Stone Enjoy by 04.01.13

I had been waiting a while for my local beer distributor to get this brew in stock. I heard a lot of hype about Stone's new "Enjoy By" series of beers, and how incredibly fresh they were supposed to be. They are supposedly "so fresh" that they're purposely made "not to last", so that the drinker MUST enjoy the beer before the "enjoy by" date.  I was looking all over the store for it for roughly 30 minutes. Defeated and exhausted by my search, I slowly dragged my feet up to the register, eventually accepting that I would never get to try this brew. As I stood at the register (with the other 6 bomber I picked for my stock) I looked at the shelves behind the register, and low and behold there stood multiple bottles of Stone's "Enjoy By 4.01.13". Excited, and with a new found motivation I happily place my beers onto the counter, and pointed my finger behind the cashier and exclaimed, "and one of the 'Enjoy By's' as well please". Finally, I finally got my hands on one! Well, here's the review. I hope you enjoy it.

Beer name: Enjoy By 4.01.13
Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Location: San Diego, CA
Style: DIPA
ABV: 9%
Price: $11.99/bomber
Packaging: bomber (1 pt. 6 oz)

Appearance: The beer pours a pale golden hue with a 2 finger thick, creamy white head. There's a generous amount of lacing that slowly falls down the glass. The head is very rich, and very thick.

Aroma: A lot of pineapple up front, which mingles with citrus fruit (grapefruit, orange peel, and some lemon peel). A lot of freshly cut grass on the nose, which gives the beer a really earthy aroma. There is some slight pine and resin on the finish, with some sweet caramel malt coming through at the end as well.

Taste/Mouth Feel: A medium body, with moderate amounts of carbonation. Pineapple and pine notes on the front end, followed by a very sweet (caramel) malt center. The finish has a nice, bitter hopiness and slightly alcoholic taste. There are a lot of crisp, clean tastes on this one. The hops definitely give the beer an earthy taste, and the fresh cut grass profile is present throughout the tasting.

Overall: 9/10 This brew definitely presents itself as a fresh tasting one! The hops give the beer a clean, crisp and dry profile. The malts give the beer a rich caramel sweetness that isn't overwhelming and well balanced with the hop additions. What I really like is that the earthiness of the hops really allow the malt to shine as well in this brew, and leave you with a deliciously clean aftertaste in your mouth. Not a whole lot of a residual mouth coating on this brew. The alcohol linger a bit in the back of your throat, but it doesn't overpower any of the other profiles of the beer. Overall, a very good beer. Cheers!