Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

Bottle. Dark nearly opaque body with a thick ring of bubbles and film of bubbles. Nose-smokey, plastic, meaty, sausage. Taste-smoked hard meats, sausage, light banana and phenols, light wheat, cherry, slightly tannic, licorice/anise. Smoke dominates the whole thing.

22oz bottle. Poured a dark, dark brown, with red edges and a large sized off white head. Aromas of plums, raisins, bananas, roasted malts, and spices. Tastes of plums, raisins, chocolate, caramel, and spices. Light alcohol in the finish. Lacing left on the glass.

Beautiful rich pour releasing some pretty wild aromas...cloves, licorice, and alcohol. The let-down came for me with actually tasting it. Cough medicine, syrup-like texture, and an extremely harsh alcohol astringency ruined all that came before. Maybe the whole "epic vertical" is just too "high-concept" for me!

Approprately enough, this poured a deep dark blood red. The aromas were carmel, scotch, and peaty. The alcohol was very noticeable in the flavor, which reminded me a bit of cough syrup. The palate was syrupy, unless you accidently inhaled it. In that case it started out fizzy, but would burn your nostrils for the next couple hours.

Pours out very dark and the familiar aroma of Stone’s Belgian yeast strain is immediately evident. The usual clove and banana are present as is a good amount of smokey roastiness and some muted dark fruit richness. That, however, is contrasted by a surprisingly light body which works both for and against this beer. The high alcohol content is evident though well balanced. Another enjoyable beer in the Epic series--will taste again in six months.

This beer was frustrating, because it was so close to being really good, but it was just pretty good. The malts are nice with a creamy and dark roastyness. Very sweet, with a brown sugar sweetness, and an abundance of belgian yeasts. Maybe too much yeast for this style, in my opinion. The finish stretches out the roasty/sweet malts into a slighty bitter, roasted malt finish. (Needs more hops).

Deep cola-like appearance with a quick-to-fade, fizzy head. Sharp nose with anise, clove and smoky alcohol notes. Thick mouthfeel, a little dirty, with a spiciness that both lifts the flavor and dries out the mouth. Flavors are a bit hot. Clay and caramel with a fruity, Belgian character, but an overall confusing flavor profile. My associates and I agree that this really needs to age, and I hope we are all still around six years from now to enjoy one of my other bottles at maturity. (The beer’s maturity, not mine.)

<font size=-4>Puchased at <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/indiana/highland/liquor-stop/2118.htm>The Liquor Stop, Highland, IN... shared with the <a href=http://www.workinlate.com/LoSBD.html>LoSBD 08/06/06.<font size=-1>

From a 22 oz. Aroma is malt and spice. Appearance is a dark reddish brown with a moderate light tan head. smooth - Flavor is malt with some caramel and mild spice. Palate is very smooth and thick with fairly mild carbination, which I like. An excellent beer. Stone puts out some great brews!