Stone 04.04.04 Vertical Epic Ale

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

22 ounce bottle purchased how the heck should I know where, my records got lost in the cyclone along with the ruby slippers, served a little below cellar temperature from a Dieu du Ciel! tulip. As with the 03 I had last night, the cap comes off with a bit of fizz, and foam fills half the glass, lightly golden-creamy in color and slowly receding atop the translucent, oily golden body, leaving thick lacing.....nose is strongly oxidized, heavily dominated by caramel and sherry, with lime hints apparent but very muted until the beer has opened up a bit (5 minutes); vanilla and almonds also make an appearance, and the cookieish yeast is less prominent than in the 03.....if the lime is barely evident in the nose, it is central in the flavor: a delightful vanilla-lime character dominates, hints of rum and coconut, caramel and moderate dry cookiedough yeast give it a wonderful lightness despite the thick sugariness and really a quite unique overall taste....low carbonation, lightly bitter/tart at the finish, and only slightly on the thin side, this is really quite excellent and the aging really doesn’t seem to have hurt things, though not having had it fresh I can’t say for certain. Quite impressive and distinctive.

On tap at Stone May 2007. Clear orange amber with white fluffy head. Aroma of banana, grapefruit, lime, and yeast. Slightly sticky palate. Initially sweet malty taste transitioning to a slightly sour fruit taste and finishing with a yeasty lime taste.

Bottle. Sampled 5/22 at "Everybody Must Drink Stone" event at Monk’s Cafe. Poured hazy amber, with a small white head. Aroma is primarily yeasty, with some lime and spice in the background. Nice earthy flavor, with yeast, lime, coriander, and other spices. I had this beer when it was first released, and I’m pleasantly surprised that it’s holding up this well.

Tried 5/23/07 on tap at Stone brewery, so this beer is 3 years old. No head, and thus no lacing. Dark yellow color. Mildly sweet flavor. Very mellow and easy to drink. Clean sweet aroma. I really liked it. I think the aging did it some good.

Aged bottle at Monks Cafe......Cloudy golden color..with a frothy thickness to the head...total lime on the forefront, followed by a malty sourness...key lime pie with an insane floral quality...jasmine?...medium-bodied, with just a touch of bitterness...a wonderful strange brew

Bottle. Pours a golden coloured body with a smallish white head. Smells kind of strange in terms of some notable spices - flowery ginger, coriander, maybe some anise and cookie dough is also evident. The spiciness carries into the flavour and as such it is quite abrasive and peppery with nice biscuity malts and warming alcohol. Quite dry and peppery in the finish.
Thanks for the opportunity, radiomgb. Sampled on April 21, 2007.

22oz bomber. A Belgian strong brewed with Kaffir lime leaf. Pours to a slightly hazy, deep golden to light amber color, with virtually no head, and a soft carbonation. Aromas of lime/citrus, and earty yeast notes flood the nose. The palate is slightly slick, with tart and grainy malt flavors, along with light flavors of lime, and some earthy, yeasty flavor. This beer finsihes with more tart, wheat malt flavors up front, then ends with some spicy yeast, and lime flavors that linger. Interesting beer, which is very drinkable for 8.5% abv. I don’t think age has been kind to this beer, nor would this beer be a great match to Thai food as the bottle suggests. I believe the Kaffir lime leaf would have been more vibrant and flavorful when this beer was young, and that this beer young would have worked with spicy Thai food. Flavors seemed muddled to my tastes. I enjoyed it, but again, age did not improve the character of this beer.

The aroma was fruity with a strong presence of lime (after all these years?). The aroma contained a light sweetness coupled to a wheat presence and a bit of spice. Caramel was also notable, but remained in the background. The beer poured crystal clear golden into the glass with a wispy white head which retreated in an instant but did last enough to lace the glass. The flavor was malty with caramel and a strong presence of the those darn lime leaves (will this stuff ever go away). The flavor had wheat and a tannic tea flavor to boot. The base flavors were good but the lime just did not trip the trigger. The body was medium full and with a moderate level of carbonation was well done. The finish was dry with lasting lime leaves that made me feel like Koala Bear sitting in a tree chewing on eucalyptus leaves. Enough already! 22 ounce bottle.