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Stone 05.05.05 Vertical Epic Ale

 (RETIRED)
Percentile
97
overall

bottled
available

on tap
unknown

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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
3613.78/5.03.76/5.0Special8.5%91.5Trappist 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. This time around, we used no spices in the brewing of this beer. If you've tasted the beer before reading this, that may surprise you. The special Belgian yeast we used adds a distinctively spicy aroma and flavor. Roastiness, clove, hops, fruitiness, and those other great and funky phenols abound in the nose. What's in the flavor? You certainly get some dark roasted malts and alcohol overtones. What else? Hints of earthiness, chocolate/cocoa, hop spiciness, maybe even anise, and ... the incredible variety of complexities from the classic brewing ingredients of barley malt, hops, yeast and water, when applied with an artistic brewer's talent never ceases to amaze.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 tjthresh (1765), Greenfield, Indiana, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/105/515/20
Dec 12, 2006  
Dark red/mahogony with a light brown head. Lots of sugary dark fruit aroma. Some hoppy spice, yeasty phenols, and alcohol as well. The flavor starts of with lots of raisins. Stays fruity and roasted all the way to the semi-sweet finish. Fairly full palate. Easy to drink.


 TPaliga (212), Munster, Indiana, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/103/517/20
Dec 7, 2006  
Poured dark brown with foamy head. Aroma is caramel, nuts, and dark fruit. Flavor the same. Medium/light body.


 Volgon (2488), Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/59/105/517/20
Nov 26, 2006  
Bottle: Pours a clear ruby with a thin off-white head, big aroma with cherries, rich spices, grapefruit and caramel. Starts and ends bitter, with a long sweet ending and warming alcohol, full bodied with a slick mouthfeel and strong carbonation, amazingly complex.


 LyndaNova (493), Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/56/102/512/20
Nov 26, 2006  
Cold 22oz bottle: Pours a beautiful clear ruby color with a small light tan head that dissolves and leaves a thin layer of bubbles in a web shape with bubbles around the edges and some lacing. Aroma is of roasted malts, spice, flowers and fruit. Taste is of roasted malts, aromatic hops, anise, fruit and notes of chocolate. Full bodied, oily texture and well carbonated. Ending is of roasted malts and aromatic hops with sour notes and a slight alcohol burn.


 matta (1138), Tampa, Florida, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/104/517/20
Nov 7, 2006  
Thanks to some name forgotten RateBeerian for the brew!

Rating # 995
Pours with a dark coco body and a wispy light tan head. The aroma holds bright notes of mocha, coconut, almonds and apples. The palate is marvelous! Creamy & chewy… very velvety and robust… finish is a dry / sweet & spicy combination. The hops have blended nicely into the chocolaty / darkly kilned malts. Some dark pit-fruits and raisins creep in very nicely. I like Stone’s choice for yeast here… it’s not overly fruity and not one that goes tart with the passage of time.
Well Done, Stone! -One of the best Epic’s to date!


 illinismitty (1795), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/104/516/20
Nov 4, 2006  
Part of the 02 thru 06 vertical at YourDarkLord’s house. Thanks to Rooftoprogue for bringing this to the table. Pours deep copper brown with a frothy tan head. Much darker than the previous four vertical epics. Lots of esters in the aroma, along with some toastiness and brown sugar. Flavor is mildly sweet, with notes of brown sugar, wheat malt, clove, and molasses. Mildly hot on the finish. This should get better with age.


 sunevdj (1770), Copenhagen OE, Denmark
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/104/516/20
Nov 3, 2006  
Blind rating, American Beer Tastings at Sk8viking´s. Pours a clear dark cobber with a tanned head. Smells like a barley wine. Sweet with some bitterness especially towards the end. Also notes of nuts and alcohol. Full bodied.


 awaisanen (1279), Irvine, California, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/103/515/20
Oct 29, 2006  
From a 22oz Bottle. Deep brown pour with a light ruby tinge and a thin, off-white head. Dark fruity, raisiny perfumes waft from my glass, giving this a bit of a barleywine-like nose. Some softer strawberry fruits as well. The bouquet is quite heavy on the dark fruit malt characters, but the yeast character doesn’t strike me as being too spicy or strong in presence. Rich, full bodied mouthfeel thats borderline syrupy and with a mild, but healthy carbonation level. More rich raisin and prune malty characters come through on the palate, along with a touch of chocolate.



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