Stone 04.04.04 Vertical Epic Ale

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

22 oz. bottle from Mr. Liquor in Santee (still a bunch left.) Poured a hazy yellow/orange with microparticals moving around. Big, white head, dissipated quickly, but really nice lacing. Aromas of fruit, mostly lime, maybe a little strawberry?. Hoppy nose as well. Flavors of ripe banana and hops. Lots of carbonation. A little syrupy on the palate, and an alcohol aftertaste that is quite nice. Right, like I was going to wait 8 years to drink this. Maybe I will pick up another one, but I’m afraid I will drink that right away too.

Lots of dark fruit, spice, and sweet malt notes in both the aroma and flavor with a substantial alcohol character. Fermentation notes are well integrated into the dense flavor profile. The fermentation characteristics make this quite a distinctive Belgian-style ale.

Pours a clear golden orange with a quickly dissapating head, good lace. The aromas are of clove, banana, orange citric hops and some belgian yeast. The taste is interesting for a belgian strong ale citric hops, bananas, some lime, sweet, cloves. A different interperatation of the style.

I had the chance to grab one of these awhile back and it’s pretty damn good! A bit fruitier then most Stone brews which is a nice break from the usual. This brew pours a nice burnt orange and leaves good lacing rings around the glass (good head, too). I only wish I would have bought more and cellared some... Oh well.

Sampled one year and two days after release. Pours a dense white head, excellent lingering. Orangey gold color, slight haziness. Spicy, appley aroma, underlying hefewiezen like sharpness. Full body with a syrupy palate. Belgian and hefewiezen flavor notes mesh much better than they did a year ago. Fruity and spicy notes in the nose, with a nice sweetness to follow. The lime leaf which was much more predominant in my fresher tastings is now tamed to a citrus acridness that appears suddenly in the finish. Overall, much more Belgian-like in character than my tasting of a year ago, defenitely has become more balanced and complex with aging.

bottle purchased @ beeryard 4/04. nice golden orange, thin lacing head. complex aromas spice,fruit,yeast. yum spicy notes upfront, lead into somwhat citrus finish, slight bannanna esters. very nice, alcohol well hidden, gets better as it gets warmer. better than I remember last april. nice damn beer. gonna let the rest of the case sit even longer.

Musty, sweet bread aroma. Nice light golden in appearance, lots of effervesence at first, but quickly subsides (maybe a product of age). Bananas and bread in the flavor, nicely hopped, rich in malt, with the body of a glass of wine. A pleasurable experience, not my favorite style, but well done.

Shiney golden amber body... white fizzy head. Flowers, lavender, honey, banana aroma... reminiscent of Midas Touch. Nice and pleasant. Flavor is sweet with vanilla and lavendar flowers, watermelon, banana, peppery citrus hops. Hops add some bitterness to the predominently sweet character. Late finish has something odd... papery steak. I don’t know. And I really have no idea what lavendar is... it just fits. The beer has a simple complexity... sweet? Yes. Obnoxiously sweet? No.