Well, well. I got a bottle of Stone Scorpion Bowl IPA. How about that? I got a bomber of it actually, and I was pretty excited. I read somewhere this was the most checked into beer of all on Untappd lately, so they had to have done something right. To be fair, Stone usually does get it right. I expected a tropical fruity IPA, too, since a Scorpion Bowl is, of course, a tropical fruity drink.
What I got was…not quite what I expected. More on that in a bit. First, though, a rather lengthy dissertation from Stone, from the bottle label:
For this ale to have landed in your hands it has survived a rather exotic journey. It began, as these things do, far, far away in an untamed land where desert isles and seafaring traders’ caravans alike evoke dreams of purple sand and mysterious flora, swallowed and hidden by fathom upon fathom of never-ending sea. And so it was there, where the ancient ritual drums could be heard past the tropic sands and deep in the jungle, that we found this recipe sealed with a Scorpion’s kiss. Midnight poetry whispered on the breeze of this mystical libation “my moon and my sun, my fairest one, a liquid dream of delight to awaken in the night.” It is also warned, however, that betwixt the ripples of the Scorpion Bowl, mingled midway on the waves, one can hear the wailing of a lamenting lover, lost to the ancestral voices, measureless to mankind. And here you stand, seeking Kismet, answering love’s command. You’ve gotten this far, and find yourself wondering if scorpions indeed do kiss. “As true as the stars and the moon, yes, yes they do, with bittersweet tropical poetry, they kiss just for you.”
Wow. Sounds like something from a Lagunitas bottle. Anyway, Stone doesn’t say what malts they use, but they do list the hops on their website:
Mosaic, Loral & Mandarina Bavaria
This is a new beer, released in February of this year. It is sold in all 50 states, as well as Australia; Alberta and British Columbia, Canada; Japan; Singapore; Sweden; and United Kingdom. Yes, that’s also from the Stone website. Mayhap that wide distribution helps with the many check-ins.
Mayhap this helps, too: Stone Scorpion Bowl IPA is pretty dang cheap. I paid $4.99 for a bottle at Total Wine, and I was well pleased with that price, until I saw it at Target for $3.79. Wow. A $3.79 bomber.
Stone Scorpion Bowl IPA has an alcohol content of 7.5% by volume with 76 IBUs. My bottle is marked as EJB07/07/18, and I drank it on April 29th, 2018. Well before that date.
Stone Scorpion Bowl IPA pours to a bright pale golden color with a thick head of foam and a soft tropical fruity, grassy herbal nose. Taking a sip, the beer has a medium caramel maltiness-more than these beers generally pack-with a hint of tropical fruit (pineapple maybe?), but much more, to my taste, herbal, grassy, bitter hops and zesty citrus. Grapefruit peel and lemon zest come to mind. Finishes quite bitter and herbal.
Stone Scorpion Bowl IPA does not really remind me of a Scorpion Bowl, but hey, I think I like it better because it doesn’t. As Stone describes it, a real “punch to the stinger”, and as I describe it, a real treat for the wallet. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll head to Target and grab another bottle.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft