Stone Brewing Pairs a Stout with a Liger

We brought you a peek already…and No that’s not a typo….this from Stone Brewing:

Announcing the American Homebrewers Association – Sanctioned Stone Homebrew Competition Winner

ESCONDIDO, CA (September 14, 2017) – Each year Stone Brewing partners with the American Homebrewers Association to host a member rally and homebrew competition, which, for years has yielded a beer worthy of the national stage.  Judged by Stone co-founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner (and members of the Stone Brewing team), this year’s champion is the Paul Bischeri & Patrick Martinez / Abnormal Beer Company / Stone Neapolitan Dynamite, available beginning this week in 22-ounce bottles nearly nationwide.

The striped ice cream box of childhood was polarizing, as the cavalier scooped horizontal while the more conservative opted for vertical. This Imperial Stout offers no such preferential freedom. Brewed with vanilla, strawberries and chocolate plus a grown-up addition of coffee, Paul Bischeri & Patrick Martinez / Abnormal Beer Company / Stone Neapolitan Dynamite is the ice cream sundae of beer, with no tolerance for ‘vanilla’ tendencies.

“Our Stone Homebrew Competition is one of my favorite Stone events,” said Greg Koch, Stone Brewing co-founder & executive chairman. “Yes, Stone and Abnormal Beer Company contributed to this beer, but our homebrewer competition winners Paul Bischeri and Patrick Martinez deserve the biggest scoop of the credit here. They dreamed up this beer, and they really nailed it. Perhaps we should strictly serve this gem frozen in a non-high fructose corn syrup waffle cone. Wait, does that even exist?”

An integral part of bringing the American Homebrewers Association – sanctioned Stone Homebrew Competition winner’s beer to fruition is to pair the winners with a like-minded guest collaborator. The decision was made collaboratively with Paul and Patrick, choosing San Diego’s Abnormal Beer Company. Abnormal’s reputation with stouts is superior and Stone had brewed successfully with them in the past, making for a seamless partnership.

The Paul Bischeri & Patrick Martinez / Abnormal Beer Company / Stone Neapolitan Dynamite pours black and opaque. The aroma melds fresh-brewed coffee with milk chocolate and strawberry. Vanilla and silky milky sweetness shine through in the flavor and creamy body. It’s as smooth as the ice cream of our childhood and as aggressive a liger. Duh.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Paul Bischeri & Patrick Martinez / Abnormal Beer Company / Stone Neapolitan Dynamite
• Web: Stonebrewing.com/NeapolitanDynamite
• Stats: 8.5% ABV
• Availability: Limited release in 22-ounce bottles and draft
• National Distribution: AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, IA, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, MI, MO, NE, NH, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA RI, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI and Puerto Rico
• International Distribution: Australia, Costa Rica, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan
• Find Beer: find.stonebrewing.com

TASTING NOTES

• Appearance: Deep, dark, black and opaque. Rocky brown head with fine bubbles that dissipate quickly.
• Aroma:  Fresh-brewed coffee up-front. Milk Chocolate and strawberry with a hint of nuttiness.  
• Taste: Strong coffee flavors up-front and an intense mid-palate of fresh strawberries. On the finish there is a lot of strawberry with chocolate, vanilla, and milk sugar. As it warms, these flavors integrate and become even more pronounced.
• Palate: Thick, creamy, and syrupy. Some sweetness and a faint tart hint. Full and heavy and ultra-smooth. There is lower carbonation resembling a nitro beer.
• Overall: The American Homebrewers Association-sanctioned Stone Homebrew Competition is something we have been proud to be a part of for several years. These are wonderful beers created by passionate brewers who, like us at Stone Brewing, are innovative and always pushing the boundaries of flavor and beer. This year’s winners, Paul Bischeri and Patrick Martinez, created an awesome stout with an equally awesome name. We all agreed right away that Abnormal Beer Company would be the perfect third collaborator because of its wide range of beer experimentation and the several killer stouts that the team has brewed. It’s been a pleasure to bring this beer to a bigger scale so that our fans can share this unique experience.

PAIRING NOTES

A full-bodied, big stout that pairs will with equally full-bodied foods.

• Starters: Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp, Smoked Salmon, BBQ’d Burnt Ends, Baked Brie Bowl, Swiss Fondue
• Soups and Salads: Beef Bourguignon, Texas-Style Chili, Fresh Strawberry Salad with Vinaigrette, Icy Cold Summer Fruit Soup
• Main Courses: Filet Mignon, Coffee-Rubbed BBQ’d Beef Rib, Rack of Lamb, Monk Fish Liver Sushi and/or Uni Sushi, Carne or Carne Asada Tacos with Lime
• Desserts: Neapolitan Ice Cream (of course!), Wild Strawberries with Crème, Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry Shortcake with Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Crepes, or make a beer milkshake with this astonishing beer!