Stone Brewing's Pale Ale - Wins my Taste OffMar 02 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Bass, Sierra Nevada and Stone Brewing -- three Pale Ales that I really like and regularly buy.
I really enjoy the Pale Ale beer style. This is a traditional, English ale style that is usually brewed at an alcohol content between 4½-to-5½% by volume, and a bitterness rating between 20 and 35 IBUs. (About two or three times more bitter than a typical American light lager like Anheuser Busch's Budweiser). This kind of ale pairs well with meat dishes, but most beer drinkers refer to it as a "session beer," meaning -- as far as I know -- a kind of beer that you drink in succession... two or three (or more) beers during a sitting. Usually, these are low alcohol, low gravity beers that one can drink during an evening without becoming too full or (gasp) drunk. I had planned on writing a review on one of my favorite "Hard to Find" beers, Stone Brewing's Pale Ale. Stone's Pale Ale was first introduced in the Summer of 1996, but this ale has made an impact on the beer drinking scene, having won a Gold Medal at the 1998 World Beer Championships in the Pale Ale category. I could simply write a review of this fantastic flagship ale from San Marcos (San Diego County) California, but I'd rather perform a taste test, comparing this Pale Ale with two others that I also enjoy: Bass Pale Ale (from England) and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (from Chico, California). The Taste Off. I poured three glasses -- one of each ale. Here are some of my notes. Alcohol ------------------------------ Bass: 4.5% ABV (although I have seen some reports of 5.51%) Sierra Nevada: 5.6% ABV Stone Brewing: 5.4% ABV Color ------------------------------ Bass: Copper, deep amber Sierra Nevada: Honey Stone Brewing: Similar to Bass, just a wee bit darker Head ------------------------------ Bass: Sticky, meringue-like, elastic Sierra Nevada: Foamy, even, consistent Stone Brewing: Lighter than other two Carbonation ------------------------------ Bass: Fairly Active Sierra Nevada: Light Stone Brewing: Light Aroma ------------------------------ Bass: Light caramel, buttery Sierra Nevada: Piney, bitter hop flower Stone Brewing: Similar to S-N, less aggressive Flavor ------------------------------ Bass: Good hop character, slight citric edge, caramel, butter; soft and a little soapy. Sierra Nevada: Sharper, crisper, harder; not as flabby as the Bass, lingering pine-needle-like bitter finish; dry Stone Brewing: Rounder, fuller, deeper; nutty, bitter pine, touch of sweetness in the finish; semi-dry Price ------------------------------ Bass: $8.79 per 6-pack / $1.45 per 12 oz. serving Sierra Nevada: $8.47 per 6-pack / $1.40 per 12 oz. serving Stone Brewing: $3.82 per 22 oz. bottle / $2.05 per 12 oz. serving Overall Rating ------------------------------ Bass: 4-Stars Sierra Nevada: 4½-Stars Stone Brewing: 4¾-Stars Recommendations ------------------------------ Everyone has different tastes, and not everyone is going to agree with my selections. These are three Pale Ales that I really like and regularly buy. When taste-testing all three at the same time, I found something I liked from each of the three brewers. But, if money and availability were not at issue, I think that I would buy the Stone Brewing Pale Ale before opting for the others. The Bass was a little flat and flabby, and the Sierra Nevada was a little aggressive and heavy in pine-needle flavor. Stone's Pale Ale fit neatly between the two, although it did lean heavily towards the Sierra Nevada style. The best way to find your favorite pale ale is to conduct a taste test of your own. Get three or four bottles of beer (same style, different brewer), and conduct your own experiment. The differences between brewers can be surprising. Cheers!  |
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