Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Escondido, California USA

A cloudy deep amber ale resembling unfiltered apple cider and a rocky tan head that collapsed within 15 minutes, leaving a thick lacing around the glass. Aroma seems like a Belgian Dubbel with a bready spiciness and slightly fruity. Full bodied with a highly carbonated crispness to it. Flavor is malty and fruity like a dubbel with noticable alcohol giving a nice warming effect. A decent offering from Stone that I just couldn't wait 9 years to try.

Good Belgian stron ale. Malty, hoppy, and spicy flavor. Finish is crisp, clean and spicy. Recommended.

Slight hazy, deep copper/red. Nice off white head and lace. Soft, subdued nose of belgium yeast, slight corriander, grains of paradise, cookie dough malt, hint of orange and hops. Medium bodied, very lush feel, smooth with flavors of corriander, orange, bit of chocolate, licorice, sweet malt, peppery notes, very spicy dubbel that hides 9% very well. Flavorful, soft and drinkable. Thanks Silk.

According to the label I'm not supposed to open this one until 2012. I might have to go out and get another one. Dark amber color. At first I thought I caught a hint of apples in the nose but it soon changed to malt and bananas. Malty and sweet on the tongue with an easy bitter finish.

The head fell fast on this russet brew. The nose was moderately potent with a hint of spice and candi sugar. The carbonation level was too low for the style. The palate was very sweet and fruity. The more sips I took of this beer the more it tasted like a winter wassail, which was unexpected. This beer is a sweet cloying mass that does not come together and become a total beer, too many loose ends. I think the beer would be better if it were drier, had a higher carbonation level, and if a Belgian yeast strain was used exclusively.

Aroma is of mellow smooth banana esters. Palate is nice and ester-fied with dark wheaty goodness. The coriander and pepper add a fine touch to the flavor, but the abundance of alcohol overpowers the more desirable flavors. Perhaps I was too impatient and should have waited 12 years to enjoy this beer at maturity. I'll buy another and re-rate in 12 years. Stay tuned.

They ask on the back if you can store the beer and wait until 12.12.12 to drink it. Well, no, I can't :-) So I bought two and put one away. This pours a color that I would call a dark red. It has a small head that dissipates quickly and it has a moderate amount of lacing on the glass. Very attractive beer. The aroma is fruity with hints of malt and sweetness with a little bit of spice - smells great. The flavor is very fitting for the Belgian ale classification. It is a mix between a Belgian Dark Strong ale and a spicy Belgian Blonde. There is a moderate amount of spiciness to the flavor that is just enough to give it a small kick, but not enough to make it spicy. Very smooth and easy to drink. I might have to seek this one out again so I don't have to open the one I've put in reserve. Great looks, great aroma, great flavor. What more can you ask for? Unfortunately I've missed the 02.02.02 version, but I will be sure not to miss the one for next year ... and next year ... etc. Hopefully my other bottle of 03.03.03 will make it until the end. Congrats to the people at Stone for this one.

Interesting that this '03 Epic Ale has so many more ratings than the '02. Decent beige head and a dark bronze color. I can definitely taste the 9% alcohol, but there's much more to the flavor than that. Coriander and citrus notes are apparent. Can't taste much "alligator pepper", but I'm sure it's there. Plenty of hops to be found as well, so if you like a strong beer with a whole mess of flavors, and a hint o' Belgian goodness, this is for you. The use of both Belgian yeast and American Ale yeast seems to be a masterstroke, as this beer really came together well. There's a lot of sweetness in here and the 9% abv is nowhere to be found. Very dubbel-meets-barleywine.