Stone Collaboration Japanese Green Tea IPA warms the heart

I have about 45 minutes before I run to the airport and fly to Utah to meet the 'rents for a weekend getaway in Park City. David is at the X-Games and so I'm on my own for the beer, giving me the opportunity to pull something I've EAGERLY anticipated having, a very unique collaboration between Stone and two Japanese breweries, Ishii and Baird. Check out the video here

I love the craft brewing community for many reasons, but I especially love collaborations. This collaboration is particularly special, as Stone wanted to reach out to Japanese breweries to make a beer that relays the Japanese people are not alone and that people are thinking about them. This beer's proceeds will go to the Tsunami and Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund. It's dry hopped with Green Tea and the alcohol is the same magnitude as the earthquake, 9.2%, to correlate with the tremor. The whole situation is heartwarming is creating an uncomfortable amount of empathy within me. I already heard some really amazing news about my future today, which I will reveal a week from today on our one year beer-versary, and all this 'helping people' crap is really getting to me. Come on Walker! I need to find a telephone booth stat!

Besides the humanity, I'm just excited to try interesting beers and this is right for my wheelhouse.

There is a complex earthiness from tea, much more than I would think from dry hopping. As mentioned in the video above, the IPA-ness is a departure from your typical American IPA and it's more herbal than citrusy. While the herbal hop flavor is different than what I expect from a Stone beer, the body has the trademark of a Stone IPA. Overall, the bitterness is complex but also a quite astringent. This is a hop lovers brew for sure. I'm eating leftover spicy chicken mole and the bitterness is pairing well with the spice. I really appreciate this beer, even if I don't rank it as an All-Star. ARMAGEDDON rating.