Stone "Go To" IPA

[badmajon]

Stone... how could you? Definitely one of the worst beers I have ever had.

I can tell it's a well made bad beer, but it's a bad beer (as opposed to badly made BMC type bad beers). The hops just taste astringent and the body resembles light malt vinegar. There just isn't enough sweetness in the body to handle those kind of IBUs.

I have personally homebrewed bad IPAs that tasted the same by mashing too low and not properly balancing out the hops thinking that more IBUs was always better.

For such an otherwise awesome brewing company, it really puzzles me how they could have released this beer. That's 10 bucks I will never see again.

 

[Praiodan]

Sounds like you may have got a bad bottle / batch..I thought the beer was ok, not great like some of their other stuff, but definitely not the taste and flavors you're describing.

 

[Anyhowe]

Stone is a great brewery. I find them however to be the poster child of what is trend of trying to distinguish yourself with over the top beers. Too high in alcohol, too hoppy, too much bourbon etc etc etc. nature of the market I guess. But then I try a wonderful local Interurban IPA BY Freemont brewing and realize some folks understand that there is a good market for good beer without having to make a crazy statement. YMMV

 

[crusader1612]

Stone... how could you? Definitely one of the worst beers I have ever had.

I can tell it's a well made bad beer, but it's a bad beer (as opposed to badly made BMC type bad beers). The hops just taste astringent and the body resembles light malt vinegar. There just isn't enough sweetness in the body to handle those kind of IBUs.

I have personally homebrewed bad IPAs that tasted the same by mashing too low and not properly balancing out the hops thinking that more IBUs was always better.

For such an otherwise awesome brewing company, it really puzzles me how they could have released this beer. That's 10 bucks I will never see again.

Seems a bit harsh.....
When I visited, I actually quite enjoyed the beer. Not their best beer, but solid none the less.
The only issue i found was a lack of body, which is pretty normal in a lower alc beer.

 

[BrewerE]

Go To is a gross beer (and how it lands on top 10 lists baffles me)

Delicious is anything but.....yuck...

2 swings and misses.

The new red IPA is above average and the Americano Stout is really good, but those are the first new beers from Stone that I thought were any good.

the two 'reboots' got worse as well (ruin 2.0/pale 2.0)

The only beer from them that I will consistently buy more than one bottle of (in a mix six) any more is Enjoy By IPA

pretty disappointed in EB Black IPA as well...

 

[schematix]

Just goes to show how tastes very.

I currently regard this beer as *the best session IPA* i've tried to date. But i love resinous hop juice.

It's as heavily hopped as many IPAs, but has the lightness somewhere between light BMC and heavy BMC.

For me it works, but I generally prefer extremely hoppy beer that most people find unpalatable.

 

[Aristotelian]

Stone is a great brewery. I find them however to be the poster child of what is trend of trying to distinguish yourself with over the top beers. Too high in alcohol, too hoppy, too much bourbon etc etc etc. nature of the market I guess. But then I try a wonderful local Interurban IPA BY Freemont brewing and realize some folks understand that there is a good market for good beer without having to make a crazy statement. YMMV

I agree with this. I find Arrogant Bastard to be undrinkable, just too big, too malty. Same with Mutt Brown. Just had Delicious IPA and found it to be drinkable but overly bitter. I know they hit exactly what they are going for in all three beers, but it seems more like they are going more for the extreme rather than a pleasant drinking experience.

 

[BobOki]

I agree, you must have gotten a bad bottle, the Go to IPA is an amazing beer. A nice malt hit with a amazing slap you in the face hop smell and flavor as it hits your tongue, with a smooth and easy finish. To me it is perfect "lawnmower" beer. I favor their Ruination personally and found the Red XIPA to be too malty.

 

[Geronimo13]

Oh man, I just bought a sixer yesterday. Oh well I'll still give it a whirl. At least the other comments are reassuring. I still like Founder's All Day IPA for my session beer of choice, we'll see how this compares.

 

[jjw5015]

I've always enjoyed this beer. It has the same hop profile as Enjoy By, which I love, but it is a bit thinner, but that's to expect at half the ABV.

 

[kev211]

Go To is a gross beer (and how it lands on top 10 lists baffles me)

Delicious is anything but.....yuck...

2 swings and misses.

The new red IPA is above average and the Americano Stout is really good, but those are the first new beers from Stone that I thought were any good.

the two 'reboots' got worse as well (ruin 2.0/pale 2.0)

The only beer from them that I will consistently buy more than one bottle of (in a mix six) any more is Enjoy By IPA

pretty disappointed in EB Black IPA as well...

Agreed, agreed, and agreed. Go to is awful. Delicious I buy, but only because my wife likes it and its one of the few commercial brews she can drink due to a wheat allergy. Ruin 2 is horrid, and pale 2 is just ok. Enjoy by is alright, and the enjoy by black tastes like they just split the enjoy by batch and tossed some black malt that they had steeping into the fermenter.

Stone used to be a super innovative brewery, but now I feel as though theyve gotten too into their "arrogant" mantra and as a result, put more effort into being really brash and maintaining their super elite status in the brewing world. Theyve lost sight of making truly great beer and have put more focus into streamlining operations. Ive got over 100 other options just here in San Diego so Ill go with those. But thats just my 2 cents.

But to stay on topic, OP, I agree with you. Go to is garbage. Ive had many good sessions, go to is not one of them


/rant :rockin:

 

[crusader1612]

Go To is a gross beer (and how it lands on top 10 lists baffles me)



Delicious is anything but.....yuck...



2 swings and misses.



The new red IPA is above average and the Americano Stout is really good, but those are the first new beers from Stone that I thought were any good.



the two 'reboots' got worse as well (ruin 2.0/pale 2.0)



The only beer from them that I will consistently buy more than one bottle of (in a mix six) any more is Enjoy By IPA



pretty disappointed in EB Black IPA as well...

From harsh to harsher.....
While go to isn't my fave beer it's solid in its concept. And it's well made.

Pale2.0 is the weakest but still enjoyable.

Delicious is, well delicious! Loved that beer
Same with ruination 2.0 very similar to the original. But juicier.

Taste is subjective so your entitled to your opinion, but keep it somewhat positive.

 

[kev211]

Taste is subjective so your entitled to your opinion, but keep it somewhat positive.

Uhhhhh... Why?

 

[Geronimo13]

Just cracked one open. It's meh. Personal preference but not enough "beer" flavor for me (not exactly sure how to describe it). A lot of hop aroma but it just seems to be lacking something. I think I just like a little more maltiness to my beer?

 

[Geronimo13]

It's also a little cloudy which surprises me. My beers are cloudy but I always figure professional ones aren't.

View attachment 1460762494053.jpg

 

[beskone]

Go To is a gross beer (and how it lands on top 10 lists baffles me)

Delicious is anything but.....yuck...

2 swings and misses.

The new red IPA is above average and the Americano Stout is really good, but those are the first new beers from Stone that I thought were any good.

the two 'reboots' got worse as well (ruin 2.0/pale 2.0)

The only beer from them that I will consistently buy more than one bottle of (in a mix six) any more is Enjoy By IPA

pretty disappointed in EB Black IPA as well...

Go To is OK, it's pretty thin and kinda like sucking on fizzy hop water. But it's a session IPA... I haven't had one yet that hit the marks of being a low abv IPA. You really need that malt and alcohol to temper all the hops.

I couldn't disagree more on the Ruin and Pale 2.0 I think they are vast improvements over the originals. That said I totally agree on Arrogant Bastard, I've never really enjoyed that. I also think the Black IPA is a bit of a miss, especially considering how good the standard issue Enjoy By is.

The super limited Thunderstruck IPA was AMAZING. I'm sad I can't get anymore

Different tastes for different people I guess.

 

[crusader1612]

Uhhhhh... Why?

different strokes for different folks.
It's not for you I get that. but don't taint others views on it before tasting.
Its not gross, its just not for you.
it doesnt suck, i just prefer other beers.

being like this, doesn't help anyone--- no offense obv.

 

[kev211]

different strokes for different folks.
It's not for you I get that. but don't taint others views on it before tasting.
Its not gross, its just not for you.
it doesnt suck, i just prefer other beers.

being like this, doesn't help anyone--- no offense obv.

But it's a thread to discuss why the OP didn't like go to. That's kind of how the review process works. I do find it gross. Maybe you don't. But I do. So if that "taints your view" I apologize, but I'm not gonna write something nice about it if I think it's crap. No offense

 

[crusader1612]

But it's a thread to discuss why the OP didn't like go to. That's kind of how the review process works. I do find it gross. Maybe you don't. But I do. So if that "taints your view" I apologize, but I'm not gonna write something nice about it if I think it's crap. No offense

Yeah but all your doing is saying gross or tuck.
It offers nothing else

 

[kev211]

Yeah but all your doing is saying gross or tuck.
It offers nothing else

Ok... I find that it's watered down, has almost no malt flavor and is basically a hop tea with a mix of hops i find unpleasant.

Better?

 

[Geronimo13]

Kev211 pretty much summed up my taste of it.

 

[Altrez]

Personally I have never had anything bad from Stone! I am drinking a Stone Delicious IPA right now and its one of my favorite beers.

-Altrez

 

[sd_brewbie]

I find go to a decent session beer, not my first choice, but I would never turn one down if offered.