{"id":58,"date":"2016-01-08T16:33:45","date_gmt":"2016-01-08T16:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.josephbender.com\/blog\/?p=58"},"modified":"2016-07-27T21:08:41","modified_gmt":"2016-07-28T01:08:41","slug":"stone-sierra-nevada-collaboration-nxs-ipa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.josephbender.com\/blog\/photography\/stone-sierra-nevada-collaboration-nxs-ipa\/","title":{"rendered":"Stone & Sierra Nevada Collaboration – NxS IPA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

A dry-hopped IPA, blended with another IPA aged in gin & whisky infused barrels.<\/em><\/h6>\n

Stone Brewing and Sierra Nevada have long been two of my favorite breweries. I think SN Pale Ale and Stone IPA are some of the first hoppy beers I grew to love. I have also always enjoyed Stone’s collaboration series. Not only is it intriguing to see a company branch out to it’s competitors to create something new, but the beers are always damn good.<\/p>\n

Love the label design. It gives a very organic feel, and also promotes California beer where these two breweries are located. All of the Stone bottles have heat pressed labels which, in my eyes, just elevates their packaging quality greatly above other breweries. You can tell they put effort into making each beer special. For more information on the thought they put into each label check out this article on their site.<\/a><\/p>\n

Onto the actual golden nectar. Oh wow, first sip was exciting. It’s always great when that initial\u00a0taste and smell, as you bring the glass to your lips, exceeds your expectation. I am super into hoppy beers, but sometimes have trouble differentiating between IPAs or finding nuances. However, this one is crazy distinct and I think I could pick it out of a blind lineup. May be the gin-infused barrel aging, which I don’t believe I have seen before. There is something extremely aromatic about this brew though. Usually have trouble finishing a hefty 20oz bottle, but killed this one easily while
\n<\/a> enjoying every drop. And still had another beer afterwards!\u00a0\"DSC_0061\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Available:<\/strong> December 7th, Limited 22oz Bottles & On Draft<\/p>\n

Mine was bottled on:<\/strong> 11\/22\/2015<\/p>\n

Use the super functional “Stone Beer Finder” to locate this brew near you!<\/a><\/p>\n

Alcohol\/Volume:<\/strong> 8.2%<\/p>\n

IBU:<\/strong> 70<\/p>\n

Hop Varieties:<\/strong><\/p>\n