Stone Enjoy By IPA

Stone Brewing Company Enjoy By 12-13-13 IPA: Traditionally, hops were added to beer for their preservative qualities, so it’s a bit backward that today’s craft brew-swilling culture increasingly demands the most recently hopped ales.

Nothing notes that trend more eloquently than Stone’s Enjoy By IPA series, in which the drinking deadline is the largest line on the beer’s label and inside which one discovers a hop presence dominated more by flowery fragrance and thirst-quenching freshness than the tongue-puckering bitterness of some IPAs.

In the case of the 12-13-13, the boisterous bouquet bounces off the copper-colored ale as it’s poured, and the hoppy pleasantries — which, because they are so uplifting and vivid, can even be enjoyed by beer-drinking friends who aren’t card-carrying hop-heads — linger through the finish. So while fresh hops might be a bit oxymoronic, Stone’s Enjoy By IPAs show why they are here to stay.

Available at Bin 2860 in Los Olivos. See bin2860.com and stonebrewing.com.