Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale 3.73 318

Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale

(RETIRED)

	Percentile
	96
	overall

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

bottled
available

on tap
unknown

Local Distribution
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Ratings	Average	Score	Seasonal	ABV	Style Pctl	Serve in
318	3.74/5.0	3.73/5.0	Special	9%	89.4	Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Commercial Description:
A new Vertical Epic will be released every year, with the goal being to collect them all and have a Vertical Epic tasting once the final Epic is released on 12/12/12. Each new Stone Vertical Epic Ale will be release one YEAR, one MONTH and one DAY apart. With Vertical Epic 03/03/03, we used some pretty interesting ingredients...coriander (a "Belgian-style" beer favorite!), alligator pepper (wow, bite into these little gems and you get a bigtime spicy rush of flavor), and a bit of both unmalted wheat and dark roasted wheat. And a blend of Belgian yeast and American ale yeast. And a nice selection of high alpha hops (a decidedly non-Belgian style twist). All told it makes for a dubble-ish taken-to-San-Diego-pushed-to-the-edge-and-slapped-around-a-bit beer. So, treat it gently. It's been abused enough already. Store it upright, cool and in the dark. It would enjoy a nice long rest. It will have plenty of patience. Now let's see about you . . . . In addition, we are pleased to provide the homebrewing recipe: http://stonebrew.com/timeline/030303

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beermatrix (1497), Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA

4.3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.3	7/10	5/5	8/10	5/5	18/20

Jul 1, 2003

Deep, dark, rustic mahoganey in color with an inch high luscious, rich, puffy thick, ivory colored frothy head, great sticking thickly stringed lace. Nice aroma of toffee and dark fruits with a note of nuts and spice. Taste is complex, smooth, rich full bodied, and quite yummy, good dark toffee and caramel candy sense, dark fruits of plum, raisin, and orange. Solid grab and feel of balanced hops in the middle right into the lightly dancing bitter drying finish with a hint of nuts, spice, and alcohol. Good full body feel with awesome smoothness and lingering light tang in the mouth after each sip. This is is some great stuff, yummy as hell, and to hell with waiting to open this brew, live now, its worth it!

P-tor44 (886), Anchorage, Alaska, USA

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	7/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	16/20

Jun 29, 2003

yeasty, nutty nose. light hops. nutty, hoppy, caramel, a bit thiner then i expected but nice.

GreatStelle (360), Chico, California, USA

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	7/10	4/5	8/10	3/5	14/20

Jun 26, 2003

nice perfumey aroma. pretty dark in color. A nice balance of hops and yeast if the flavor. Dissapointing for a Stone beer.

tbookman (618), Ephrata, Pennsylvania, USA

3.8	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.8	7/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	15/20

Jun 26, 2003

Good balance between the hops & malt with some moderate spiciness throughout. Had a somewhat odd aroma - kind of perfumy, but with something else I couldn't quite pin down. Still an excellent offering.

MrRomero (1934), Nolanville, Texas, USA

3.8	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.8	8/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	16/20

Jun 24, 2003

Another great beer from Stone. Not their best but definitely great. Deep caramel color, nice off white head. Moderate hoppiness and bitterness. A great beer I have saved for another year.

LaChad (1375), San Francisco, California, USA

4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4	8/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	16/20

Jun 24, 2003

Bottle. Amber, big head. Hairspray aroma, bubblegum, bananas, pear - an unusual nose to say the least. Good mouthfeel, decent overall but a little disappointing considering the bar that Stone sets for itself with other beers.

Smacky (71), San Clemente, California, USA

4.4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.4	9/10	4/5	9/10	4/5	18/20

Jun 23, 2003

What a standout! We happened to have 3 of these at our own tasting and it was the hands-down champ. Amber color with a mellow head (for a Belgian), great aromas of malt, corriander, and spice. Very smooth considering the hop content; balanced and full bodied: bread, malt, and a lightly herbal hoppiness that is only barely perceptible. A pleasant, lingering finish that borders on spicy encourages a minute or two between tastes.

BeerLimey (1873), California, USA

4.1	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.1	10/10	3/5	8/10	3/5	17/20

Jun 19, 2003

Reddish brown appearance, decent head formation. Sweet minty aroma with orange, cloves and coriander. If anything it's clearly well spiced. there's plenty of malt on the palate, but the orangey freshness certainly takes over, showing more of the minty flavors from the aroma in the middle. Dries like burnt toast towards the end with a touch of bitterness and coffee in the finish. Maybe a little too short in the finish. Worked excellently with brie cutting through the sourness.

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