Wednesday 26 October 2016

Ruination Double IPA 2.0

Stone Brewing Company is one of the leading lights of San Diego's ENORMOUS craft brewing scene.. Only recently (and occasionally) available in Canada, I had to settle for a trip to Southern Cal to lay my grubby paws on a bottle of their Ruination Double IPA 2.0, a beer that sells itself as "a liquid poem to the glory of the hop." Heady stuff.

I purchased a 12oz bottle of Ruination 2.0, and paired it with a Punch cigar at a Gaslamp Quarter cigar lounge. The brew contains a hefty 8.5% and a plethora of IBUs. It poured orange-gold and cloudy, with a little ring of off-white head--I'd have poured it a bit heavier, but my host was trying to be conscientious, so I could hardly fault his gentle tip.

The aroma was bold, with enormous citrus hops and a whole lot of booze. Through the waft of my dark cigar, the flavour stood up nicely, with a classy blend of grapefruit stank and resin, built around a quartet of lush hops. The beer was undeniably sweet and strong, but managed to be nicely balanced against a potent bitter backdrop.

Ruination 2.0 was a class act double India--strong but not fierce, sweet, but not saccharine, and thoroughly tasty. A great beer to end an evening on, though mine was still young. Critiques were hard to come by. Though I've had a few better doubles, there haven't been many. Added to that, my beer tasted fresh and fun. While I understand that Ruination 2.0 is fairly widely available across America, I wasn't about to leave SD without typing up one of that city's premier DIPAs, and I wasn't disappointed.

It would be unconscionable to leave this review without putting in a plug for the cigar lounge, too. While a smoky room won't be to everyone's taste, San Diego's Cuban Cigar Factory was my kind of place. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable, and I had a good enough time that I dropped by on consecutive nights.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

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