Beer: Lemon Shark Double IPA

I’m a few days late posting about this beer. It’s not a local brew, but it looked interesting at my local bottle shop. Lemon Shark is an anniversary brew from Stone Brewing in Escondido, CA.

To be honest, this was not one of my favorite brews. Yes, it had a very strong citrus flavor, but it was less like lemon and more like grapefruit, which is what you’d expect from an IPA. It was sour and tart at the same time. Floral hops on the tail, too.

My tongue was a little confused at all the flavors I detected. After reading a bit about the beer from the brewery, I can appreciate what they were trying to do. I’m not going to say it’s a bad beer and nobody should try it. It’s actually not a bad beer; it just wasn’t to my personal liking. I think it was the sourness that I didn’t like as well.

This was a strong IPA at 9.6% ABV. It wasn’t as bitter as I expected it to be, compared to other IPAs at 43 IBU. Some of the other IPAs I’ve tried have been up in the 70s and 80s.

From the brewery:

For this year’s anniversary beer, we found inspiration in the southern hemisphere. This double IPA is brewed with Peacharine and Riwaka hops, along with a special ingredient called Phantasm – an extract from sauvignon blanc grape skins – all sourced from New Zealand. Combined with some good old fashioned Mosaic hops from the US and an amped up grain bill and we’ve got ourselves a unique sensory experience full of dankness and tropical citrusy notes. Coming in at a smooth 9.6% in honor of the year we started: 1996.

Stone Brewing