Stone IPA and Ruination

Below is a great quote (taken from a complete sentence) from the Irish beer blog The Beer Nut:

"The beer I drink when I don't want to think about which beer to drink."

The Beer Nut was talking about his local Irish beer, Or, but it could easily describe most of my beer drinking.  Every time I drink beer can't be a new beer experience.   Sometimes I just want something good to go with dinner and don't feel like dealing with the blog-related process involved with drinking an untried beer - pictures, (mental) notes, thinking.   In 2009 my everyday beers were the superb Racer 5 and Sierra Nevada's then new Torpedo.

Last year my go-to, everyday beers were Stone's IPA and double IPA Ruination.  I really came to appreciate not only the brilliance of these two beers, but also just how darn good they taste.  I tried to keep a regular supply of Stone IPA in the beer fridge, or I'd pick up a 22 oz bomber of Ruination to go with casual weeknight dinners.  These pioneering beers where once considered aggressive beers.  Now, at least to my palate, these are approachable, hoppy, flavorful beers.  Both are well-balanced, hop forward, citrus flavored IPAs.  Most importantly, they are highly drinkable, just what you need when you want a good beer and don't want to think about it.

On an unrelated Stone note, I wonder what happened to its blog.  It seemed to have gone down a few weeks ago.  I guess Stone is going Twitter.

Update:  Never mind, the Stone blog is back up and running.