Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Aroma is dark malts, spice, licorice and sweet dark fruits. Body is a a rich dark brown with a firm two finger thick tan head. Fore is pumpernickel, rye, licorice and then dark fruits, spice, alcohol and floral notes waft in. Quite spicy in the finish. Pretty damn tasty and gets tastier as it warms.

Garnet with a tan film of a head. Nose is bubblegum, anise, some smoky wheatlike notes. This one should get interesting...

Bomber. Aroma is malty sweetness, some dark malts, licorice. Some bubblegum notes. Clear, dark, ruby notes, thick tan head that last. Flavor - very interesting beer. Sweet, malty, but dominated by the belgian characteristics, especially bubblegum and clove. Overall, a very different and interesting brew--like a brown porter with belgian yeast. Sweetness might be a little much, but I enjoyed the brew.

Dark colored with a yeasty nose of baked banana and nutmeg yet hints of freezer burn and dust. Opens with a fizzy mouthfeel. Flavors weigh towards spicy yeast and have notes of custard and peppery alcohol and underlying malty sweetness. However, it’s overwhelmingly yeasty with cumbersome spice concentration.

From bomber. Dark, ruby pour with thin tan head. Nose is burnt Belgian candy sugar, anise(?) and vanilla. Flavor follows with alcohol in the finish. Palate is smooth. Another one that needs to sit.

I’m glad that our hosts of the afternoon broke out this bottle. It prompts me to lay the bottle that I’d purchased down for a while to gain some equilibrium. Nice look to it, a deep mahogany with ruby highlights and a creamy off-white head. The aroma is interesting - so interesting in fact, that a nameless person was tempted to pour some down his or her nose! To me, the anise took the forefront, trailed by a sweet roasted malt, some chocolate, alcohol, and fruity spices. Same with the flavor, solid but with a licorice taste taking over. Other than that, a nice spicing to the sweet roasted malt base. I will be trying this some months down the road to see if it’s more akilter.

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Fills the chalice with a deep chocolate brown color with ruby-red highlights. Produces a big, thick and dense tan head with superb retention and thick lacing. Rich, complex aromas of roasted malt, cocoa, dark fruit, caramel, banana, licorice and various spices. Mouthfeel was full, round and smooth with a soft carbonation. Intense flavors of roasted-chocolate malts are upfront; almost porter-like, follwed by notes of caramel candy, prune, raisin, anise, yeast rolls, and spices (clove, pepper, cinnamon). Finishes slightly on the sweet side but the alcohol rescues it from being too cloying. Really enjoyed this spicy, dark unique offering from Stone.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a deep brown with a smallish khaki head. A terrifically well-roasted malty aroma that features plenty of caramel along with some anise and cinnamon. Bananas and cloves become apparent as it warms. Medium body. Caramel, roasty malts and light coffee start things off. A dark and wheaty breadiness is also present. Finishes with a moderate amount of drying bitterness and the slightest hint of warming alcohol. Clove and cinnamon throughout. My brother’s winter homebrew is better than this.