A Liquid Poem to the Glory of the Hop ~ Beer Art
Stumbling upon a can of Stone Ruination immediately brought to my mind the beauty of all those communist remnants in Sofia - decaying playgrounds, neglected buildings, rusty metal fences, and old concrete structures. Photographing a can of Ruination in a city of post-communist ruins would be a pleasure, I thought. And it was! It took half of my lunch break to find a few cool spots in the hood and take shots.
Concrete Romance.
I've got to give credit to @tj5553 who recommended that I keep a lookout for Stone and their IPAs. This particular brew is an updated version of their famous double IPA from 15 years ago. According to Stone's website, the original Ruination the first West Coast double IPA on the planet.
A Pale Amber Beauty.
The aroma is malty and hoppy, with lots of citrus (grapefruit) and some caramel notes. The head is big and beautiful but not long-lasting.
The Ruination feels smooth in the mouth, and the taste doesn't disappoint - it's caramelish sweet for a second before the hops kick in and make it bitter and grapefruitish. The aftertaste is long-lasting and, obviously, bitter. Although being quite strong in ABV, I don't really feel the alcohol.
This was my first beer from Stone, and I gotta say that I am thoroughly impressed. It's solid and refreshing, and I reckon those of you who like hoppy stuff would enjoy it. 4.3 out of 5.
Cheers and have beery weekend!
Dan
Extra shots
There is a gorgeous poetic irony in this one. I’ll stick to enjoying your marvelous story in words and images and let you imbibe all of the beer. 🍺😉
Imbibe? You just enriched my English vocabulary 😁🍺 I can still feel the beers that I imbibed yesterday while I was in my hometown :)
Thank you, Lisa! 🙇
Bet it tastes awesome, but can't get over the fact it looks like dehydrated pee (5th picture).😂
Short story:
When I was young, I would watch my dad drink beer and I couldn't imagine why he found it so tasty because, to me, it looked like dehydrated pee. When I asked him why on earth is he drinking that, he told me that if I will try this kind of beer (cheap, no label) it will taste like pee but when I am going to be an adult, I will buy good beer that won't taste like pee, hence my packaging fixation.
I still have a problem with drinking beer. I still associate dark beer with dehydrated pee. 😂
To my ordeal, last year I found out that there is indeed a beer made out from pee. It's called Pisner (Denmark). insert here a very loud screeching noise
Oh, come on! 😁You better stick to wheat beers then, haha! By the way, it's my lighting setup that made this one look like urine.
As for the Pisner - a brew for the adventurous drinker 😁OMG! I just read that they used 50,000 liters of urine collected at a big music festival.
Love the photoshoot by the way... and the caption "concrete romance".😅
Thanks a lot, Tala :) Glad that you liked it! My city is a concrete jungle, so I can create a whole collection of romantic photos 😁
You received such short and sweet replies regarding your post, I had to spoil this.😁 It wouldn't be me if I didn't write something wacky, even if it's about pee.
OMG so that pee beer is real?! 😨😲😲
Will you try it if given the chance?😅
Yeah, why not :D I am sure it will taste just like regular beer.
Yeah, I bet it will do!😅 Am just not sure though how will you stop your mind from thinking that you're drinking a different form of pee. 🤣✌Let us know if you get to try one. 😜
I believe that was a limited edition, so I doubt I will ever stumble upon such beer :D
Hahaha I agree with you about it looking like a pee. Actually it more looks like a pee on the 6th picture!😅😂 like the one's you submit for urine test?😅😅
But I also bet it tastes good, especially that it has a hint of caramel. 😋
You guys better stop making fun of my beers! 😅😅
Hahahaha peace!
Hi Dan. I finally put a photo on my post, scrolled down and saw yours. Yours explains the beer better. Stone Brewery is kinda iconic here at this point. My step-son runs the brewery at Saint Archer's and he's been trying to educate me more. I'll keep an eye on your post for further education. And I'll continue to bring San Diego breweries to great international prominence!! :-)) Great post.
Hey Dennis, and wow - what a synchronicity! And you too drank it from a jar :) I guess you've tried most of Stone's beers?
Thanks a lot! :)
I know - cool. I've drank a few, they have a wide selection. I'll try to evaluate more as we go along. Cheers!
Very beautiful photos. I love the second one and the last one, but all of them are good. Nice shots :)
Thank you, Cleopatra! Those 2 shots are my favorites, too :)
Beer again, you have seriously decided to make me try it again 😉...great post as always dear!
Thank you, Di! Hehe, I am waiting for the moment when you are going to join in one of our weekly contests :) From what I have seen on Steemit, there are some great craft breweries in Australia.
Hahahhahah...that would be the day 😉
I love Stone brewery. Big fan of the Arrogant Bastard! Has to be one of my favorites. Never tried this particular one, may have to look for it the next time I'm at the local beverage center. Great photos!
I tried the Arrogant Bastard while visiting San Diego. Me and a buddy hit the hotel bar at closing time. The bar tender suggested the Arrogant Bastard, so naturally we each ordered two. Man, I couldn't finish the first one. Did not like it, but it does seem to be very popular in San Diego, Everytime I saw somebody order it after that night I winced a little.
Haha, I almost tried it the other night. Why didn't you like it?
I think it was the after taste that was to bitter for me, but the locals really dig it. To be fair I had been drinking a lot that night. Okay, maybe that's not so fair.
It was my first night in San Diego and we had been bar hopping in the gas lamp district. Such a cool place to hang out.
Haha, after a few beers, I wouldn't care much if the next one is bitter or not :)) I just googled the lampgas district - it looks cool.
Thanks a lot @the-bitcoin-dood! :) By the way, the guy at the beer shop suggested that I try the Arrogant Bastard, and as far as I can remember, he said that they'll have it on tap next week. Hmm, should I pay them a visit?
It looks like you took that can on vacation! Nice lighting on that photo of the beer and its foamy head in the jar. Ruination, eh? Interesting graphics on the can. You'd expect "devil beer" to have jalapeños or something.
Haha, I sometimes wonder what people think when they see me taking pictures of cans and bottles 😁 I guess the devil here is in the 8.5% alcohol.
Thank you, Mark!
Haha, well... You get some interesting looks doing things like that. The best thing is that you do't have to explain yourself. Just let them wonder! 8.5%, eh? Sounds like a bit of a kick, if you're not expecting it.
Haha yes, but it depends :-) I am a seasoned beer drinker, so I'd probably need 2 of these for a good kick.
happy beer saturday Dan. Love your photos particularly the set up with the second one.
Have a great weekend!
Thank you, Deb! I had a great Saturday night back in my hometown with lots of good beer :) How was (is) your weekend?
It was just ordinary. :) When you are retired one day is like any other. I have to remind myself what day of the week it is...lol. Such a hard life.
We had a lot of snow so there was a lot of shovelling and today we had freezing rain - ice rink out there.
Oh, I know how you feel. I didn't know what of the week it is when I was without a job 1 year ago 😁
That must have been a tough go Dan. Glad you are working now. What do you do anyhow?
I do social media support for the Danish branch of a French-American company. It includes creating content (visuals) for Facebook and Twitter, running ads. I also take pictures and videos of events that happen in the office here in Sofia.
That sounds like a great job for you! You are probably a very valued employee.
To be honest, I'd like to quit soon 😅 9 hours a day in the office is too much.
The feeling of decaying communist structures.. Lovely juxtaposition with Ruination. :)
Thanks, man! I knew you'd like that one :)
heey. Dan! beautiful pictures!
appetizing article! Cheers
Tesekkurler, Ceren and serefe! :))