Enjoy by 07/04/17 - Stone Brewing Co

I've been buying Enjoy By IPA's for a few years now. It's always seem to be the "right" idea to just leave it sit until the very day it says to enjoy it by and then snap a picture with a quick quip about how I just beat the buzzer or if I'm doing this correctly. Now that Stone released this latest batch in cans, I was able to finally experiment with whether I really should be saving it until the suggest "last day" or should be having them sooner.

This is as scientific as it is going to get with this beer. I'm going by the dates and what notes I wrote on both entries. It was a bit of a revelation for me because I consumed the cans WEEKS apart, which made for some interesting comparisons. For the record the can in the first picture was drank on 06/13/17. The can in the picture below was had on 07/04/17. Ignore the color of the beer in both pictures, the differences are mostly due to lighting and time of day. The first picture was taken at around 8 PM, the second was taken at around 1 PM. With that said, I'm going merely on flavor and nose.

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This was the very first time I've had an Enjoy By so "early" into the process and after this, I definitely know not to let them sit until the very last day. The difference in the hop presence between the two was quite remarkable. The June version was much more hop present within the taste realm. The July version still retains some of the nose from its predecessor but the taste doesn't quite hold up as well. Don't get me wrong, July was still good, but the difference is discernible and quite telling between the two. June still had that piney hop bite within it, by July it faded more into a tropical flavor with some extra sweetness. I haven't really had one past the date suggested, but I'm willing to believe it'd fall off considerably. Three weeks makes a hell of a difference when it comes to this beer. I'm unsure what the date was for the actual brewing, but if you want a better hop presence in this beer with a more well-rounded taste, you're better off having these ASAP. If you want the hop bite to die down, then do what I used to do and let it sit for a bit. Because of the high ABV, 9.4%, it probably ages a bit better than it should, but if Stone is recommending a date... I'd go with that.

This truly is a great beer though and I jump at purchasing it every time. If you look close enough, a lot of IPA's nowadays suggest to drink fresh and not age, but this is one that actively gives you the deadline on the can. From now on, I'd suggest trying to get your hands on these as soon as you know it has hit the stores and trying it immediately, unless you want your hops a little more muted. Take the "Enjoy By" part less as a gimmick and more as a warning and you'll definitely "Enjoy More". Salud!

Solid Gold Good Times - Magnify Brewing

Congratulations to Magnify Brewing on their second anniversary. And with that anniversary, came the special release of Solid Gold, Good Times. An Imperial IPA clocking in at 8.5% and double dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin hops, I knew the contents of the can were sure to please the palate. This beer did not disappoint at all. It's easy on the eyes and pleasurable on the palate. Knowing their body of work with Peak of Ripeness in 2016 and their use of the Nelson hops, I knew it'd deliver. 

Right off the bat, the aroma is one of grapefruit and melon with a resinous touch to it. It's a very tropical nose with some hints of pineapple and orange in there. It checks off all that boxes for the trend of the IPA's that people go nuts over: Hazy, slightly turbid, OJ-like yellow coloring with a thick lacing, and the top off of a tropical and juice-like taste. It'd been a while since I had some can offerings from Magnify and my palate was quite pleased to have it once again. Salud!

Party Wave - Kane Brewing

Mosaic. Citra. Simcoe. Galaxy. These are the four hops used in Kane Brewing's Party Wave and this beer definitely lives up to the "party" billing within the name. I waffled on the first can release because I'm an idiot, so there was no way I was passing up the second canning of this 7.2% ABV IPA. Having had it on draft and now from the can - I can tell you, I love this beer. Other than Head High, this might be my favorite IPA from Kane Brewing.

Upon pouring, it pours out a hazy, copper-like color... not the typical "juice-looking" beer from the North East. The aroma coming out of this beer is amazing. All sorts of citrusy goodness is in there, dancing around together like a well choreographed dance troupe. Notes of pineapple, passionfruit, and mango almost seem to be prominent. Upon tasting the beer, the taste of citrus is a bit more mellow than the aroma suggests, but I'm perfectly fine with that. There's still some of the lingering taste of passionfruit and pineapple with some piney notes, but the aroma is definitely stronger than the taste. This beer is all about the experience from start to finish and a good experience it was. There's a good reason why this beer is highly sought out, and hopefully one day Kane will have it in its regular rotation. I'd buy it if they did, and so should you. Salud!

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