Starting October On a Heavy Note

Stone-Cold Brilliant: Escondidian Imperial Black IPA
Sampled: Oct. 2, 2011

Brewed for Stone's 15th anniversary, there's nothing shy about Escondidian Imperial Black IPA. It's every bit as complex as its tongue-twister of a name, but surprisingly drinkability puts it at the summit of the black IPA movement.

The nose erupts with piney textures and spruce tips. Combined with a hint of spearmint and even anise, Stone Escondidian Imperial Black almost singes the nose. Those flavors mingle effortlessly with a conclusion of dark chocolate. Never has an IPA hit me so hard, especially a black one. The head runs thick and creamy while the body is opaque. This is one of the most fragrant, unforgettable noses I’ve ever tasted on any beer without fruit.

I once thought Stone’s 11th anniversary ale, a black IPA later added to the regular lineup as Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, pushed the boundaries. But Escondidian Imperial Black IPA goes to the brink. Stone puts forth a brilliant bill of roasted malt. The body is thick and luxurious, totally unlike most IPAs. Dark notes unload with chocolate, espresso and a dozen other familiar flavors backing them up.

Not usually a fan of huge hop payloads, Stone pushes its dry-hopping techniques to an unbelievably smooth extreme. The oiliness of the hops blends perfectly with the roasted malts. At 10.5 percent ABV, Stone bred a beast crawling in complexity and amazingly drinkable for anything labeled “imperial.”

Some flickers of spearmint break into the finish. Escondidian Imperial Black is literally unlikely any IPA, black or otherwise, on the market. Cheers to Stone for going inventive with its annual experiment. Sometimes they have resorted to hop bombs to commemorate, and this one doesn’t succumb to any pitfalls.

Stone encouraged beer geeks to drink this one fresh, but it is also bottle-conditioned, leading me to wonder how it will develop. The hop brilliance will certainly diminish, but I am curious where it will end up.

This could be the dark complement to Avery’s Maharajah Imperial IPA. Stone might never make it a regular brew, but such flavor power and complex ingenuity should be enjoyed in its moment. It won’t last, so grab it now since the chance might not come again.


They can’t all be positive: Sprecher Pipers Scotch-style Ale
Sampled: Oct. 2, 2011
On a weekend when fall temperatures settled over Nashville, a taste of the North Country seemed appropriate. Dark, creamy and roughly burgundy-brown in body, Wisconsin’s Sprecher goes for a malt-bomb with its Scotch-style ale that cannot recover with help of an additional dose of hops.

It doesn’t break from the Scotch-style template, but Sprecher does a quality job. Molasses with slivers of chocolate define the body. There’s an immense wall of malt arriving just before the finish, which is overwhelmingly bitter and broken by pepper created by the alcohol content (8.3 percent – you knew I would get to it). There’s a plug of tobacco wedged into that finish and it does not work for me.

The malt wall is a tough hurdle, I’m afraid. It unleashes a load of caramel and toffee, but I find myself craving more diversity. The flavors are there, but in a fragmented way. I wish they would coalesce. Pipers left me wanting. As much as I enjoyed their lower-alcohol beers, Pipers Scotch ale cried out for more structure.