Twelve Beers of Christmas: Day 4

Stone Enjoy By 12.25.16

Stone has served as the epitome of west coast IPAs, big, bold and very hoppy. Over the past few years, a new IPA style has gathered much of the beer drinkers imagination, commonly know as New England IPA.

The one key characteristic of this new take on IPA is that is it unfiltered—meaning you'll find yeast and other particulates flowing around in your beer. Brewers like to borrow from each other and we beer drinkers are the beneficiaries.

The Stone Enjoy By series are released a few times a year. They want the buyer/drinker to focus on the fact that IPAs, as a rule, are meant to be enjoyed as fresh as possible. Therefore, Stone puts it right on the label, Enjoy By… In this case, Christmas.

STONE BREWING ENJOY BY 12.25.16 — In most cases, skipping a step is a bad thing. Not this time. This version of Stone Enjoy By IPA omits the part where we filter out the extra yeast, hop sediment and proteins that build up in beer as a natural result of the brewing process. Though it may sound like it, this missed step was no misstep. By letting this IPA go unfiltered, its peach and tropical fruit hop flavors are amplified while its golden-hued color takes on a hazy appearance. Like its filtered counterpart, this IPA is brewed specifically NOT to last, and is shipped immediately to ensure hopheads get their hands on it as soon as possible.