1001 Beers

Beer No: 29
Page No: 193
Category: Amber

My love for IPAs is no secret and I have enjoyed this Meantime IPA on many occasions in the past.  It's easily one of my favorite IPAs, tying in fact (by rating) with the Alesmith IPA.  In fact, as of this writing, I have ranked only one IPA higher than the Alesmith and the Meantime IPA - Stone's 3rd Anniversary IPA back in 2003 (here are all my IPA ratings).  Reading back through my Stone 3rd Anniversary rating, I think what's notable is that both it and this Meantime IPA don't go out of their way to hit you over the head with hops.  Now, don't get me wrong - the hops are there - and in great amounts, but they are so perfectly balanced with all the other flavors that the whole beer is simply elevated to another level.

The interesting thing about this Meantime IPA is that it's actually meant to be aged for a few years.  I didn't know this, so I'm definitely going to go pick up a bottle and throw it in my beer storage unit.  However, I'll have to be careful on how long it ages because, as evidenced with the Port Brewing Hop 15, things can definitely go wrong if you cellar a heavily-hopped beer for too long.  Also, reading back through the recent reviews of the Stone 3rd Anniversary IPA, the overall rating of the beer has been dragged down by people who stored the beer too long and it's gone bad.  Which is a shame - back when I sampled the 3rd through 5th anniversary IPAs, they were all at their peak.  Fast forward 5, 6, or 7 years later, and what do you expect?  Beers don't last forever, so it's a shame to see an amazing beer like the Stone 3rd Anniversary be in only the 56th percentile of IPAs when it truly was a great beer back in the day.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Meantime India Pale Ale from Meantime

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine & More. I’ve had this beer multiple times in the past and it’s one of my favorite IPAs when I don’t want to get bashed over the head with hops. Pours a dark orange / copper color with a perfectly sized head. The head sticks around for a while and the beer has good lacing. Aroma of hops, grapefruit, orange, and a hint of malts. Mouthfeel is slightly oily with good carbonation and a medium body. Tastes of hops, malts, and citrus. A very, very well balanced beer that ranks up there with almost any other IPA. The hops are not as aggressive as the description states as the IPA offers more of a complex blend of flavors than you’re used to in most highly hopped IPAs.