When I was in Portland a few weeks ago, I picked up a handful of bottles to bring home with me, which is a standard procedure for me. The usual rule is to buy only local or regional breweries, however I sometimes make exceptions when I find something particularly yummy. In the Portland case, I found a bottle of Stone Ruination IPA. Sure, California isn’t that far from northern Oregon, but given I had hundreds of Oregon breweries to choose from, it was a bit decadent (and don’t worry, I got some lovely Oregon beer, too).

Still, Stone is hard to find in Canada, so I couldn’t resist. I opened it up this week during a relaxed evening.

Ruination, of course, is a highly renowned Imperial IPA. Bold and assertive, it clocks in at 8.2% alcohol and a vague 100+ IBUs – meaning, basically, it tops out our palates’ ability to perceive bitterness.

It pours dark gold and looks bright and effervescent. A big, consistent white head grows quickly and continues to build for a while after the pour is complete. In the aroma you are hit hard, and I mean hard, by a wallop of piney, citrusy hop aroma. I get fresh ruby grapefruit being eaten in the middle of a forest. Support actors include lychee, some earthiness and a bit of orange. I know there is some malt aroma in there, but who cares?

I eagerly take a sip. My first sense is a soft nutty, biscuity malt sweetness with a dash of light pear and lilacs. The transition to the hoppy elements is smoother and more gentle than I expect , but the hops just keep growing once they arrive. A blend of hop flavours, but tangy grapefruit is the lead, especially in the linger. But there is also a degree of resin, floral, pine, wood and earthiness in what can only be described as an assertive hop presence. Linger just keeps getting bigger as the beer level drops. The beer hides the alcohol remarkably well.

Balance is not the word here, not by any stretch. However, there is enough beer in here to keep the hop festival from getting out of control. This is big and hoppy, surely a hit among the lupulin threshold shifted crowd. There can be no question that one in a sitting is enough. In fact, I need to contemplate an antidote after this one. Don’t shift to a pale lager right after this, is all I will say. Brilliant and bold. Maybe a little TOO hop focused, but that is what it promises to be, so really I can’t criticize it for being exactly what it claims.