Stone Brewing Tangerine Express IPA

Beer Name: Tangerine Express IPA
Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, CA)
ABV: 6.7%
How sold: 22 oz bottles; on draft
Where bought: Craft Shack (San Diego, CA)  ****bought online
Price: $4.99 for 22 oz. bottle

Bottled on Date: January 29, 2017
Date Purchased: February 6, 2017
Date Received: February 10, 2017
Date Opened: February 19, 2017
Best Enjoyed By: April 26, 2017
IBUs: 75

What's on the Bottle/Website: "Imagine the tropical haze of a lazy afternoon- into-evening. Your official duties for the day have been to maybe take a hike to a secluded waterfall, perhaps grill something, definitely chill with plenty of sand between your toes…and crack a phenomenal beer to complete the experience. Check, check, check again and…pfffft…check.

Welcome to our vacation transportation express!

This ain’t no just-add-juice approach. This one is for adults. We use bountiful whole tangerine purée, which brings pithy, crisp bitterness to the citrus flavor. In addition to the complexities of the tangerine — the likes of which you can only get by using the whole fruit — we judiciously employ just a hint of whole pineapple for a backnote (you’d likely not even pick it out of the mix if we didn’t tell you it was there). We’re not looking for a sweet concoction to appease the “I want my beer to taste like fruit juice” crowd. This is Stone. We like our IPAs to taste like IPAs. Big, bold and not for kids." Read more here!

When brewed? Year-round beer. Look for more information here!

Where distributed: Stone Brewing shipped this beer to 47 U.S. states and DC (sorry, not to North Dakota, West Virginia, or Wyoming); Australia; Canada (just BC and Alberta); Japan; Singapore; Sweden; and the UK. Check to see whether this beer could be found in your area!

REVIEW:

Appearance (5%): Poured slightly hazy dark golden into a pint glass. Frothy white to off-white head. 4.5/5

Smell (25%): Pineapple, citrus, and other tropical notes. Not sure I would be able to guess tangerine if you didn't tell me, but there is citrus. 4.25/5

Taste (40%): Immediate tangerine and pineapple from the start. Very fruit juice-like, just with carbonation. Drinks very easy. Aftertaste is tangerine and citrus peel. Experience is like an adult juice box. Winning. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel (10%): Medium-bodied; some carbonation. Dry on the tongue as the tangerine bitterness works its magic making me want to drink more. 4.25/5

Overall (20%): An outstanding IPA. The tangerine description alone sold me here; I love those tropical-forward beers that can still pack a good West Coast-hoppy nature. The ABV and IBUs are right around my personal sweet spot. I find some similarities with Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin, and this is an even bigger steal at just $5 for a 22 oz bomber. Definitely recommended for fans of tangerine IPAs. 4.5/5

Final Weighted Rating: 4.513/5