Stone Brewing "Enjoy By" 4.20.15

Beer Name: Enjoy By 4.20.15
Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, CA)
ABV: 9.4%
How sold: 22 oz. (650.618 mL)
Where bought: Belmont Station (Portland, OR)
Price: $7.99

Bottled on Date: March 15, 2015
Date Purchased: March 24, 2015
Date Opened/Drank: March 26, 2015

What's on the Label: "You have in your hands a devastatingly fresh double IPA. Freshness is a key component of many beers -- especially big, hoppy IPAs -- but we've taken it further, a lot further, with this one. We brewed this IPA specifically NOT to last. We;ve gone to extensive lengths to ensure you get your hands on this beer within an extraordinarily short window, and we've sent a very clear message in the name of the beer itself that there is no better time than right NOW to enjoy this IPA!"

When brewed? One-time batch. Stone Brewing makes fresh batches of a different "Enjoy By" beer for various special dates. Look for more information here.

Where distributed: Stone Brewing shipped this beer to 39 states and one Canadian province (Alberta).

REVIEW:

Appearance (5%): Poured into a room-temperature pint glass. Amazing clear, golden-orange color. Significant carbonation with a couple millimeters of head. Some lacing on the glass. 4.75/5

Smell (25%): Inviting passion fruit aroma with some tropical grapefruit hop notes. Outstanding and world class. 5/5

Taste (40%): Intense bitter-grapefruit at the start, quickly mellowed out to a sweeter grapefruit experience milliseconds later. Alcohol flavors detected amongst the grapefruit, but kept in check by the more pleasing tropical-citrus notes. Very happy that I got to enjoy this beer less than two weeks after its bottling date. I did prefer the Enjoy By 3.14.15 over this, but this is still a must-try if you're a grapefruit lover. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel (10%): A medium-body, malty experience, significantly carbonated. The grapefruit lingers on the tongue in a pleasing fashion. Fairly refreshing, yet not as smooth as the 3.14.15 was. Still solid overall. 4.25/5

Overall (20%): Very solid beer, extremely happy with this purchase. Naturally, I will make comparisons to the 3.14.15 beer. This beer doesn't drink as smoothly as the previous batch, but after printing the words "Devastatingly Dank" on the neck of the bottle, buyers knew what they were in for. It still drinks wonderfully for 9.4% ABV, but you'll feel the alcohol presence a lot more than the 3.14.15. While not a grand slam to me this time, Stone still hit a home run with the 4.20.15. I look forward to future "Enjoy By" batches. 4.5/5

Final Weighted Rating: 4.613/5