Stone 04.04.04 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Has a strong aroma of limes, pine cleaner and a touch of a hefe weiss grass. The coloring is very deep with gold and a red touch. The head is thin and white. The taste is sweet, like a Belgian dubbel. Bubblegum, bananas and some funky sweat socks. Has soap as it warms up. The lime is very very subtle and only noticed in the finish. Overall, certainly an interesting twist.

Smells like dirty socks rubbed in bananas. Tastes like dirty socks might taste with some added bananas. Not a very pleasant tasting beer. Never again!!!

pours beautifully; warm as a neon peach, the head is a briefly billowy bliss. my nose approached the glass, like a hungry ardvark closing in on a juicy mound of ants-- but then: "Gaaaa!" i cried as if someone had dumped icewater down my back. my lord, i can’t get around that aroma-- or "stink" as i came to refer to it. it’s inexplicable to me, i can’t pentrate the skank of that-- that-- odious kafir lime leaf. it’s like a malodorous forcefield, i can’t even get near the beer-- me and the glass kareem off each other like recoiling magnets. maybe i’m allergic to it, because it engenders symptoms of extreme malaise and the paranoid sense that an awful trick has been played on me. perhaps i was imprinted as a youth to rettain a protective revulsion to that smell-- maybe i was abused by a fat ugly person who used the cheapest lime aftershave in a putrid attempt to cover his body odor. i don’t know. i know i respect stone enough to have actually bought this product twice-- with the same results. after i’d plugged my nose with plumber’s grout, i could proceed with a tremulous tasting. it has soft carb, lime soaked cedar flavor, a bit of alcohol, strong doughy effect and a dramatic slug-fest between sweetness and bitterness. medium bodied. all other qualities and proportions check out reasonably. clearly i have a problem with kafir (i also loathe new belgium’s ’loft’). everyone says it’ll age well. that’s bad news to me-- stuff like this that doesn’t go away even with age should be buried deep in yucca mountain.

Ripe banana aroma, belgian yeast flavored spicey Belgian Strong Ale. Golden body, good lacing. Nice beer to share with friends. Thanks to dberger624 for the bottle.

Light gold with a fine head that continues throughout experience. Not a very strong aroma, but has a hint of bubblebum or bananas. Taste is malty but no hint to the lime. Hop bitterness is subdued but in balance. Should develop very well over time. A little too young. Stone has done well in preparing for the future taste profile.

Now I like what stone has done with this guy. This beer has a lot of interesting flavor twists to it. Golden color with a small head and low to medium carbonation. Fruity and spicy, with a nice alcohol presence. On the sweeter side. Very easy to drink. Interesting.

Golden color. It didn’t have a big head but it had lots of hop flavor! It was a bit green at that point so I would like to try it again in 6 months to a year. It’s a good beer as I tasted it but I am sure it will improve with aging.

Now this is a beer. Good strong ale with a hint of tripel taste to it. Nice spice flavor. Alcohol was hidden pretty well.