Friday, April 19, 2013

Stone Enjoy By 05.17.13

A big, heartfelt thanks to Rin at Savor Market... she saved us one of the last bottles of this in the land. Note, it just hit shelves today. Believe the hype (or at least read our last Enjoy By review)... it's that good. Let's see how this compares to the April Fool's edition (Enjoy By 04.01.13).

Still light golden in color, still moderate white head, still perfectly clear. The nose is grapefruit and pine and fresh soil. Still devastatingly fresh, as this was bottled on April 12, which was one week ago. And I have it in my glass. Oh happy day! The taste is pine, grapefruit, more pine, some pine resin, a little earthiness, and more pine. Finishing with pine. Of course. There's a little bready note that comes in way after the finish to signify that yes, there are indeed some malts in here. I mean, something has to give it that 9.4% ABV. But like the prior edition, it's a total hopsplosion in my mouth. And I'm perfectly fine with that.

Ya know, I have to wonder if Stone isn't onto something. They put an expiration date on their beer (and not like that born-on date from the Big Brewery Up The Road), yet the day it hits shelves, it sells out. Marketing genius? Hop revolutionaries? Sheer madness? I'll let you decide. I mean, according to Stone's website, we have 28 days, 11 hours, 25 minutes, and 19 seconds left to enjoy this. At that point, I have to wonder if it will self-destruct or something. But it's a moot point, as there won't be any left in Central Ohio tomorrow, unless you can find it on tap somewhere. And with the specific intent of brewing it so it's better fresher, you have to wonder whether anyone is crazy enough to cellar it. I mean, I kind of wish we had saved the prior batch to do a side-by-side comparison, but then would we have run the risk of the bottle imploding by the expiration date?

Regardless, we have had a fantastic week with Stone. First the Dayman, then this. And oh, how I want the Dayman again. Alas, everyone was out of it tonight (we stopped at Palmer's and Savor; Palmer's was sold out of both Enjoy By and Dayman. Dammit). Sigh. It was the most interesting concoction I've ever put in my mouth. And yes, that's what she said.

5/5 caps

-Jennie

Letting that one slide, Jennie, as there are so many puns and jokes and sophomoric comments I can make. But tonight, I think I'll keep it classy. Aw, who am I kidding, it's Friday. YARRRRR!!!!!! I could easily just copy and paste from the Enjoy By 04.01.13 review, but nay nay.

The color is golden (and not golden like American Piss Lagers), with white head. I don't get the soil sort of characteristic in the nose, instead it's grapefruit, citrus and pine. Holy Hops, Batman! There are waves of hops, ranging from your piney to citrusy tones, that overtake the slight breadiness of the malt. The hop oils coat my mouth and leave me puckering up for another embrace of this sweet nectar of Dionysus. This is smooth drinking, little carbonation with an intensely sticky mouthfeel. The 9.4% ABV is mute in this, but the supposed 88 IBUs make their presence known. Much like the Kool-Aid man kicking in your wall to quench your thirst, the hops kick in the sides of your mouth to the delight of all hop heads. Hop heads rejoice, this is your beer. Americans rejoice, we got the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing.

5/5 caps (again)

-Nathan

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