scania (184), Malmö, Sweden Jan 7, 2007 Bottle. Dark red-brown. Full body mouth feel. Aroma: Malty, raisins. Flavor: Malty and fruity with roasted finish. bscanlon (18), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Jan 4, 2007 Bought two, one to drink and one to save for 12-2012. Great deep color and aromas. One of the best dubbel’s I’ve ever had. Storm (2685), Amager, Denmark Dec 30, 2006 Bottle. Very dark reddish brown colour with a nice head. Aroma of yeast, spices and little roastedness. Tasty flavour of yeast, roastedness, spices and with a alcoholic finish. Silphium (2114), Haslett, Michigan, USA Dec 27, 2006 Bottle from shigadeyo via trade. Deep garnet red-brown body, thin buff head. Leafy aroma with sweet breads, cola, spice, and tea. Tart, acidic body with raisin and toast, plenty of bitter spice, and dark fruit skin. Spicy finish. Reminds me of Bells Hell Hath no Fury but without the heavy esters. Alcohol notes were subtle. A good beer but already showing signs of age. I’m not sure the thin, sugary malts are going to hold up for more than a few more months. badnewsbeers (1026), Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA Dec 27, 2006 Updated: Dec 29, 2006dark brown body with thin head..lightly toasted aroma of coffee, chocolate, caramel, and light alcohol..some raison and a touch of spice present as well...flavor is quite similar, and its malt backbone is quite bitter; im picking up some bitter chocolate, dark coffee, cloves, and a touch of toffee...a nice crisp, sweet finish techdiver (22), USA Dec 27, 2006 Pours an opaque blackish brown with a decent head that dissipates quickly. Complex aroma with chocolate and malt. Taste is exquisite, well balanced, almost stout like with a smooth malt and chocolate toffee flavor and fruity notes. Mouthfeel is rich and makes for a very easy drinking brew. patrick767 (2016), fort wayne, Indiana, USA Dec 27, 2006 22 oz bottle - Pours dark brown with a thin head. It has a roast malt and yeast aroma. The flavor is sweet and roasted with notes of dark fruit and spices. There’s enough hops to maintain some balance though. Smooth, medium bodied, and mildly sweet to finish, I really enjoyed this effort from Stone. This is an excellent beer now, though not very complex. Hopefully get to taste it in a few years to see how it’s doing. chriso (4667), London, Greater London, England Dec 25, 2006 Updated: Jan 9, 200722oz bottle, bought in Downtown Wine & Gourmet, Harrisonburg VA. Consumed September 2006. This poured very dark red-brown and was quite floral, estery and spicy on the nose. I definitely picked up violets and maybe cloves. Sweetish palate with deep, sticky malt to the fore but, at the same time, the body was fairly light. Some hops kick in late but they seemed rather harsh and the whole didn’t seem perfectly integrated to me. Not my favourite Vertical Epic by a long way. Tasted as if it could do with more bottle age. Also, I’m not sure that carting it around in the back of a car for a couple of weeks helped too much. I’ll pick up another bottle next time I’m in the US if I can and re-rate.
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