Stone, RuinTen IPA

Its Back! Stone Ruination's Tenth Anniversary Release was so popular when it was released last year in 2012 that they decided to bring it back for a second go around. These crazy son of a guns took the already super ampped up Ruination IPA, which is brewed to killed your taste buds, and exposed it to Super Gamma Rays and more then five pounds of whole hops in each barrel to create this Hulk of a beer. As any of our blog readers know by now, we LOVE hops. The more the better and we have not met an IPA or DIPA we couldn't easily kickback with. However, I have to turn in my man card and admit that I struggled to get through this beast of a beer. I did finish it but it was so super bitter and hoppy that I nursed it like a fine Cognac.

When you first crack this brew, it is a rich golden amber color with a sticky lacing from the creamy white foam. The aromas really do jump from the glass and fill up the room. My wife could smell the hops from across the room. They really do a nice combo of the classic Centennial hops blended with the relatively new Citra hop (almost 50/50 according to their website). The aromas are of concentrated citrus (lemon, orange, lime), resin mixed with tropical fruit, with a light spicy quality. It smells like a great IPA but it is very intense. The first sip is spiked with an aggressive tang of bitter hop and hot alcohol. After it does a number on your taste buds, it calms down a little bit. It does a good job of coating your taste buds with a sticky resin after coating. 

Overall, I did like this beer. It is a very extreme version of Ruination, but what else would you expect from Stone Brewery. This beer won't be here for very long but luckily it will be a yearly release from the brewery. If you like extreme beer and you want to give your taste buds a run for their money, then give this one a shot.  Hey, for $7.99 a 22oz bottle you can't go to wrong.

Personal Rating: 8 /10
Style Rating: 9 /10

Wanna try it now? Order it online at: 
http://www.whitehorsewine.com/proddetail.php?prod=636251748004