Apparently, Stone Brewing decided to label half of the bottles for this brew with a nod to Dutch-speaking Belgians (I got this one) while the other half received the name seen on the bottle to the right. It made for some serious confusion on my part when I first bought the bottle.
Thanks to the wonders of The Internets, I slowly put the clues together and figured it out — along with some long answered quantum theory questions I had…
Uh… yeah… Anyway. On to the beer.
Appearance
Cali-België pours a golden amber in color with a large fluffy, white head that left decent lacing along the glass.
Aroma
This is definitely a Stone IPA. Big hop notes with loads of aromatic florals, pininess and citrus hints. There’s also a light yeastiness in there as well, but not as much as I would have hoped. Knowing Stone, however, how could we expect anything other than big hops?
Taste
As one would expect, this one is chock full of big, pungent hops with an excellent citrus character. The Belgian yeast doesn’t have a huge effect on the overall flavor of the beer, but it does impart a nice funkiness that goes nicely with the piny nature of the hops. This is a very drinkable beer with a crisp, medium mouthfeel.
Overall
This was a nice twist on a Stone IPA. I think I still prefer the Houblon Chouffe and the Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor, but this was still a tasty brew that I will gladly get again.
Rating: 3.5/5
