Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

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

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.

Aromatic Belgian inflected peppery fig and toasted almond sugar aroma, with sweeping medium fruits and light vinous notes. Pour of orange cornered mahogany, with a thin rim of white. Flavor continues on the same plane as the aroma, with a run of lightly charred toast notes and deeper nutty character. Caramel and dried plums and dates run with nice bright malt sugars. Alcohol hides away. Light distant euro hop sneaks in some balance, but the cloyingness runs away in the end.

22 oz. brown bomber bottle. Poured out a deep brown color, with red highlights. Thin, mocha colored head. Aromas are of roasted malts, choholate candy, earthy hops. Flavors are of roasted malts, dried fruit, chocolate, & coffee notes too. Medium mouthfeel, rich & thick body. Finished slightly sweet & roasty.

This bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a small sized head of foamy finely sized tan colored bubbles that were and left behind a opaque dark brown colored body and a good lacing. The nice aroma was vinous toasted malt sweet and dark malt. The crisp mouth feel was tingly at the start with a mellow finish. The flavor contained notes of sweet mildly vinous dark malt and chocolate. Delicious and one I would certainly buy again.

The titillating effect of Stone’s brewing has, to me, worn off considerably, and truthfully the excitement induced seems simply outlandish. This Vertical Epic series only furthers my confusion, partly because of the grotesque zealotry generated by previous installments, but also by the fact that these episodic brews seem decidedly unfit for their purpose: the zenith 2012 is meant to reveal. I am no haruspex, but I will tell you now that this Mephistophelian chapter will be reduced to nothing more than liquid chagrin come the resolution. That said, drink it now and you may be rewarded. In any event, as much as I enjoy the style, I was worried by Stone’s interpretation as an on ne peut plus American brewer. The pour confirmed my suspicions, brooding as it looked, a perfect espresso facsimile, while the nose conjured a spiced stout. Caramel, chocolate-covered cherries, juicy pine hops, soap, cedar and cream, vanilla, black licorice, nutmeg and cinnamon. An interesting array of scents but inelegantly showcased and definitely unbelgian, yet we were off to a better start than I had expected. Nutmeg, gingerbread and cardamom form a spicy base for a deflagration of hops before reducing to a cola and soothing salted caramel aftertaste. Far from a Dubbel, by my taste, but not a bad brew though it won’t cure your hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.