Stone 03.03.03 Vertical Epic Ale

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

No better time to open this one, 03.03.03, than on my 33rd birthday. Bottle courtesy of sunnydlyte23, poured into a tulip. Pours a deep, dark clear copper with a rocky off-white head that hangs on as a cap and leaves decent lacing on the way down. The aroma is very sweet with tons of molasses and dark fruit, especially raisins and figs. Hints of Belgian yeast in the bacground as well as the remnants of some citrus hops. The taste has a little hop kick up front that I imagine was much, much bigger when fresh. As it is, it feels like it’s missing something up front in the taste before the malts and Belgian yeast take over. The taste had some toffee and caramel sweetness but not nearly as much as the aroma suggested. The mouthfeel was fairly thin, surprisingly so, and the carbonation didn’t seem to come through on the palate. Slightly dry finish with less sticky sweetness that I was expecting. I’ve been looking forward to cracking this one and was contemplating holding onto it until the last vertical release. I’m glad I opened it now as I have to think it’s only going downhill from here. A good beer that was probably great a couple years ago. Big thanks to Sherwin for the opportunity to try this rarity.

Appearance is a murky orange/amber hue, thin layer of dense bubbles dissipates to a ring, minimal lacing Smell is dark fruits, big raisins, sweet malts, and alcohol Taste is moderate raisins and dark cherries, figs, some floral hops and spices, moderate alcohol presence, finished sweet Mouthfeel is full-bodied, rich and chewy texture, lively carbonation Drinkability is fair, I found the flavors somewhat lacking but this was a decent Belgian overall, this was pretty hyped up at the event, so my disappointment may be a result of too high expectations, I’d try it again in the future

Bottle courtesy of Greg Koch at our stop at the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens on 08/03/2008 on day three of RBSG 2008. Clear dark amber body with a small off-white head. Caramel and lots of dry hops. Big caramel flavor, dry hop hints with low bitterness. Medium full body with moderately low carbonation and somewhat syrupy.

Pours amber with a white head. Smells of fruit, some residual sugar, some pilsner malt, lots of spice. Tastes sweet and tangy with a nice hint of sweet hoppy hints. This was a pleasant surprise.

Bottle at Stone Bistro during RBSG 08. Pours a dark orange-gold, with a tan head that leaves spotty lacing. Aroma is huge caramel with ripe dark fruit. Flavor is a subdued mealy maltiness, with caramel, cold coffee, and the tannic remains of old hops. The coriander and pepper are still very apparent. A nicely mellowed beer.

~RBSG ’08~

Bottle at Stone. Pours a murky cloudy amber, with a thick ring of lacing on the glass, and creamy head. Big strong caramel in the nose, with apricot, biscuit, vanilla wafer, and just a ton of spices. Flavor has caramel, brown sugar, molasses, sweet creamy malts, vanilla, some slight chocolate and a fair amount of roasted malts. Soft body, feels like a barley wine, smooth and still refreshing and drinkable after 5 years. Enjoyed it a lot.

Pours a golden orange with decent cream colored head. Bready yeast, fruit and spice fill the glass and flavor. Creamy on the palate.

Part of a vertical in half Tokyo; thanks marc! Orange caramel in color with a creamy head. Aroma is full of caramel malts, biscuit, molasses, and sort of spicy. Mouth is a tad thin. Bready malts, caramel, pepper, molasses, and belgian yeast. Warming alcohol in the end. Highly enjoyable.