Stone Brewing Company Levitation Ale

Stone Brewing Company Levitation Ale

Style: Amber Ale

Alcohol Content: 4.4%

From: Escondido, California, United States

Purchased from: Real Ale Shop, Richmond Upon Thames

http://www.stonebrew.com/

Stone Brewing Co. is a craft brewery headquartered in Escondido, California. Founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, it is the largest brewery in Southern California. As of 2012, it was the 10th largest craft brewery in the United States and 17th largest brewery overall, based on sales volume.

Established in 1996, the brewery's first beer was Stone Pale Ale, which they consider to be its flagship ale.Most of their beers are characteristic of west-coast craft brews, meaning that they have a high hop content. Stone beers are bottled in 22 ounce bottles, 12 oz six packs, and occasionally 3 liter bottles (thats one big beer). The beers available in six-packs are the Stone Pale Ale, Stone IPA, Stone Levitation Ale, Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale, and Stone Ruination IPA. Stone uses 22 ounce bottles to feature their "bigger character" beers and Stone Special Releases. Compared to most brewers, many Stone brews feature alcohol percentages that are well above average. The alcohol-by-volume content of Stone brews ranges from 4.4% to well over 11%.

Is the devil in the glass?

Colour: Pours a rich chestnut brown. If you have tried Meantime's Yakima red, then you will be familiar with the colour. There's a dense white head which stays around for the duration of the drink. So far so good.

Aroma: Once poured, you can pick out notes of elderflower mixed with grapefruit cut with sweet lime. When you take your first sip, you are bombarded with fresh pine needles and gooseberries. As the drink warms you will be able to pick out hints of smoky peat which helps to add an earthy quality to this beer.

Body: Surprisingly light to drink with excellent lacing in the glass. Very smooth in the mouth and this liquid will leave a light coating on the back of your throat that will make you beg for more. Pure bliss!

Taste: This drink has a rather complex flavour profile. First, you will be presented with the tastes of sweetened citrus fruits such as lime, grapefruit and orange. These are then held together by a robust chestnut. As with most ales in this style, there is a very bitter finish with just an edge of sweetness and a hint of saltiness. This will help cleanse your palate after each sip. I really enjoyed this beer and will certainly be going back for more.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/brewdog-dead-pony-club.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/partizan-brewing-ipa-bobek-amarillo.html

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Bath Ale's Gem

Bath Ale's Gem

Style: Amber Ale

Alcohol Content: 4.8%

From: Warmley, Bristol, UK

                                                           Purchased from: Cost Cutter

Bath Ales is a brewery located in the town of Warmley, Bristol, north-west of Bath, England. The brewery was established in 1995 by former employees of Smiles Brewery in Bristol. Since that time, it has experienced steady growth, which included opening a new bottling plant in 2007. The brewery uses simple label artwork, featuring a dashing hare. It brews eight beers, which are sold in both the cask and the bottle.

The seasonal ales are Festivity (5.0% abv), a seasonal rum porter; Rare Hare (5.2% abv), a seasonal premium bitter and Dark Hare (4.0% abv), a seasonal stout. Regular beers include Gem (4.1% abv), a best bitter; Barnstormer (4.5% abv), a dark bitter; SPA (3.7% abv), a golden pale ale; Wild Hare (5.0% abv), an organic golden pale ale and Golden Hare (4.4% abv), a light ale. Natural Blonde (5.0% abv) is an organic pilsener lager, which is brewed at Budelse Brouwerij, Budel, Netherlands.

A Rare Gem!

Colour: A dark chestnut brown which seems a bit strange given that his is an amber ale. For some reason i was expecting a light amber colour rather than the chestnut i was presented with. I can remember sampling this beer at one of bath ales pubs in oxford called The Grapes and I remember it being paler or maybe it was sample size. That being said, it looks like a bitter in the glass. On the pour you get a very inviting and thick white head. The head will linger for awhile reducing to a small bit of foam.

Aroma: Just like the colour, you can really smell warm chestnuts covered in sticky brown molasses or sugar. It smells so Christmassy, that I wanted to put the decorations back up. On the Christmas theme, you can also pick up notes of cinnamon and pepper the deeper you smell. I can just imagine myself having a couple of these with my old man down a pub down in Somerset. Ah bliss! What more do you want from life?

Body: This beer is a little heavier than it looks so enjoy it slowly. The mouth feel feels like a bitter as its velvety smooth, rich and satisfying. Full and temping this beer just keeps inviting you to have another sip. So get involved and try some.

Taste: Now we come to the most important part of the review. The tasting. On your first sip, you will receive notes of sweet treacle with a refreshing dry finish. It's almost as if you are eating a sticky toffee pudding (unfortunately minus the custard, and I love custard). On the second sip, you should be able to pick out notes of the chestnuts I mentioned earlier and hints of brown bread. For me, everything about this beer screams that its a bitter. For those that know me I love my bitters. Yum yum!

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