{"id":16401,"date":"2017-02-09T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=16401"},"modified":"2017-02-09T09:30:18","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T17:30:18","slug":"a-beer-for-lovers-stone-enjoy-by-02-14-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2017\/02\/09\/a-beer-for-lovers-stone-enjoy-by-02-14-17\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beer For Lovers – Stone Enjoy By 02.14.17"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Photo courtesy Stone Brewing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The latest iteration of the Stone Enjoy By IPA series<\/a> struck me odd. And not because of its promise of successfully marrying chocolate and coffee with an IPA as you might imagine. I actually find that pretty intriguing. Stone Brewing more than earned a respite from my skepticism in that regard with the remarkable Aleman \/ Two Brothers \/ Stone Dayman Coffee IPA<\/a>. What actually vexed me was something far more sinister.<\/span><\/p>\n

I understand the tie in with Valentine\u2019s Day. That\u2019s Marketing 101. I even appreciate the whimsy of adding a symbolic \u201cbox of chocolates\u201d to the beer itself. That\u2019s why I can\u2019t fathom that Stone Brewing<\/a> is very clearly telling us all that love is a lie.<\/p>\n

Think about it. Stone could have chosen a million ways to highlight Valentine\u2019s Day: A collaboration brew with Hustler Hollywood, a robust porter dry-hopped with Spanish Fly, etc. But of all the innumerable possibilities they chose to commemorate it with a brew whose defining feature is an expiration date. Stone Brewing wants it made perfectly clear that, like love itself, the Enjoy By IPA can captivate for a brief spell, but is doomed to disappoint you in the long run.<\/p>\n

I always suspected that beer would end my marriage, just not because it would unearth a philosophical crisis. It\u2019s as good a time to be driven to drink as any.<\/p>\n

The Stone Enjoy By 02.14.17 Chocolate & Coffee IPA<\/a> presents a beady, parchment-colored head that pours tall, but subsides quickly.\u00a0This brew is a sensory curiosity through and through. There is an unmistakable IPA presence lurking in the aroma\u2019s background, which is ultimately overtaken by a lush chocolate tone. That note of contradiction is echoed in the flavor, somehow marrying the citric and earthy, the decadent and the bitter. I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s exactly harmonious, but it\u2019s not dissonant either.<\/p>\n

The real question is whether the compounding of these unusual flavors works. That\u2019s an oddly elusive answer to give. It\u2019s difficult to not be continually struck by the oddity of it, despite the fact I\u2019m happily returning to it sip over sip.<\/p>\n

Think of this beer as the spiritual equivalent to the Valentine\u2019s conversation hearts, the small pastel candies with saccharine slogans\u00a0stamped into their faces. When the season presents these confections, odds are you eagerly pop one into your mouth with a warm sense of nostalgia. They taste familiar and pleasant. You may even reach for a couple more, but as that chalky sediment accumulates on your palate the novelty rapidly wears off. Similarly, this is a unique craft brew touchstone for the season. It offers an amalgamation of flavors you might not want to revisit year-round, but you\u2019ll be happy for the experience regardless.<\/p>\n

Love may be dead, but I appreciate that Stone Brewing\u2019s desire to innovate is anything but.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The latest iteration of the Stone Enjoy By IPA series struck me odd. And not because of its promise of successfully marrying chocolate and coffee with an IPA as you might imagine. I actually find that pretty intriguing. Stone Brewing more than earned a respite from my skepticism in that regard with the remarkable Aleman […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[369],"tags":[3601,2295,2495,3600],"class_list":{"0":"post-16401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-beer-styles","7":"tag-beer-review","8":"tag-enjoy-by","9":"tag-stone-beer","10":"tag-valentines","11":"entry","12":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-4gx","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16401\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}