Beerista: A ‘liquid poem’ for hop lovers

Arrogant Bastard has to be one of the best-named beers of all time. Made by the iconic Stone Brewing company from San Diego, this American Strong Ale first emerged in 1997 and seemed to sum up what the craft beer revolution was all about: big, very bitter beers with plenty of attitude.

“You probably won’t like it,” it says on the can, because your taste buds aren’t used to such sophistication in beer. Put simply, “you’re not worthy”.

Set up by Greg Koch and Steve Wagner in 1996, Stone Brewing was one of the first craft breweries to emerge on the US scene. Using the gargoyle as their logo to ward off "the modern day evils of beer" such as cheap ingredients, chemical additives and pasteurization, Stone has grown rapidly and is currently the 10th largest craft brewery in the US and regularly voted as one of the best in the world.

So there was plenty of excitement this year when Stone opened in Berlin, where they are brewing and supplying to the European market, including Ireland.

Getting a chance to try the famous Stone IPA, which “launched generations of hop fanatics”, was no small thing for the craft beer aficionado. This big, bitter 6.9 per cent golden ale, with a building alcohol heat, seemed a little disappointing to me however – but maybe that was the hype too. The Arrogant Bastard, on the other hand, is really for die-hard hop heads (I’m not one).

But intensity is their thing. Even their Go-To IPA has a big, solid bitterness, balanced with a lovely piny and resinous hoppy aroma, and tropical fruit aftertaste – a real treat.

Also worth a try is Stone’s Cali-Belgique. I really enjoyed the Ruination Double IPA, though this was after trying the others, so my bitterness tolerance had been suitably notched up to fully appreciate this “liquid poem to the glory of the hop”.

@ITbeerista beerista @irishtimes.com