Who's "they"? I know there's a small but vocal group of Stone/DFH bashers on here (evidenced by the clever working of a DFH bash in a Stone bashing thread [;)]), but those breweries are doing great, and are still very highly regarded by many (ie-the vast majority of craft beer drinkers). IMO, 90 Minute was never a favorite in-style, but I like it, and don't think it's changed more than any other beer over the last few years. Ditto for Ruination. It's a pretty weak abv beer for a IIPA, but plenty of people still love it, even in this age of uber-everything. As far as Hopslam goes, I can't attest to what it was like before the last two years, as those are the only years I've had. But based on that alone, it's one of my favorite beers of any style. So I guess we'll agree to disagree.

Fresh bombers of Ruination still bring a smile to my face. Unfortunately they are few and far between in these parts. Still remember the 1st time I had this beer, blew my mind man....before I fully understood what massive amounts of hops were capable of.

quote: Originally posted by kinger Fresh bombers of Ruination still bring a smile to my face. Unfortunately they are few and far between in these parts. Still remember the 1st time I had this beer, blew my mind man....before I fully understood what massive amounts of hops were capable of.

ditto.. as far as taste, i got no problem with ruination.. i had it on tap about a year back at a special event, and it was sticky and delicious! bottles: its just the freshness, and even more so- the price..

Are there that many IIPAs out there for cheaper, though? Sure, $18 a sixer is a lot, but within style, Ruination costs $2-3 less per bomber than Double Jack (which doesn't come in sixers at all - 4 packs would likely equal the cost of Ruination sixers). I hear ya, but that's the trend for the style. I've started drinking more regular IPAs lately that are $9ish for a sixer.

quote: Originally posted by Suds McDuff quote: quote: Originally posted by kinger Fresh bombers of Ruination still bring a smile to my face. Unfortunately they are few and far between in these parts. Still remember the 1st time I had this beer, blew my mind man....before I fully understood what massive amounts of hops were capable of. ditto.. as far as taste, i got no problem with ruination.. i had it on tap about a year back at a special event, and it was sticky and delicious! bottles: its just the freshness, and even more so- the price..

Hopslam any day over Ruination. That being said... I need to revisit Ruination though, drank that early in my craft beer discoveries and should retry it to be fair.

Should be dated on the neck now...don't forget to check. Friends don't let friend buy old beer! I am eagerly awaiting next month's Hopslam release!!

quote: Originally posted by bluesandbarbq Hopslam any day over Ruination. That being said... I need to revisit Ruination though, drank that early in my craft beer discoveries and should retry it to be fair.

quote: Originally posted by slowrunner77 Who's "they"? I know there's a small but vocal group of Stone/DFH bashers on here (evidenced by the clever working of a DFH bash in a Stone bashing thread [;)]), but those breweries are doing great, and are still very highly regarded by many (ie-the vast majority of craft beer drinkers). IMO, 90 Minute was never a favorite in-style, but I like it, and don't think it's changed more than any other beer over the last few years. Ditto for Ruination. It's a pretty weak abv beer for a IIPA, but plenty of people still love it, even in this age of uber-everything. As far as Hopslam goes, I can't attest to what it was like before the last two years, as those are the only years I've had. But based on that alone, it's one of my favorite beers of any style. So I guess we'll agree to disagree.

For what it is worth, I'm an avid and loyal Stone fan, customer/consumer. I'm also a pretty regular dfh consumer of their new brews, despite finding their flagship series to be under par and their overall new brews gimmicky but interesting. Stone is a quality brewer and their hop series has always been among my favorites and with little perceived change to me; dfh, IMO, is a so so brewer but creative, which for me is still a reason to like them. If that all makes me a "basher" so-called "creatively" working a "bash" into a Stone thread, then whatever. But it doesn't change the fact that my beer of most perceived change - in my only ~8yrs of craft brew drinking - is the 90min ipa. Can't say how much it has changed in the past "few" years, but in the last 4-8... Substantially. In a conversation with a brewer in the rehoboth brewpub, I was also informed that they had purposely changed the recipe to make it better selling. So, what? Some may like it better and its sales would seem to suggest so. For me, though, it is a huge turnoff unless very fresh (sweet), a quality that is objectively present in a good many of dfh brews, but one which I despise in a hop series line. Call me crazy, but any brewer that has taken a dipa and turned it sweeter/less hoppy to sell more has sold out the style of an ipa, regardless of what sales do.... Even if there is some gladness they didn't go uber hop wild on it. Ruination for the dollar is probably the best dipa that is also pretty available out there. I buy it, wear the cycling jersey, and have turned a few onto it. But, take out price, and I'm all over this double jack thing lately. Soooo good. I plan to do both side by side. And regarding hopslam, I'd surely drink one today if it were readily available. It is a good beer. I just think that if it were more regularly available, some of the allure would wane a tad. The residual sweetness doesn't work for me with whatever else is in it. Nugget Nectar in the other hand, which has residual sweetness, appeals to me, as the juiciness melds great with the hops and other stuffs.... To each his own....

The bottle I had of Ruination was less than 4 months old. It was good, and like a few comments on here, I thought it was a beast of a beer when I first had it back in 2002. Absolutely a palate wrecker. Nothing like it on the market. But since that time, I know there are better IIPA's that simply dominate over Ruination. Dorado, Pliny, White Knuckle, Exponential Hoppiness, YuleSmith and Double Jack. It's really not even close when comparing them side by side. Is Ruination still great? Yep. Very little, to zero flaws. But in comparison, it really is no more of an IPA to those mentioned.

quote: Originally posted by Stoutlover72 The bottle I had of Ruination was less than 4 months old. It was good, and like a few comments on here, I thought it was a beast of a beer when I first had it back in 2002. Absolutely a palate wrecker. Nothing like it on the market. But since that time, I know there are better IIPA's that simply dominate over Ruination. Dorado, Pliny, White Knuckle, Exponential Hoppiness, YuleSmith and Double Jack. It's really not even close when comparing them side by side. Is Ruination still great? Yep. Very little, to zero flaws. But in comparison, it really is no more of an IPA to those mentioned.

Yah, I think the lesser degree of impressiveness is a function of the surrounding beer trends and availability of other bigger dIPAs than it is of Ruination's specific quality over time. On the other hand, I think DFH90's decline is primarily a function of their tinkering with the recipe and maximizing profits (nothing inherently wrong with that).... rather than just the scene getting more bitter and bitter and "uber" around it. Mmmmm.... now I'm itching to kick that SNCA sixtel out in the garage just to move on to Double Jack..... This thread has me all jazzed up now.

[:D]

quote: Originally posted by eaglefan538 quote: quote: Originally posted by Stoutlover72 The bottle I had of Ruination was less than 4 months old. It was good, and like a few comments on here, I thought it was a beast of a beer when I first had it back in 2002. Absolutely a palate wrecker. Nothing like it on the market. But since that time, I know there are better IIPA's that simply dominate over Ruination. Dorado, Pliny, White Knuckle, Exponential Hoppiness, YuleSmith and Double Jack. It's really not even close when comparing them side by side. Is Ruination still great? Yep. Very little, to zero flaws. But in comparison, it really is no more of an IPA to those mentioned. Yah, I think the lesser degree of impressiveness is a function of the surrounding beer trends and availability of other bigger dIPAs than it is of Ruination's specific quality over time. On the other hand, I think DFH90's decline is primarily a function of their tinkering with the recipe and maximizing profits (nothing inherently wrong with that).... rather than just the scene getting more bitter and bitter and "uber" around it. Mmmmm.... now I'm itching to kick that SNCA sixtel out in the garage just to move on to Double Jack..... This thread has me all jazzed up now.