I like a lot of Stone's stuff. Ever since I had their IPA I've slowly worked my way through their entire lineup. Many people though have a hard time with their style. As the back of the Arrogant Bastard Ale boldly states, "This is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth." Stone brews for people who love beer, not for people who drink beer. Some of their stuff is over the top, like "Ruination" with an IBU level of 100+. Bitter Bitter Bitter but done well because it's balanced. I was intrigued by Cali-Belgique because IPA's(the Cali part) and Belgian brews(The Belgique part) are my favorite beer styles. The yeasty complexity of a good Belgian paired with the citrusy, piney, flavor of an IPA sounded great and the fact that Stone didn't go overkill at 6.9 ABV was a nice surprise. This officially is now my favorite Stone offering. It has a really nice creamy mouthfeel with not too much carbonation, like silk going down. The hops are not overdone they are just a nice backnote to the malty, bready, yeasty feel that the Belgian yeast provides. Pick some up!
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