Man do we have some catching up to do. Beer releases this fall and early winter have been fast and furious. Lots of Barrel Aged beers floating around, ’tis the season. But I have been waiting and waiting for this one for a while now. I first got wind about 6-8 weeks ago that our friends from Bale Breaker were teaming up with Stone to brew an IPA. My oh my, how much better could it get? Bale Breaker really vaulted itself to the top for me as soon as I opened my first Top Cutter, their delicious flagship brewed with Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe and Ahtanum hops. I still gravitate towards this beer quite often and believe it is one of the best examples of a West Coast IPA, delicious, balanced, bitter, lightly sweet, and mega refreshing.
Stone has always been known for its audacity and propensity to release whatever beer they want, whenever they want to. They make some killer IPA’s, hello Enjoy By, a big, juicy and bitter fresh treat. Though my favorite beer from Stone is not hoppy, its their IRS, released on tax day every year. I still appreciate what Stone’s huge distribution network can accomplish when it comes to getting fresh hops in my glass as fast as possible.
4 Hands is the unknown of sorts here, located in St. Louis, they seem to have a very balanced portfolio of beer, but also have a nice little barrel program going on, which is fantastic, and something that Bale Breaker does not (yet) have.
What the three have concocted is an Imperial IPA brewed with Peaches, and Warrior, Mosaic, Simcoe, and experimental hops HBC 342 & HBC 344, and more peaches. I can’t wait any longer, let’s dive right in and see what we’ve got!
Breweries — 4 Hands (St. Louis), Stone (Escondido), Bale Breaker (Yakima)
Beer — Sorry Not Sorry / Imperial IPA with Peaches
ABV / IBU — 9.3% / 70
Cost — $9.49 @ Elizabeth Station
Availability — Limited (Brewed Once)
22oz bomber dated 10/23/15 poured into 13oz tulip
Appearance (4/5) — Pours a bright and vivid orange hue into the glass, shows excellent clarity. There is a white head that forms initially, but it fades and settles to a really thin layer of foam on top of the beer, leaving behind some nice rings of lace with each sip.
Aroma (4.25/5) — Smell is dominated by hops, sweet hops, as well as a nice fleshy fruit component, with notes of orange rind, peach flesh and juice. Nice pine needle punch to round things out as well.
Taste (4/5) — Focused on hops, lots of juicy hop flavors, ranging from lemon-lime to bitter pine and some sweet juicy fruit notes. There are peaches in there but they are fairly muted. This its not fruit forward and peachy like Tree Shaker was, for instance. Still very good, this is like an Enjoy By with peaches.
Mouthfeel (4/5) — Light in body, though there is a lingering somewhat sweet finish on it that sticks around.
Overall (4/5) — Very nice overall, not overly done with peaches, ABV is quite well hidden, just a nice IPA with some juicy peach notes.
Keep an eye out for more exciting new beers here, and as always feel free to drop a line with any beer you’d like to see reviewed. I’ll try before you buy!
Cheers!
