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Friday, April 18, 2014

Stochasticity™ Project Grapefruit Slam IPA

New Batch!


Stone Brewing presents...
Stochasticity™ Project Grapefruit Slam IPA...$7.49 / 22oz
STYLE: DOUBLE IPA ABV: 8.2% IBUS: 95
India pale ales harness the inherent flavor characteristics of hops to bring forward familiar flavors of pine, resin, spice, and citrus. In some cases, those botanicals are so potent, they exactly mirror specific edibles. Such is the case with Centennial hops, which hail from the Great Northwest and come across on the palate like a mouthful of citrus fruit. That sensation is amplified with this, the first beer introduced via the Stochasticity Project–a double IPA brewed with Centennial, Chinook and Magnum hops as well as an immense dosing of fresh grapefruit peel. The result is over-the-top bittersweet grapefruit intensity that is at once refreshing and bracing in its citrusy bitterness.

Overall
The essential oils and the monoterpenoids like geraniol and citronellol that are found in hops often provide aromatic components that are described in professional sensory panels as "citrusy" and are reminiscent of the flavors of grapefruit, lemon, or lime. For that reason, the potential synergy of specific hop varieties with citrus fruit is something that brewers who research unique ingredients, and who focus on combining the brewing art with brewing science, have been experimenting with for a while.

This particular beer combines the lemony and piney aspects of the Centennial hop with the intensity provided by dry grapefruit peel, which is added as a dry hop along with the hops.

The brew is converted in the brewhouse using a temperature rest profile designed to accentuate dryness and fermentability. The resulting Real Degree of Fermentation is high, the attenuation limit is low, the residual dextrin content is low, and the dryness helps accentuate the hop flavors that emerge from the glass.

The end result is an intensely citrusy brew, aromatics at the first turn of Centennial hops, with subsequent evaluations resulting in an ever-increasing grapefruit presence. The bitterness provided by the hops, well over 90 IBUs, or International Bitterness Units, adds a large component of bitterness that blends exceptionally well with the light pithy character of the grapefruit. A remarkably refreshing beer.


STOCHASTICITY
STO-KAESTI-CITY
There is no happenstance or coincidence. Dumb luck is a fallacy and randomness a commonly accepted mistruth. Much of what seemingly falls into place and seems so natural is a result of Stochasticity, a concept embraced and exalted by this special and unpredictable series of beers, where exotic notions, ingredients and ideas coalesce at an interesting and often unexpected endpoint.

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