Say whaaaat? What the heck is a second 10th anniversary??!
Allow me to explain.
History
Back in 2002, Stone Brewing Company brewed a beer that was intended to “ruin” the palate when it was enjoyed. Thus, Ruination was born! Stone refers to Ruination as Stone IPA‘s bigger brother. While their regular IPA is hoppy enough, this beer was made even more hoppier and maltier, making it incredibly bitter.
To commemorate it’s 10th anniversary last year, Stone decided to make an even more hopped up version of the original Ruination, bumping up its ABV so the Columbus and Centennial hops don’t completely slaughter your taste buds.
The beefed up version of Ruination, lovingly called RuinTen, was so popular last year, that Stone decided not only to re-release it this year, but to release it on every subsequent anniversary from here to the end of time! Craft Beer Lovers, rejoice!!
This beautiful beer hit shelves last week, so if you happen to see it, pick up yourself a bottle! If you want to actively seek it out, Stone has a super-nifty beer locator. Below, you’ll find the tasting notes from the Brewmaster Mitch Steele taken from the Stone website:
Appearance
Deep gold with an off-white creamy head of foam.
Aroma
Intense, dank and fruity hop notes. Lemon oil infused with nectarine, pineapple and tropical fruit, with hints of mint and spice.
Taste
An abundance of tropical fruity hop flavors up front and carrying throughout the palate. A pleasant maltiness balances the hops about mid-palate. Finishes with a long, lingering, clean bitterness.
Palate
Full-bodied but dry, with an alcohol fullness and sweetness. Very bitter!
Overall
We brewed this beer using the same ingredients as in our classic Stone Ruination IPA, but bumped up the malt to achieve its elevated 10.8% abv. And of course we jacked up the hops as well – not just in the boil, but we doubled the dry-hop amount, using a 50/50 blend of Centennial and Citra. The combination is, dare I say, magic.
…and it IS magick! It is easily one of my favorite double IPA’s to date. Creamy, hoppy, sweet – Who cares if it ruins your taste buds! This is allllll you need. Trust.
Also trust that there are some great ideas for food/cigar pairings on the RuinTen site as well. Pineapple curry here I come!
Danky love bubbles,
Love the redesign Natalie. Your posts are much easier to read.
I had the ruination 10th anniversary last year and the ruinten yesterday and I hate to say that I didnt enjoy it like I do the regular ruination. Mostly it was the extra maltiness. But the bitterness was just perfect.
Great review and great photos!
make note — “danky love bubbles” is the new “best regards”
Missed it before, glad to see it out again. I will have this after a nice salad… probably the one you just posted :p