Start 14-Day Trial Subscription

*No credit card required

Jason Johnson's picture

Stone Tangerine Express

June, 2017

Stone Tangerine Express

Stone Tangerine Express

California
United States
Stone Tangerine Express by Stone Brewing Co.
Description 

An india pale ale packed with whole tangerine & pineapple and a tropical IPA that transports you to a hop-induced state.

Imagine the tropical haze of a lazy afternoon- into-evening. Your official duties for the day have been to maybe take a hike to a secluded waterfall, perhaps grill something, definitely chill with plenty of sand between your toes…and crack a phenomenal beer to complete the experience. Check, check, check again and…pfffft…check.
Welcome to our vacation transportation express!

This ain’t no just-add-juice approach. This one is for adults. We use bountiful whole tangerine purée, which brings pithy, crisp bitterness to the citrus flavor. In addition to the complexities of the tangerine — the likes of which you can only get by using the whole fruit — we judiciously employ just a hint of whole pineapple for a backnote (you’d likely not even pick it out of the mix if we didn’t tell you it was there). We’re not looking for a sweet concoction to appease the “I want my beer to taste like fruit juice” crowd. This is Stone. We like our IPAs to taste like IPAs. Big, bold and not for kids.

22oz bottles & draft

Beverage Profile
ABV: 
6.7%
IBUs: 
75
Hops: 
Citra, Centennial, Sterling, Azacca, Mosaic

 

 


The rating and full judge's review for this product is available only to premium subscribers.

Login / Subscribe

Not yet a subscriber? Visit the store now.
Options start for only $9.95!


Judges Rating: 
87
Aroma: 
21 / 24
Appearance: 
6 / 6
Flavor: 
36 / 40
Mouthfeel: 
8 / 10
Overall Impression: 
16 / 20

This beer is going to be judged in the fruit beer category because it’s and example a classic style (21A) with fruit added. This beer would not be considered specialty IPA (21B) because  that category is reserved for variations of the IPA style (Session, Black IPA, Red IPA, etc.).

The beer pours a hazy orange color with an off-white head. There is fairly good retention and the lacing on the glass is nice. I don’t get a whole lot of tangerine or pineapple initially, but the sample was quite cold. As the beer warmed, some tangerine crept out more. There was a beady and slightly sweet caramel-malt flavor as well. The flavor is bready and lightly sweet caramel, just like the aroma. The flavor is considerably more juicy than the aroma. Most of the fruity flavor seems to come mostly from fruit additions more so than hops. The bitterness is medium-high, and the balance is leaning towards the bitterness with the fruit taking up a second. The bitterness in the finish to me comes across a bit harsh and unpleasant, bordering harsh. I don’t find much of the pineapple, but there are slight hints of it as the beer warms. Unfortunately as it warms it also becomes sweeter. The beer is medium bodied, and moderately carbonated with no hop derived astringency and mild creaminess. There is a low alcohol warmth on the exhale as well.

All in all it’s a very good beer. It may have been my sample, but I would have liked bigger and bolder tangerine flavor. I was expecting a real good tropical hop and real fruit combo that just seemed to fall a little short.