What is a beer style?A “style” is how beer is generally categorized. Beer styles typically have defined ranges of ABV (alcohol by volume) and color, as well as other defining factors like special ingredients. That said, brewing beer is part science and part art. While some brewers delight in brewing traditional styles to the letter, others love to throw definitions and boundaries out the window.…
What is an IPA?It’s a style of pale ale that emphasizes hop flavors and aromas. At Stone Brewing, it’s our favorite style to brew (and drink)! As far as three-letter acronyms go, IPA is almost as well-known as BBQ or LOL these days. If you’re new to IPAs, read on for a crash course. Extra credit if you’ve got one next to you right now – hands-on learning is always effective! (You can locate…
You may not have heard, but we have a really cool homebrew competition happening on Saturday, March 21st in the Gardens. It's part of an American Homebrewer's Association Rally we're holding that day to get more people to join the AHA. By joining that day for $33 you get all the cool perks for being a member, but…
Beer and chocolate are two of my favorite things on the planet. If you asked me to define myself in one sentence, the words beer and chocolate would probably be in there somewhere. So you can imagine my dismay when I was burdened with the arduous task of helping pair Stone beer with the innovative artisinal offerings of Eclipse Chocolat…
As a fanatical beer geek, it’s easy to forget that when some non beer-drinkers hear the words “beer” and “dessert” in the same sentence they experience a wave of skepticism. When Pastry Chef Devin McKenna told his mother he was going to pair some of his decadent creations with some the finest beers around, her reaction was “Eeew.” Not “I’m so proud of you,” or “I can’t wait to try it,”…
Monday Night's FRESH! Dinner MenuIt’s difficult to write about our FRESH! Dinners without resorting to cheesy puns or distasteful allusions to outdated television programs. It’s been a struggle, but thankfully I’ve managed to abstain from phrases such as “Keepin’ it FRESH!” or “Come get FRESH! with Stone!” More…
Here at Stone, I get the privilege of working on some really fun, random projects. Greg will turn to me and say something like, "What if we put a 17 foot tall gargoyle into the inside wall of the Bistro?" From there, I figure out how to make it work and pull the resources and people together to make it happen. Well, another opportunity to have some fun recently presented itself when we decided to…
Do I attend a grandiose meet-the-brewer dinner, an outrageous vertical tasting, a one-time only beer release or a massive total tap takeover? From November 2 through 11, this will be the sort of daily dilemma plaguing beer enthusiasts as San Diego Beer Week saturates America’s Finest…
What began as a San Diego Beer Week show of brewing solidarity has metamorphosized into a quarterly tradition that brings out not only fans of Stone beer, but members of Team Stone looking to check out inventive takes on the brewery’s year-round beers. Every three months, we round up a dozen of our brewery staff and invite them to build casks incorporating tasty ingredients…
You’ve heard the legend of a cavernous hall filled to the brim with beer from around the country. Maybe you’ve even experienced for yourself the glories of unlimited pours of more than 3,100 brews. But you haven’t seen the Great American Beer Festival—the country’s…