Stone Brewing Cali-Belgie

In an attempt to "catch up" on my Beers of 2012 project, I am revisiting some old favorites.  The Cali-Belgie from Stone Brewing is one that I've often labeled as my favorite from this West Coast Hop-head brewery. I had never been much of a hop-head myself and frequently found the beers from Stone a little too intense for my preference. I think my tastes have changed pretty drastically over the past few months, so Sara and I are revisiting this interesting little guy.

Stone Cali-Belgie is a twist on one of their old favorites.  The brewers take their traditional IPA recipe but substitute a strain of Belgian yeast, giving just a little something 'extra.'  The Cali-Belgie pours out a bright golden color with lots of soft, fluffy white foam. Foam is bountiful at first but fades slowly leaving just a small amount of lacing on the side of my Chimay glass.

The aromas of this IPA are far more interesting than I remember! There is definitely some mild hops present but they're much softer style than Stone is usually known for. The hops aromas are dominated by the floral/lightly citrus style hops without being too in-your-face or pungent.  There is also a very interesting banana quality to it, very reminiscent of Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

On the palate I'm really surprised by how sweet this "IPA" is! Now don't get me wrong, there is a significant amount of hops on the tongue, but like the nose suspected its a very soft, smooth, and floral hops character. The citrus & banana component is uncanny! It tastes almost as if you were just chewing some Juicy Fruit and took a sip of a Stone IPA, it is absolutely wild!

During the time it took for us to work on this bottle of Cali-Belgie, we also had a few customers inquire about our half-full glasses. One guy was originally going to buy Bud Light but wanted to try something new. After just a couple sips of the Cali-Belgie he was converted. There are few things more satisfying than converting a Bud Light drinker to serious craft beer!

Stone Brewing
Cali-Belgie (Cali-Belgique) IPA
TCSH Rating - 9/10
Aka - Deeeeelicious!

Eli
Bibo Ergo Sum