The next Stone Fan Favorites series beer is here from Stone Brewing, featuring the re-release of Japanese Green Tea IPA, originally a collaboration beer with Japan’s Baird Beer and Guam’s Ishii Brewing (apparently now closed). It’s a big 10.1% ABV double (triple?) IPA brewed with whole leaf green tea.

And while it’s not detailed here, but you may have heard that Stone recently won its trademark infringement case against Molson Coors to the tune of a $56 million settlement. But that’s a different story.

Details from the press release.

Stone Brewing announces the release of the second beer in its series of Stone Fan Favorites, Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA. For discerning beer drinkers, this is their cup of tea!

In the whole wide world of things-that-go-together, tea and beer haven’t often been among them. In fact, Stone Brewing was one of the first US craft breweries to try such a feat. Blending the assertive flavors of hops and the delicate characteristics of tea takes profound expertise. On the nose, Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA imparts green tea aroma alongside peach, apricot and mango from the hops. Tropical fruit flavors – mainly mango and pineapple are followed by hints of mineral and tea. The tea flavor lingers, contributing a dryness to the finish. However elegant the artistry, this is no delicate cup of tea. The beer itself, in classic old school Stone style, is big and bold at 10.1% ABV.

The Stone Fan Favorites Series is a lineup of limited release throwback beers voted on by loyal fans of the brewery’s prolific 25-year history. Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA was first brewed in 2011 to support relief efforts from the tsunami in Japan. Good friends Bryan Baird and Toshi Ishii invited Stone to collaborate on this Japanese-inspired IPA that’s been requested by fans ever since. Bryan Baird founded Baird’s Brewing in Japan and Toshi Ishii, who got his start at Stone (1998-2001) founded Ishii Brewing in Guam, soon to open in Japan.

Stone’s Senior Manager of Brewing, Jeremy Moynier, shared, “Brewing with tea is a great challenge. It’s important to get the right tea and have it integrated and balanced with the other ingredients. This beer definitely strikes that balance, even at 10.1% ABV! This is a special beer, and I fondly remember that day, over 10 years ago brewing with Toshi and Bryan. This is an internal favorite and we are stoked our fans agreed and voted for us to brew it again.”

Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA is now available nationwide in 12oz six-pack cans, 22oz bottles and draft. Visit Shop.StoneBrewing.com for shipping direct to addresses in CA, OH and Washington D.C. or locate the beer by zip code at Find.StoneBrewing.com.

QUICK FACTS

​Name: Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA
ABV: 10.1%
IBUs: 75
Web: www.stonebrewing.com/greenteaipa
Availability: Nationwide
Packaging: 12oz six-pack cans, 22oz bottles & draft
Find Beer: Find.stonebrewing.com

TASTING NOTES

Appearance: Pours a deep gold with a cream-colored head.

Aroma: A complex blend of herbal tea and hops: elements from both ingredients are there. The up-front aroma is mostly green tea, and there are also strong elements of peach, apricot and mango from the hops.

Taste: There is a massive hop presence in both the flavor and bitterness. The hops start off as tropical fruits like mango and pineapple, and then are followed by hints of mineral from the Sorachi Ace. The tea flavors assert themselves mid-palate and linger nicely with a dry character.

Palate: Medium-body, dry and bitter finish.

FOOD PAIRINGS

Appetizers: Pork Shanghai Lumpia*, Coconut Shrimp, Chicken Satay, Fried Gyoza, Wasabi Deviled Eggs

Soups & Salads: Fruity Goat Salad (w/ berries & fillo-wrapped goat cheese)*/**, Socal Superfood Salad*/**, Katsu Chicken Salad*/**, Green Papaya Salad

Entrees: Lemon-Oregano Charred Chicken*, Cedar Plank Salmon, Japanese Beef Curry with Rice, Chicken Pot Pie

Desserts: Pistachio Ice Cream, Lemon Macarons, Macadamia White Chocolate Cookie

You can find the beer out now.