Still alive

In all the recent controversy about employment practices at Big Craft breweries, I couldn't help feel a little sorry for Stone. They weren't named, as far as I'm aware, and I wondered if that's because this giant has lost a little of its relevance -- no longer the spotlight-hogging craft colossus it once was. Or maybe they're just a better employer than their younger rivals. I picked up a couple of their beers for old times' sake.

Despite its west-coast origins I'm sure the brewery has been fully on top of the cloudy IPA situation since it began. This one is called Neverending Haze and is a session IPA at 4% ABV. It's a slightly grim looking dun colour with a desultory dishwater head: loose-bubbled and disappearing quickly. The aroma is broadly citric, but very understated. I thought maybe that low carbonation was the issue but it's actually plenty fizzy; possibly even too fizzy: thin-textured with a sharply carbonic bite. Could the flavour make up for these shortcomings? Not really. It's plain, with a homebrewish yeast twang and only a token amount of lemony foretaste. The properly bitter afteraste was a nice flourish; two fingers to New England from California (or Virginia), and there's a tea-like dryness that helps clean up the worst excesses of the murk. But even American brewers can do better than this with the specs.

Conversely, Delicious has been part of the Stone range for many years and is much more their métier. It's an American IPA devoid of nonsense, 7.7% ABV and a flawless pale amber colour. An aroma of caramel studded with citrus fruit told me we were back in the good old days. They've loaded the crystal malt into this, giving it a heavy rich texture and a long toffee aftertaste. That's necessary because up front it's all hop. They're quite modern varieties -- El Dorado and Lemon Drop -- but it may as well be Cascade and Centennial because the effect is pure classic: pine, grapefruit, lime peel, and all of it pristine-clean and deliciously dry. I'm sure this turned heads when it first arrived, and now as a found artefact from a bygone age it's turning mine. Never mind the west coast revival, viva the west coast continuum.

We frequently hear of established American breweries closing as the market dries up for the products with which they made their names. I genuinely hope that Stone, and breweries like it, can continue doing what they do best for some time yet, preferably without having to turn tricks in the name of fashion to make ends meet.