Stone Enjoy By 6Pk

Stone Enjoy By 6-Pack is a hop-forward Double IPA brewed at 9.4% ABV by Stone Brewing and packaged in a six-pack format designed for immediate consumption. Carrying a 98 score on BeerAdvocate across more than 11,000 ratings, this is one of the highest-rated IPAs produced in the United States — a beer defined not by how long it lasts, but by how quickly it should be opened.

Quick Facts: ABV: 9.4%  |  Origin: Escondido, California  |  Style: Double IPA  |  Brewery: Stone Brewing

Production & Heritage

Stone Brewing, founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California and headquartered in Escondido, has been rated a "world class brewery" by both BeerAdvocate and RateBeer, and was voted the #1 "All Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth" by BeerAdvocate readers. The Enjoy By series was created around a radical premise: brew a devastatingly fresh Double IPA with a self-imposed 35-day package-to-consumption window, then print the expiration date right in the name. The malt bill combines North American 2-row and English 2-row barley with some dextrose to keep the body lean, while more than ten different hop varieties are deployed using a "hop bursting" technique — loading heavy amounts of flavor hops at the end of the boil and in the whirlpool. Ahtanum hops are added at the mash stage, and Super Galena hop extract is used in the kettle, layering resinous bitterness beneath waves of aromatic hop character.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Intense dank hoppiness hits first, followed by sticky resin, ripe peach, and hints of tropical fruit. The aromatic potency is a direct result of the hop-bursting method.

Taste: A smooth malt presence arrives on the entry, then quickly gives way to a massive onslaught of hop flavor. Dank, resinous notes and stone-fruit sweetness — particularly peach — dominate the mid-palate, while sharp red grapefruit bitterness builds steadily. The body is remarkably light for a Double IPA, with sugar nearly absent and a subtle acidity and saltiness creating a buoyant, easy-drinking mouthfeel despite the 9.4% ABV.

Finish: Dry and bitter with a lingering grapefruit-pith intensity that lingers well past the swallow. Faint alcohol warmth surfaces at the tail end, balanced by a clean, crisp bitterness.

How to Drink Stone Enjoy By

Pour cold — around 45–50°F — into a tulip glass or IPA glass to release the full aromatic spectrum. Drinking directly from the can works in casual settings, but a proper pour reveals the golden color and creamy white head this beer is known for. Enjoy By is built to drink fresh and on its own, though it stands up well in a Hop Drop 'n Roll (substituted as the IPA base with citrus juice and ginger syrup), a Brass Monkey (blended with orange juice for an amplified shandy riff), or a bold Beer-a-Rita (replacing the standard lager with this Double IPA for a hop-charged, lime-salted twist).

Best For

• Hop-obsessed friends who appreciate peak freshness over cellar aging
• Backyard cookouts where bold flavor needs to match grilled food
• Gifting to a craft beer enthusiast who values limited-window releases
• Tasting sessions comparing fresh vs. aged IPA character

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Stone Enjoy By taste like? Stone Enjoy By delivers a smooth, brief malt sweetness that rapidly transitions into an intense wave of dank, resinous hop bitterness with prominent peach and red grapefruit flavors. The body is surprisingly light and dry for a 9.4% ABV Double IPA, with a clean, bitter finish.

How does Stone Enjoy By compare to Pliny The Elder? Both are acclaimed West Coast Double IPAs, but Enjoy By prioritizes extreme freshness with a 35-day consumption window, while Russian River's Pliny The Elder has a longer shelf life and leans toward a more balanced pine-and-citrus hop profile. Enjoy By tends to be dankier and more tropical when consumed at peak freshness.

Is Stone Enjoy By good for sipping on its own? Absolutely — it was designed to be consumed fresh and savored for its hop intensity, making it an ideal standalone drinking experience at its best within 37 days of packaging.

Where is Stone Enjoy By made? Stone Enjoy By is brewed by Stone Brewing at their facility in Escondido, California, located in San Diego County, one of the most prolific craft beer regions in the country.

What foods pair well with Stone Enjoy By? Spicy tacos al pastor, where the hop bitterness cuts through the fat and chili heat; sharp aged cheddar, which contrasts the dank hop resin; grilled burgers topped with pepper jack for a bold match; fish and chips with malt vinegar, where the citrus hops mirror the acidity; and Thai green curry, where tropical hop notes echo the lemongrass and lime.

What sizes does Stone Enjoy By come in? The Enjoy By series is commonly available in six-packs as well as individual bottles and cans, depending on the specific release and regional availability.

Is Stone Enjoy By worth the price? Stone Enjoy By positions in the upper tier of craft six-pack pricing, but its 98 BeerAdvocate score and the unique freshness commitment — with a strict 35-day drinking window — deliver genuine value for anyone who prizes hop intensity at its absolute peak.

Why Stone Enjoy By?

Few beers in any category have earned a 98 on BeerAdvocate with over 11,000 ratings, and fewer still have done so by telling you exactly when to stop drinking them. The entire concept behind Enjoy By — brewing a Double IPA explicitly not built to last — challenged industry norms around shelf stability and forced a conversation about freshness that reshaped how drinkers think about hop-forward beer. The hop-bursting technique, combined with a malt bill engineered for lightness rather than sweetness, produces a beer that punches far above its weight in aroma and flavor while remaining dangerously drinkable at 9.4% ABV. Each release is a ticking clock, and that urgency is the point.