Pyramid - Juggernaut Red Ale

Ok so this beers good but ive got a beef with it... but I will get to that in a minute...
It pours a deep hazlenut red which you would hope from a red ale, it has very little head and good foamy lacing. On the nose it is slightly nutty and earthy. All in all a good start to a good beer... but here is where my beef starts...
It tastes like the smell, it is a slightly nutty and hoppy red ale, all signs point to good, then it hits me... This is a rip off of Stones Arrogant Bastard. It is less bold and in your face, but all the flavor components are there. From the upfront bite of hops, to the basic nutti-ness, to the clean slight citrus finish. Its all there. And not that I don't understand that there are only so many ingredients that you can fit in a beer, but this is almost vagrant. Even the name, Juggernaut, Arrogant Bastard, Juggernaut, Arrogant Bastard... so damn close. Pyramid, what the hell are you doing?
But yes this is a good beer. Would I buy it again? No, its simply to simple to compete with the complexity that is Arrogant Bastard... so I will continue to buy the Arrogance.

Stone - Levitation Ale

You ever eat a sandwich that completely re-defines the way you look meat and bread forever? This beer is that sandwich.
Poured this beer has kind of a hazy red brown look to it, while having a very yeast activating look to the head that is a pretty decent 2 finger height. It goes down quickly, which I like alot, so I don't have to wait to drink said beer. It smells of hops, dark fruits and a little bit of brown sugar to round every thing out. The lacing is pretty intense in its staying power too.
If I didn't know this was a stone brew, and someone just poured it for me, I would totally still know they made it. It is very boisterous and in your face in flavor which in most beers I tend to stray away from, but something about stones beers seems to be extremely appealing.  There is a certain balance to their extreme nature that is extremely tasty. The overall flavor back bone follows the smell pretty closely. A good hops bitterness with a slight taste of resinous pine, dark fruits like plumb and raisins, and some brown sugar to level it all out. This would definately be what I would consider an American strong ale. An American brew most definately, but done in a way that makes me appreciate the more bitter darker brews. If you will, this would be a gateway beer to the darker more bitter English brews. This beer would most definately rank up as an awesome sauce. But its not too overly alcoholic so you can drink it with out getting too sauced. It may have a little too strong of flavor for me to drink all night, but you definately could with out waking up the next day worrying about what happened the night before. All in all it is another win in the book of stone.
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The Riot Room - Carousel Chronicles episode 11 - Stone

Stone - Sublimely Self Righteous Ale

In celebration of this week being "stone week" here in KC, I figured I had to do atleast one review of a Stone brew. Thankfully I did not have to have this one shipped to me from my insider source within the brewery, but picked it up at my local liquor store for a price that kills alot of other breweries bombers. 6 bucks for a bomber is a killer deal for such a fantastic brew, and the fact that you can pick up the other so-cal craft brew great (lagunitas) bombers for around 5, even limited edition brews! Long story short, so-Cal beer is going to take over KC, and I hate to say it but, it may just give our KC giant a run for their money and may make them reconsider their 8 and up to 13 dollar bomber price...
OK so I'm supposed to be reviewing beer here aren't I?..
OK so it pours a really dark brown/red with a 2 finger head into the Stone Sniffer that was so generously provided by my in side wo-man. It smells of healthy hops, toffee and Carmel. At first the lacing seemed to be mid to light, but by the time that I was on my last snifter it was nothing but heavy. Like Michael J Fox heavy...
On the taste front, this is definitely a Stone brew. Big loud and proud. At first taste, my first thought was "damn, that's bitter", but it mellowed a good amount as I drank more and it warmed up, as did I. The flavor backbone mirrors the smell very close. It has a nice hoppy bitterness with a slight coffee,toffee/brown sugar undertone. There is a good grapefruit citrus acidity in there too that keeps the bite fresh on your tongue while allowing the beer to finish nice and clean.
It has a medium body that while still being a mouthful is still refreshing and not too over powering.
This beer definately gets 4 and 1/2 stars, and has earned a definitive place in my fridge.

Stone - Pale Ale

I had to sit back and think about this one long and hard. Normally I write a review while drinking a beer, but I felt this one needed a bit more contemplation than some others. Maybe of was the fact that I was enjoying my last night before my wife left town again... but I think it was the fact that I liked this beer so much that I felt like it deserved a good night of enjoying it before I really sat down to write.

Stones arrogant bastard first taste

Got some stones in the mail today along with some other gifts from a friend that currently works for stone. No they are not the "key" stone variety, but the actual stone brewery. On first taste was wow, that's not what I was expecting. Second thought was, so when is it coming to KCs shelves? Review coming soon... the first bottle is simply for my enjoyment.

HORRAYYYYYYYYY!!!

Stone beers will officially be in KC sometime next month!
Stone beer coming to KC
This makes this turtle very happy!
Hopefully if a good friend of mine that works for Stone in their restaurant gets me some soon i will have a review of some before their arrival.