Nick Carr on February 25, 2018 0 Comments Photo Credit: Stone Brewing Quick Characteristics Brewery Stone Brewing Location Escondido, CA Style Double IPA ABV 8.9% IBU 84 Hops Loral and Dr. Rudi Malts ? Shelf Life Enjoy within 3 to 6 months Suggested Glass IPA Glass or Tulip Serving Temp 46-50°F Availability Special Release Food Pairings Citrus Glazed Pork Chop, Sea Scallops, Cheddar, Cherry Ice Cream Stone’s got some exciting, brand new additions to their lineup coming this year. Along with this one, they have a new Hop Worship series made up of three brand new IPAs coming throughout the year. This series starts off with Stone Exalted IPA, which will be released on February 12th. In March, we get one added to the Year Round lineup called Scorpion Bowl IPA, and in the special releases, look for Totalitarian Russian Stout and I’m Peach Double IPA coming down the line. But, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. If always looking ahead, it takes away from being in the moment; a new beer, waiting to be enjoyed, sitting in front of you. First, it’s hard to do better than Stone’s beer names. Loral & Dr. Rudi’s Inevitable Adventure conjures all sorts of images. There’s the sly tip of the hat to Laurel and Hardy. The promise of the new adventure to be had in drinking something you’ve never enjoyed before. And finally, the pairing of an old timer hop (Dr. Rudi) with the freshly-minted, brash hotshot, “kid” (Loral). Photo Credit: Stone Brewing It’s interesting that Stone decided not to do one of their iconic rough-around-the-edges, slightly ill-mannered stories on this bottle. The title alone seems to clamber for such a story. Instead they went a little softer, a little more straight-laced, describing the beer and the hops without going down their usual road of hilarious arrogance. I’ll just set up that story for you here and then let your own imaginings takeover (of course, to do it right you’ll have to go out and buy this beer) because the adventure really can’t begin until you take that first sip. Anyway, here we go… Dr. Rudi is the gruff, piney and dank, Doctor of what… anthropology, geology, archeology? It something that will no doubt send them on this adventure. Hey, I know…. maybe he’s a hop breeder about to embark on a search for a legendary wild hop with “curious” properties. He (obviously the mentor figure in our story) must join up (unwillingly of course) with the younger, know-it-all hothead, full of fruity notions and citrus zip. Ummm… maybe I should have written an Ale Tale with this one… ah well. We have our characters, let the adventure begin! THE TASTING Below are the tasting notes I took while drinking Stone’s Loral & Dr. Rudi’s Inevitable Adventure. If you tasted this beer or have one sitting in front of you as you read this review, please share your thoughts with everyone down in the comments below. The Pour: Well, the adventure starts with a light golden, bronzy color in the glass. A creamy-smooth white head blankets the surface, remaining mostly untroubled by the small tornado of carbonation swirling at the bottom of the glass. The Aroma: The aroma is interesting. Mellow, unhurried, and not the raucous bomb many of Stone’s other hop-heavy beers project. A soft dank resin, herb, and pine seems to dominate without shouting its existence. There’s some floral and fruity whispers of pithy citrus and peach. Taken all together, it really reminds me of my childhood and the smell of sweat-damp horse blankets. That might sound terrible, but those are good memories… and of course, it’ll trigger different reminders for different people. The Mouthfeel: It’s incredibly smooth for an 8.9% beer. It is slightly sweet at the front transitioning to a semi-crisp finish. Body is a solid medium. Moderate dank bittering as it drops off the palate. The Taste: Flavors are quite dank and herbal. At the front it shows light sweet legs and fruity notes of orange citrus, maybe a smidgen of berries. There’s also a bit of a biscuity, cracker-like malt presence. It transitions to herbal notes toward the back, with an expressive whisper of sage running through the dank forest floor. Aftertaste is piney with breathes of muted fruit. FINISHING THOUGHTS I’d almost be inclined to compare this more to an English IPA, than an American IPA, except for the dank pineyness at the end. You might do well going into this one with the expectations of some similarities to an English IPA. I like it. It is certainly different from other Stone IPA’s bringing more herbal notes and a bit more malt than other examples. And you can’t beat it for smoothness, especially for a 8.9% ABV beer. If you’ve already picked this one up and tried it let me know your thoughts in the comments. Did you like it? Not like it? Was it what you were expecting? Cheers!
