R & R Coconut IPA (Robert & Ryan / Rip Current / Stone)

So the other day I was browsing Facebook as anyone with some downtime would do and came across a picture posted by Bullseye Beverage located in Smithtown, NY. I've followed their page in the past and have done some beer shopping there before, but I haven't seen any new posts from them until recently. It just so happens they posted a picture of a beer I have been waiting to try since hearing about its conception.

The picture Bullseye Beverage posted that got me in my car within minutes

R & R Coconut IPA is the most recently released Stone 2013 Collaboration beer and one that I have been waiting for to appear in my local beer distributors. If you read my last post on W00tstout you know that I love trying all of the Stone Collaboration beers that come out each year, as long as I can find them. When I heard Coconut IPA was going to be their next one I kept a close eye until it popped up in my news feed.

 

I showed up at Bullseye, bought a bottle and was on my way. The next decision I had to make was when to enjoy this delicious sounding beer. My friend Dan was just conveniently enough having a barbecue over the weekend so I brought my R & R with me so I could get other people's opinions as to what they thought of the beer.    

Nothing like a good beer on a sunny day, especially with barbecued meats involved

After everyone arrived at the barbecue, I handed out samples to my friends who appreciate a good beer or those just bold enough and willing to try something new. This is unfortunately where the sad truth comes in; R & R Coconut IPA just isn't as good as I expected it to be. 

 

While I was expecting a fruity, sweeter IPA I was left with a pretty standard one that tasted simply like an IPA and nothing more. I'm not saying that it was a bad beer (Stone always produces quality beers), just one I wanted more of a flavor out of. The consensus of my fellow barbecue goers was similar. While initially enthralled at the idea of a coconut IPA, they too were surprised when they took a swig of R & R. We did all get a slight hint of coconut, but not enough to satisfy our Hawaiian cravings. I ended up finishing the bottle with no one else fighting me for it.

Anyone looking for a coconut beer is far better off trying Kona's Koko Brown Coconut Ale, which contains a flavor that is significantly more coconutty than R & R. I guess this is a lesson taught to me that not every Stone Collaboration beer will blow me away. You drink some good beers in life and then you drink some not so good ones.

If my post didn't scare you away from the notion of a coconut IPA, you will probably still be able to find a bottle of R & R if you look around. R & R Coconut IPA has an ABV of 7.7% and was created by Robert Masterson & Ryan Reschan (two homebrewers), Paul Sangster and Guy Shobe of Rip Current Brewing and Mitch Steele of Stone Brewing.