Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

This offering pours a dark brown almost black with a thick tan head that leaves this brew quickly. The nose is strong plum, figs, prune, dark chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, wheat, just lots of sweetness in the nose. The taste starts mildly bitter with a grapefruit crack of bitterness, this is very interesting....it feels like a fruity Belgian beer combined with west coast pungent hops finished with a porter’s roasted barley like quality. The taste continues with a prune sweetness that is balanced by a citrus rind bitterness. The alcohal is minimal this is a quality brew that will def become more complex with age.

I had every intention of cellaring this for at least 6 months but despite the phalanx of Stone IPAs, Ruination & Smoked Porter in my beer fridge, this one kept calling out like a siren of barley elixer.... Pours a deep dark mahogany and supports a tall dense light tan head with lasting retention. Spicy aroma on top of roasted malt, bittersweet chocolate and licorice. Complex flavors with faint dark fruits, toffee, pepper and caramel playing suporting roles to a solid roasted barley and smoky backbone. Hops don’t really show themselves in earnest until the other flavors have moved off stage (a bit unusual for a Stone brew). Rich silky texture and a long, smooth, slightly spicy finish with a fair but appropriate warming alcohol kick. Yes, I’ll miss this in 6 months when I originally intended to open it, but I won’t have forgotten it. Another spectacular Stone showcase.

22 oz bottle. Pours a light brown with red highlights. It has a smallish slightly fizzy head that quickly dissipates to a thin collar.

The aroma is banana, cloves, yeast and some dark fruits.

The flavor is sweet and sugary initially leading to some banana and cloves with a spicy yeasty, peppery alcohol and slightly bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium to full with soft carbonation.

Overall, I don’t normally care for sweet or banana flavors in beer, but I was surprised to find that I liked this one. The flavors mesh well together.

Re-rated after a little over a year in the cellar....i.e....closet. Pours caramel/coffee brown with a nice tan head. Fruit has calmed down in the aroma, revealing a much stronger roasted malt character, but there is still some cherry and cassis present. This beer still has an amazing balance of the aroma in it’s flavor. Fruitiness that I originally noticed in the flavor has also been slightly muted. Roasted chocolate and caramel malts and a much stronger alcohol presence is the forefront, with a hint of anise coming through the finish. A bit of hops spiciness and warming alcohol in the back of my throat on the medium chewy palate.

Poured nice and dark into a glass. A lot of bubble action that kept up till i finished drinking my share. The head was thin but did not vanish after a few mintues. The aroma had a nice complex of a sweetness and nice roasted malts. The taste was a mix of a fruity/hoppy/spicy taste. It was very smooth, while it is low on my favorite types of beers, this one pulled through and kicked ass.

Spicy, oaty, buttery nose. Cinnamon, cherry, tapioca, peanut brittle. Decently complex. Pour is a super-deep brown with a very small white head. In the mouth is like peanut butter or peanut brittle, with that chewy sweet peanut taste, no hops, milk toffee overtones. Much more one-dimensional than the aroma, though also stronger. An interesting dubbel that hopefully will age well. I’ve got another bottle to open in 5 years or so.

Bottle. Poured into a glass a dark, rich brown with a thin tan head. Aroma was very caramelly with hints of malt and spice. The taste was very malty with caramel and spice--- I was right on the money! Very smooth ale, no bitter aftertaste... great on the palate. Overall a VERY enjoyable beer!

Bottle courtesy of Daalamar: Poured a deep burgundy color ale with a small foamy head with average retention. Aroma of delicious cookie dough with some nice sweet malt. Taste is also dominated by the sweet cookie malt which are just plain delicious. Body is a bit too watery for my own taste and alcohol is well hidden. Probably one of the best in the vertical epic series and a damn fine abbey dubbel in any case.