Stone Pataskala Red X IPA

This beer is billed as a Red X IPA. Therefore I’m going to evaluate this against the Red IPA category in the BJCP guidelines category 21b. Red X is typically a base malt that is known do give a beer deep red hues and a nice toasty flavor.

The beer pours a beautiful deep red color with excellent clarity. The head is a light beige color but has very poor retention. After a few minutes the beer appeared almost still. The aroma holds dry toasty malt aroma that I would associate with a Red IPA, and it’s a typical characteristic of Red X malt. The aroma of the hops is citrusy and has a light background note of pine. Very traditional in hop profile in my opinion, which is not a bad thing. The flavor is intensely malty, with toast and a light roasty character. The hop bitterness is medium, and just a bit on the harsh end but not outside the bounds of an IPA. The balance is decidedly hoppy. The finishes dry and is bitter and a bit unpleasant when coupled with the high roast and bitter hops. The beer is moderately carbonated and medium body, and I didn’t get a lot of creamieness in the texture. I didn’t detect any alcohol warmth and the lack of creamy texture left the beer feeling overly dry for my palate.

All in all it’s a solid Red IPA, but I would prefer a bit more of a sweetness to help round out that harshness. I like an IPA to be dry as it should be, but this beer came across excessively dry for me. If that was fixed I would say it could be more enjoyable.