Stone

Established in San Diego in 1996, Stone Brewing are one of the original pioneers of modern craft beer. Known for their forthright attitude and angry beers, they have been the inspiration for many new breweries, and continue to make amazing beers. They have recently expanded to open a brewery in Berlin, which makes it much easier for us here in Europe to get hold of their beers. We are especially pleased to stock Old Guardian – one of Sam’s favourite beers, and Cali Belgique – which Katie loves.

Hifi+Lofi Mixtape, Strong Ale, 8.8% ABV
A beer that pays homage to a centuries-old tradition of combining new beer with aged ales. Freshly brewed beers of the day were often very smoky and bitter tasting, and were blended with older beer that had mellowed with age to produce a more drinkable libation. This modern version is a blend of an ale aged more than three months in oak foudres (large wooden fermentation vessels) with a fresh version of the same beer to create a perfect harmony spanning end to end on the taste spectrum.

Old Guardian, Barley Wine, 11.2% ABV
Barley wines are traditionally hefty brews, but this is downright excessive. The huge maltiness of the beer is only tamed by an equally massive addition of hops, creating a rich, slightly sweet, caramel-hued ale infused with bitterness and bright hop notes, all culminating in a pleasing dryness. This beer is delicious when enjoyed fresh, but will evolve beautifully with age.

Cali Belgique, Belgian IPA, 6.9% ABV
This beer features a complex and surprising combination of flavours, but behind the fancy title is simply the delicious Stone IPA. The addition of a carefully selected strain of Belgian yeast adds banana and spice notes to the hoppy brightness of Stone’s flagship IPA.

Arrogant Bastard, American Strong Ale, 7.2% ABV
Brewed by Stone since 1997, Arrogant Bastard proved so popular that a new company – Arrogant Brewing – was created in 2015, which now brews this beer and a whole range inspired by it. Already one of our top selling beers in the shop, this has intense resinous hop flavours and bitterness, balanced by a sweet and heavy malt backbone.