#121: Stone Brewing » R&R Coconut IPA

From the minds of homebrewers Robert Masterson and Ryan Reschan...

The Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, CA)
The Brew:  R&R Coconut IPA
Availability:  Draft, 22 oz bottles (limited, brewed once)
ABV: 7.7%
Rating: 9/10
Location: Home
Found: Fingerlakes Beverage Center

The Story? R&R Coconut IPA the result of a winning recipe at Stone’s AHA-sanctioned Spring 2013 Homebrew Competition. The innovative beer is brewed with 280 pounds of coconut and an unusual blend of hop varieties and is "guaranteed to taste like no IPA that's gone before".  Let's find out!

The Beer? R&R pours out as bubbly, translucent butterscotch with almost no head, even with a firm pour. The nose is sweet and dank with hops, like the coconut has taken the hop wallop and smoothed it over. Notes of magno and citrus are there as well.

The tasted is dense with bitter hops, but there's a crispness in the finish akin to coconut water along with a slight nuttiness and something else... a hint of tea, perhaps, amongst the resin. Additionally, R&R is far more well-carbonated than most Imperial IPAs, which further aids the crispness.

Some posts have lambasted this brew for not having enough coconut flavor. While it's true, you wont think someone accidentally dumped a piña colada in your beer, it doesn't necessarily mean the coconut wasn't effective. When I order good curry, I'm not thinking - "I love ordering curry because I'm in love with coconut milk". No I ordered it because I love curry. I also love IPAs.

The coconut has provided a richness and crispness and seems to bring out some nut, tea, and fruit notes that would otherwise be buried. I couldn't help but continually turn to my glass, stating  "This is really good." The coconut debate will rage on and we may never know exactly what Robert and Ryan were aiming for but, as far as the question - "Is it a good beer and worth it?" - absolutely.

#087: Fiddlehead Brewing Company » Fiddlehead IPA

On the way out of Vermont we found...

(courtesy of www.fiddleheadbrewing.com)

The Brewery: Fiddlehead Brewing Company (Shelburne, VT)
The Brew: Fiddlehead IPA
Availability: Draft only
ABV: 6.2%
Rating: 9/10
Location: Fiddlehead Tasting Room

The Story? With a far faster in-and-out from The Alchemist than expected and after quick stop in to Ben & Jerry's, we were on the road, having wrapped up four days of beer in Vermont. But then, not 15 mins into beyond Burlington, we past Fiddlehead Brewing. After realizing we're an hour ahead of schedule and a quick U-Turn later (shh...) my partner and I enter the building.

The tasting room is quaint, spacious, and mostly wood with a great view of the tank room and a BYOB wood-fired pizza joint next door. On tap was their flagship Fiddlehead IPA and Ruby Claire dry-hopped Red Ale. Both were great and our sampler server (argh, I forget her name) was very knowledgeable about the whole operation.

Fiddlehead was founded by renowned master-brewer, Matthew Cohen (aka Matty O), formerly of Magic Hat and who began his brew-making career homebrewing out of his dorm at Ithaca College. The vision of this new venture is to offer their flagship IPA year-round, coupled by a constantly evolving list of seasonal beers, many of which will be on-offs. No bottling plans for now either.

With a trunk full of beer already, we realized we had room for one more growler in the cooler and just happened to have one empty one left...

The Beer? Out of the growler just a few days later, the appearance is a wonderful, hazy, amber-carmel color with thick layer of lacy head which sticks around. The nose is excellent - fruity, sweet citrus, with distinct ruby-red grapefruit auromas and a hint of something else... lemonade possibly.

This IPA is incredibly smooth going down - silky and mildy carbonated. There's bright citrus flavors up front which merge into dry, piney notes on the finish with a touch of cracked wheat in the middle. Overall a very well-balanced IPA. Excited for the future plans and brews.