- Location
- San Diego
There's never been a dull moment at Stone. Opening in the mid-1990's and with two beautifully landscaped breweries in San Diego, plus a newer brewery in Richmond, Virginia, they've been on the cutting edge of creativity and bizarre ideas thanks to their founders Steve Wagner and Greg Koch.
It was Greg Koch who came up with the idea of opening a Stone brewery in Berlin, in order to convince German beer drinkers to embrace Stone IPA's. And when that idea fell flat on its face, BrewDog took over the brewery.
Then, there was the statement, proudly boasted several times over the years that Wagner and Koch would "never" sell Stone.
And so it came to pass that in 2022, with Stone heavily in debt, they were sold to Sapporo for $168 million. It was a great move for Sapporo who were looking for a U.S. base in order to brew their lagers. And so far, the buyout has been positive for Stone: they continue to frequently change their own beer line-up with a creative edge inherited from their previous owners and there's no sign of any negativity from Sapporo.
Which brings us to the Enjoy By series; IPA's whose freshness is said to expire on the given date. Enjoy By 04/20/25 was an unexpected gem. With Magnum, Amarillo, Simcoe and New Zealand Nelson Sauvin (a hop much coverted by Verdant Brewing) hops, this was presented with a strong malt base, last seen in my favorite East Coast IPA's.
The solid malt presence, brought an incredible rich dankness out of the hops resulting in an earthy, herbal-like flavour profile as opposed to the citrusy, fruity flavours favoured by West Coast IPA's. Absolutely beautiful and one of the best Enjoy By's Stone has brewed in a long time.
Enjoy By 07/04/25, on the other hand, was a total mess. Heavily brewed with tangerine and pineapple, it had an odd murky haziness in the glass, with an even odder sherbert-like body, not helped with its intense fruit profile. A strong hop presence of Magnum, Simcoe, Mosaic and Citra couldn't save this one. A sherbert fruit bomb is the best way I can describe it with the end result being an undrinkable excuse for an IPA.
Let's see what the next Enjoy By brings!
It was Greg Koch who came up with the idea of opening a Stone brewery in Berlin, in order to convince German beer drinkers to embrace Stone IPA's. And when that idea fell flat on its face, BrewDog took over the brewery.
Then, there was the statement, proudly boasted several times over the years that Wagner and Koch would "never" sell Stone.
And so it came to pass that in 2022, with Stone heavily in debt, they were sold to Sapporo for $168 million. It was a great move for Sapporo who were looking for a U.S. base in order to brew their lagers. And so far, the buyout has been positive for Stone: they continue to frequently change their own beer line-up with a creative edge inherited from their previous owners and there's no sign of any negativity from Sapporo.
Which brings us to the Enjoy By series; IPA's whose freshness is said to expire on the given date. Enjoy By 04/20/25 was an unexpected gem. With Magnum, Amarillo, Simcoe and New Zealand Nelson Sauvin (a hop much coverted by Verdant Brewing) hops, this was presented with a strong malt base, last seen in my favorite East Coast IPA's.
The solid malt presence, brought an incredible rich dankness out of the hops resulting in an earthy, herbal-like flavour profile as opposed to the citrusy, fruity flavours favoured by West Coast IPA's. Absolutely beautiful and one of the best Enjoy By's Stone has brewed in a long time.
Enjoy By 07/04/25, on the other hand, was a total mess. Heavily brewed with tangerine and pineapple, it had an odd murky haziness in the glass, with an even odder sherbert-like body, not helped with its intense fruit profile. A strong hop presence of Magnum, Simcoe, Mosaic and Citra couldn't save this one. A sherbert fruit bomb is the best way I can describe it with the end result being an undrinkable excuse for an IPA.
Let's see what the next Enjoy By brings!
Last edited: