Stone Cat I.P.A.

One of the beers in the Mercury Brewing Company sampler was Stone Cat’s I.P.A., and as a fan of the style, I am always excited to add a new IPA to my knowledge repertoire.

This IPA poured an opaque Southern Pine color, like the color of antique floors.  There was about an inch of quickly receding soapy head.  This IPA had the nose of raw hops along with a floral bouquet.  The taste was very intense up front, akin to the beer version of a punch in the face.  A fruity, bitter explosion of juicy lemon and grapefruit bombarded the tongue right up front, fading into the taste of a mouthful of gardenias.  The bitterness hangs around for the ride, but everything else just faded away, leaving me wanting for the beer to show me more, but to no avail.

This is a good IPA for all you hopheads out there.  There are plenty of IBUs (International Bitterness Units) to appease the bitterest palate.  To all other enthusiasts and beginners alike, this IPA goes to exemplify some common characteristics in IPAs, and really brings these characteristics to the forefront, as if a tutorial to tasting an IPA.  The citrus is loud, the bitterness plentiful, and the floral bouquet ever-present.  Definitely try this beer if you want to know what common IPA elements taste like.  It is a decent beer, for sure.