Stone 05.05.05 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Nose has pitfruit, and deep malt. Auburn, small toffee head. Fruit flavours, some of which are plums, red grapes, prunes. Very complex, full bodied, bitter and bold. A fabulous beer!

Light chestnut color with a hint of rudy when held to the light. Fluffy tan head. Belgian aromas waft and greet the nose with Caramel, light toast, light fruit, attic yeast and a mix of spices, including cloves and coriander. Lots of malt sweetness form the start, with brown sugar, and pale malts. Mid quaff leads to floral and spicy hops. Some mild fruits also mingle. Finish os quite strong and with a touch of alcohol. I’ll chalk the later up to the immaturity of the brew. There room for this one to get better with age.

Reddish brown body, thin tan head that clears. Seems like belgian cherry juice with lightly smoked malt. Cherry, raisins, and dark malt. Not bad, but uniquely Stone.

Black with a mahogany sheen. Frothy vanilla head films the glass with sticky cream. Port, nougat, and fresh prunes makeup the aroma. Deeply buried rum, melon, and black licorice scents. Dense and soft, but with an edge of fuzz. Opens sharply sweet and medicinal, reminiscent of liquefied black licorice and meaty port, but chased by dazzlingly interlocked airy phenols and peppery tobacco. Chalky snap of deeply kilned malt offers a flash of dryness and negates the body’s softness. Bittersweet at the center, with fluffy nougat hints coupled with an elegant clove and bubblegum tingle. Sweetness comes and goes, due to the subdued bright fruitiness. Drastically improves as it goes from cellar to room temperature, though, as the malt takes on a thickset cakey richness, which blankets the alcohol and medicinal astringency. Finishes with an alcohol induced dryness over a feathery foundation of malt sweetness, as clove-infused baked pears, black licorice, bubblegum, and cocoa dusted malt hulls override the lingering medicinal viscosity. Overall, the alcohol is overbearingly hot at times. And more yeast-derived bright fruitiness would lessen the prominent sweetness. Otherwise, this is easily the best in the series, thus far, and a complete turnaround from years past.

Pours dark brown with medium tan head. Aroma of roast caramel malt, dark fruit, hops, tons of spices such as coriander, cinnamon, and black pepper. I cannot believe that this beer is not spiced. The finish is smooth, with more dark fruit, hops, and spices. Nice complexity and great balance.

Appearance is deep mahagoney, almost a reddish purple hue. Very large white head, sustained. Nice. Aroma is full of yeast and sweetness. Flavour is deep and complex, with hints of figs, nuts, toffee and yeasty loveliness.

Nice opulent mahogany color with some web cast tan markings for the head. Plums and prunes come out in the aroma as if they’ve been basking in wood lacquered bowls in a mixture of honey water, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whomph! Flavor rolls in with plump raisins and a heavy cinnamon and brown sugar marinade. Something about this reminds me of morning surprise bran muffins or Raisin Bran itself. Unique and quite tasty, all thanks to JPDIPSO for sharing another winner!

pours a deep color w/ a well laced tan head. Big hop aroma some malt and spices i couldn’t identify. Palate was smooth and well carbonated but didn’t feel full. Flavor is a sweet malt and an odd hop.. hints of oak and spice along w/ the belgian yeast. A pretty good brew. Thanks to ?? for sharing