Stone 10th Anniversary India Pale Ale.

While absent from work during the September biking expedition to Europe, the friendly people at Cavalier Distributing deposited two cases of Stone 10th Anniversary India Pale Ale 22-oz “bombers” in my storage room.

It took a few weeks for me to realize what it was, and when I did, I took a bottle home, where it rested for another couple of weeks. Finally I noticed, and drank it.

Good, good stuff.

Stone 10th Anniversary India Pale Ale appears to be the brainchild of Mitch Steele, who defected from the Anheuser-Busch industrial colossus to become Head Brewer at Stone. For background, see:

From the empire of wet air to the arrogant bastard's lair.
(24 May 2006)

Archives unearthed: Mitch Steele visits FOSSILS (from 1998).
(26 Jun 2006)

Steele's baby is as hoppy as you would expect a Stone-style IPA to be. His tasting notes reference “piney hop aromatics,” “tropical fruit” and a “full-bodied” palate, and I can’t improve on such observations. At 10% abv, it’s a tad stronger than Stone’s everyday IPA and Ruination Ale.

Although I realize that my tardiness in this matter means that most Stone special edition fans already have picked up their bottles at The Keg, there’s a case and a half (18 bottles) of Stone 10th Anniversary India Pale Ale for sale at the Public House.

If you haven’t had it, and you’re a hophead, Steele’s creation is a must-taste.