A hoppy anniversary beer from Stone Brewing?! No way. They’ve done hoppy anniversary beers in just about every way possible. They did an imperial rye IPA for their 16th Anniversary beer, an Imperial Black IPA for their 15th Anniversary beer, and British like Emperial IPA for their 14th Anniversary beer. You get the picture. With the release of the 17th anniversary Götterdämmerung IPA, Stone took a German pilsner, made it imperial then hopped the heck out of it using German hops.
Based on light pilsner malt the hops really come through and rule in this brew. There is just enough malt body there from the Pislner malts to add a bit of balance before the hops knock everything out. Touches of light peach and then plenty of floral notes. A hint of clean malt and then lots of bitterness. Just a hint of alcohol is there in the aftertaste but it wouldn’t hint that you’re drinking a beer that weighs in at 9.5% ABV. This one could sneak up on you with the deceptive alcohol offering little hint what it holds.
Anniversary beers are a great thing. They give the brewers a chance to do something fun and different. A chance to take one shot at making something different. A beer they’ll most likely never make again. With the Stone anniversary beers, while the big hops seem to be a theme, they’ve changed things up a bit each time to take a fresh stab at showing what hops can do for a brew. The Götterdämmerung IPA showcases the fact that German hops aren’t just about more subtle flavors while leaving the big bitter bombs and crazy alpha-acids to the US west coast varieties. This craft brew has all the hop character one would expect in a west coast IPA yet is made with hops many craftbeer fans write off as boring and lacking in the hop bite they look for. Pickup a bottle of Stone Brewing 17th Anniversary Götterdämmerung IPA if you can find one and enjoy it soon.
