Mike’s Beer #6—Stone Levitation Ale

There’s not much to say about this one. I looked at the brewery and the price and falsely figured that I was getting a juiced-up version of what I love about Stone—a bounty of hop flavor and aroma. What I got was something pretty dry and tame, the first unmemorable brew that I’ve tasted for this column.

Levitation has a very dry, clean finish, bitter with just a bit of floral taste on the tongue. It’s an award winner, but not really for me… tastes like my homebrew did, which should make me feel good, but there’s a reason why I stopped brewing: my skill hit a plateau and the brew just wasn’t getting any better.

Adam's Beer #4 - Innis and Gunn Oak Aged Beer

I have a few regulations when it comes to drinking a beer that has seemed to be broken recently; for example:

1. Never Drink From the Bottle. This rule was kaput when Captain Lawrence Brewing Company began bottling Captain’s Reserve Imperial IPA.
2. Never Drink a Macrobrewery. I cannot stay away from a Miller High Life which I recently ordered at a restaurant because instead of the proper name was listed as The Champagne of Beers.
3. Never Buy a Beer in a Clear or Green Bottle. I newly broke this rule while drinking my beer of the week – Innis and Gunn Oak Aged Beer.

The myth that a clear bottle ruins the beer is exactly that, a myth. Yes, it makes the beer more susceptible to UV rays, but the color of the bottle can not be blamed for the skunked flavor.

Another rule I have is when I see a beer that is Aged in Oak (or any other type of barrel) I must have it. While perusing the Great Britain section of my local brew-market I was torn, Innis and Gunn…Clear Bottle…Oak Aged…would it cancel my two laws out? The answer, yes.

The oak gave this English Pale Ale toffee like characteristics that came over way too sweet due to the lack of hops to balance the flavor. For a Pale Ale, this brew had a huge malt backbone which I may have enjoyed had there been more of a medium body instead of the thin mouthful that I enjoy for an IPA. I guess the best way to describe the overall reaction would be to state that it tasted like a scotch after the ice has watered it down.

Overall I give this beer a 7/10. It was a worthy effort from Innis and Gunn. It wasn’t a bad beer, nor was it great, but I would definitely give it another go around some other time.