Stone 05.05.05 Vertical Epic Ale

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

smells just awesome. tons of dark fruit, a little alcohol, very malty. most importantly, it just smells great. looks pretty good, but i demand more out of the head than this. taste is easy but unchallenging. pretty alcoholic for an 8.5.

Barnet colored to brown with a little tan head. Aroma is yeasty, spiceyh and with a bananna presence. Carmel malts and a clean presence. Flavor is sweet and tangy at first. Bananna flavors mixed with clove spices and a yeasty character. Full sweet malts and also some roasty and toasted malt and an astringent tangy feel. Warming on the way down, nice finish. Can’t wait to try it later.

This year’s has a deep brown color with chessnut highlights. Pretty standard tan head. The aroma is of vanilla, almond and banana. The flavor stays on course with the aroma with banana taking the lead followed by a sharp spiciness (coriander?). The spices then give way to a long bitter finish. This may be the most interesting/complex beer in the series so far in my opinion (though I never had the ’02).

Pours a reddish brown color with a thin light brown head. Aroma of earth, caramel and mild peated malt. Very good flavor of of earth, caramel, peated malt, there might be a yeasty thing going on there too, it finishes bitter. The body is light with a creamy texture and soft carbonation.

Initial taste very chocolate. Well carbonated, then eased off. In a blind taste, I would believe it was a Rochfort. Abundant cocoa, and bittersweet. Well hopped but not overly so. Significant anise and spiciness at finish. I will look for this again in a couple of years.

Poured a translucent deep brown, a reddish brown when held to the light. Off-white head hung around for a while. Big spiciness in the nose with some caramel malts too. Smells yummy. Flavor is just as spicy with some sweet malts in there too, herbal. Creamy mouthfeel....very pleasant drink. Nice hop presence about midway through. Alcohol is persistent throughout...right up to the final swig. Very tasty...I liked it more than the 04-04-04.

Poured a brownish-amber with a dark off-white fizzy head. Sweet aroma of grapes, figs, brown sugar, and chocolate. Taste is dark fruits, molasses, spices with a dry finish. Seems to be dwelling someplace between a belgian strong and a doppelbock. A bit of overwhelming metallic bitterness in the aftertaste which I don’t especially care for. Other than that, a very decent beer.

Bottle. Dark ruby brown color, relatively opaque, thin white head that left no lacing behind. First pour had no head retention, but the head stuck around for the second glass. Aroma is dominated by some dark fruits, very phenolic, and a lot of alcohol in the nose. Maybe a hint of yeastiness hiding behind all of that, though it was difficult to pick up. Flavor is mostly dark malts (roasty and chocolatey) and frutiness, spicy, and a deep alcohol burn in the finish. Carbonation is a bit bubbly in the mouth, but that should fade with age, body isn’t too heavy but there’s enough to hold up the complexities in the flavor. This and the 04 VE are interesting brews (for lack of a more precise term, maybe curious is the word I’m looking for), this is a lot more complex than the 04 was in December (though both are still quite young). Nothing exceptional, but certainly unique. It needs time in the cellar, though I am looking forward to see how it melds with age.