It has a “citrusy sweet hop quality” that means that the hops will melt your face off. If he says “it tastes like a hoppy barleywine”, it means the government is testing it for an alternative to a nuclear bomb.
Jimspeak…You gotta love it!
Don´s last blog ..Without Further Adieu–Beer!
May 18th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
@Don, yer killin’ me! Jim seems to get a lot of abuse no matter where he goes.
@Big Tex – duly noted. Perhaps I’ll work my way up to ruination!
@nate – it isn’t priced unreasonably here in Jersey either. At least it less than Dead Guy is.
Scott-TBC´s last blog ..Samuel Smith’s Famous Taddy Porter
May 20th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Stone Brewing makes one of the best beers on any market!!! Ruination is so-named because at 100 IBUs, it is the last thing to taste because you aren’t supposed to taste anything after that! Arrogant Bastard is another great beer – from Stone again!!! So, what are you waiting for!!! Go there!!! Taste it!!! Be brave!!!!! Great beer!!!
May 20th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
@Michael – thanks for the encouragement!!! Eventually I’ll get around to trying the rest of the Stone line!
Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Helios Ale – Victory Brewing Company
July 7th, 2010 at 8:48 am
[...] Recent examples of this style of beer that we’ve tried here are the canned Dales Pale Ale, Stone Pale Ale, Mt. Tam Pale Ale, and the classically tasty Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Not specifically Summer [...]