Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

Big thanks to Beerdrenched for picking this up for me. Pours very dark brown with a light tan head. Aroma has dark fruits (figs & cherries), earthiness, brown sugar, anise and dark coffee. The body is lighter than expected for the style with light carbonation. Flavor starts out with some roasted malt, spice and the dark fruit aspected from the aroma. The finish is somewhat earthy and fairly astringent. This is an okay beer, but not up to what the hype is. I don’t know if I want to try this beer as a vertical is 2012, this doesn’t seem like it will age to well.

Pours darker than I expected with a darker head than I expected. However, the foam was plenty high, which I did expect, and it lasted about halfway through the glass. Aroma was subtle to me at first, but as it warmed, the yeastiness and a slight rauchbier-like quality became more apparent. Taste is definitely roasty, with dark raisins, and smokey malts,with some spices thrown in. Carbonation is fairly high and does the style justice, but it doesn’t seem to match roast flavors. As the beer warms it becomes noticably sweeter. Finish is defintely dryer than I’m used to with these belgian beers. Very good, and well balanced; I like it when beers taste a little different every sip.

Bottle Pours a very dark brown, with a nice modest but lasting light tan head. Spotty sheets of lacing. Aroma is typical belgian yeaty spicy notes, but fairly sweet and quite inviting. Flavors were similar, but plenty of residual sugars and body to lend a sweet wet, heavier feel to it. Finishes fairly dry, but with plenty of Belgian flavor. This one brings me back to the style that I was failry luke warm about. Thanks <!-- B -->Buck Dich for sharing.

Nice mahogany color with a rich creamy tan head. Good malty aroma with bread dough and sweet port. Somewhat overbearing hops mute the tropical fruit complexity lurking somewhere in the background. Nice hint of anise at the end. I like the smooth richness of the beer, but thought the hops were just a little too dominant and overwhelmed some of the more delicate notes I would have enjoyed.

Dark brown with powerful roasted malt, dark fruit aroma. Malty plum taste as well as various spices. Sweet and alcoholic. Should age quite well

Dark pour with a thin head. Aroma was solid with hints of dark fruits and brown sugar. The taste was laced with malt, spices, dark fruits, and raisens. The beer finished strong with a lasting sweet bitterness and malt feel.

This one poured an opaque, dark brown with a good sized, tight-bubbled tan head. The strong, roasted malt flavor coated my mouth. The hops came in and tempered the effects of the caramelized grain. The aftertaste lingered with a pleasant combination of strong malt, molasses and hops. No sip lines, no lacing; just a robust, welcome edition to the series.

Very dark pour with a thin cream head. Aroma is licorice, anise, attractive. Flavor is mooth and well blended. A very easy drinking dubble. The body is right, the finish is right. Nice job. I think they did a nice job with this belgian.