Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

Formerly brewed at Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Escondido, California USA

Bottle. Pours a very dark mahogany body and soapy white head. Roasty aroma, almost dunkel-esuqe with toasted toffee and some citric hop notes. Nice creamy palate with toast flavours along with almond nuttiness and caramel. Good balance with a solid dose of bitterness in the finish.
Thanks for the opportunity, radiomgb. Sampled on April 21, 2007.

Huge slightly sharp fruit raisiny aroma with hints of anise and cherry suckers.On second whiff, a little chocolate cake makes an appearance.. Taste is surprisingly light, with amlt more evident and the fruit recessing somewhat, christmas anise and a bitter bakers chocolate finish. You have to really search for these flavors because of the somewhat light body,alcohol is merely hinted at. Taste however is very pleasing. Because of the light body and slight alcohol presence,i dont see this improving that much with age. Also a syrupy sweetness becomes evident after about the 3rd sip

So glad I scored a bottle of this in Ohio. Very dark brown with reddish highlights, thick tan head. Plenty of malt and plums and roasted notes in the nose. Creamy palate that is sugary, a tiny bit sour, with malt and a bit of hops. The alcohol is well disguised. The monks would be happy with it.

Bottle purchased recently. Aroma is quite sweet, sugary, with some molasses and vanilla notes present as well. There is also a light roasty chocolate aroma with minute aromas of yeasty easters. This is quite sweet, which I find a pleasant aroma. Moderately opaque, dark mahogany body present with a weak light tan head that dissipates a little too quickly. Dried fruits, prunes, plums, raisins to start. Light sweetness. Boozy roastiness with some definite coffee flavors in the middle-end. A little thin and the coffee notes are a little weird, but this is a fair effort.

The aroma was coffee off the bat with chocolate and caramel coupled to a bit of a smoked character like that of smoked sausage. The backbone was malty and nutty with a Munich malt nature. The beer poured dark brown, almost black, with an off-white very low yet lasting head which did work to lace the glass. The flavor was malty with a light spice, coffee and a strong bit of smoke thrown in for good measure. The spice was not readily able to be deciphered, but had a bit of a cinnamon and clove note through the smoky and roasty phenol. The bitterness from the roasted grains and hops kept the malt from having any chance at balancing the flavor toward malt so the bittering and acidic grain properties ruled the day. As it warmed some nutty Munich malt character emerged. The body was medium full with a moderate level of carbonation and a creamy character to the mouthfeel. The finish was bone dry with lasting smoked sausage and light roast into the aftertaste and beyond. Alcohol never played a role in this beer with no apparent alcohol anywhere in the aroma nor flavor, but with just a hint of warming post consumption. An interesting beer, perhaps a Belgian Porter or Stout. 22 ounce bottle.

Nice dark brown pour with a thin head. Aroma of some fig and caramel. the flavor was of belgian fruit and spice but not extremely long on the palate. Prob better in a year or so.

Mine looked and tasted alot like a dunkel. Extremely dark brown color, but watery, with a whispy white head. Smells of yeast, dark fruit and medicine. Flavor is mild, slightly malty, very fruity with a heavy yeast flavor. Slightly bitter on the finish. Very drinkable. Rerate 5/13/2008 at Brickskeller’s Lupulin Reunulin event. Ar - 7, App - 4, Flv - 7, Fin - 4, Ovr - 15. Greg Koch called this "typically Belgian", whatever that means. Pours a nearly opaque dark brown, amber with a thin eggshell head. Aroma is peaty, sugary, sweet malt with some Belgian candy and yeast. Flavor has plenty of sweet malt, some definite funk, cocoa, yeast, rum, cane sugar, banana and some tropical fruit. Thick body, lasting slightly smoky flavor. This has aged very well, the malty is a lot chewier now than when fresh.

Mist beers either call themselves hopfiends or malt friends. This beer will bring an end to the malt/hop civil war. One word... PERFECT!