Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

Dark brown body with a substantial head. Innovative brew with aromas of chocolate, plum, raisin and fruit spice. Initially malty mouthfeel with notes of chocolate and caramel that lead into strong clove, banana and raisin notes. Yeasty, alcoholic finish with elements of smoke and clove spice, light undertones of chocolate. Overall, it tastes kind of like a mix between Chimay, a Weizenbock and a Scottish Ale. Yummy, but will improve with time after alcohol softens.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown almost black with a medium sized tan head. Aroma is yeasty, roasted malts, dreid fruits. Flavor is roasted malt, clove, yeast, chocolate. Palate is full bodied, with a medium carbonation, sweet toasty finish. This is good

Pours a dark reddish brown and a medium off white head. Lots of crystal malt like the rest of the Stone brews. Not quite Belgian by my taste and little aroma but some good sweet roasted maltiness with some dried fruits and little to no hop bitterness.

22 oz Bottle via Liquid Solutions. Pours a deep dark brown with an average size tan head the quickly dissipates. I am not getting much from the nose here...just some generic malt aroma, some fruity esters and some alcohol. Taste is some toffee, roasted barley, nutmeg, some black patent, licorice and hazlenut. Some hops and the alcohol is barely noticeable in the finish. Medium body. High carbonation. Goes down smoothly. 07/01/09 rerate-orig rating was 3.4-ok, been aging this for approx 3 years. Tastes pretty much like i remember it but a notch better. Is aging well but slow. Will try my other bottle in 3 more years i think.

Dark brown color with faint hints of red. Very little head present. Mild floral yeast aroma with some roasty notes. Palate is just right. Taste is a moderate meld of hops and raosted malt flavors with a dry finish. Very pleasant to drink and nice to see Stone do a brew that is more subtle but still great.

Brown-black body with a small tan head. This is one heavy beer. Deep liquorice/molasses and wood on the nose. Very malty and creamy body with plenty of dark fruits, woods and molasses. Finish is black liquorice with a nice hoppy touch. Alcohol manages to tickle my palate despite being less than 9% in such a thick body. I first had it draft at the Cooperstown beer fest 2006 and it was magnificent (original rating 4.5). The bottle wasn’t nearly as impressive. From my notes the bottle had more woods/hops while the draft was that grossly amazing and complex mix of dark stuff. Deserving of a re-rate since the bottle is what most will be having including myself if I have it again. 06-06-06 The Number of the Beer.

Any first impressions?
-A veil of foam covers the obscure, purplish brown.
-Roasted malts and their cocoa-like companions walk along earthy, near vegetal hoppiness.
-The spicy fruitiness of cloves rests atop an intelligent union of roasted maltiness and hop bitterness.
-The soft effervescence and generous maltiness are beneficial to the mouthfeel.

What if you dig deeper?
-The spicy yeast makes some room in the nose after a few tries.
-Chestnuts are found within, as if an English brown ale is trying to establish itself amidst the flavor spectrum.
-Alcohol is well concealed, to the tastebud’s enjoyment.
-Not as spectacular as many Stone brews, but a very good, quite drinkable strong ale.

Bottle; uh...060606.

Bottle. Pours a dark reddish colour with a small off-white head. Malty yeasty, spicy aroma. Sweet malty flavor with some yeasty hints. Also some spicy hints in the flavor. Malty finish with a bitter aftertaste.