Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Bottle shared with blankboy, HogTownHarry, jerc and tupalev - courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours a dark ruby-brown with a small, persistant tan head. Very nice aroma - fruity and spicey, some yeasty funkiness, and a bit of red wine. Flavour is sweet to start, with some fruit, clove and brown sugar notes, but it turns quite warm and bitter in the finish. A pretty solid effort all in all, and unlike the 04.04.04 and 05.05.05, I think this one is complex enough that it could actually make it to 12.12.12 in a drinkable state.

Finally found a store that carried this after a couple of weeks of waiting for a store that was on Stone’s distribution list. Pours a deep dark brown with a small amount of head forming and then dying. Enticing aroma of signature Stone Belgian yeast with a dash of spices and light malt. Flavor is a dual replica of the aroma with additions of coffee and light trace of vanilla. From my guess this shoudl age real nice just like the 2005. I love abbey dubbels and Stone finally answered the call to make one.

Bottle. Poured a deep brown-black with a light tan head. Clove smell is dominating in the aroma. Smell some fruit as well. Flavor is yeasty, tasting some fruit in there also. Smooth taste from start to finsh. A young beer, especially since it is not supposed to be tasted till much later. It should be very good around 12.12.12.

(Bottle) Pours a dark burgundy body with a moderate beige head. Aroma of toasted malt, dark fruit, caramel, and clove. Flavor of malt, tobacco, caramel, and spices. Should mature well with some age.

22 oz bottle (sampled in July 2006…fairly fresh, eh?): Extremely dark, edging towards black, but with clear, golden at the edges. Thin, tight, creamy, ivory head...diminishing into a thin grey film…strong, yeasty fruit aroma with plump raisins, smoked peanuts, sour plums & lightly charred oak. Soft, creamy palate with fruity malts and herbal bitterness along with some playful candy sugar and sweet yeast. I think that this one has some nice potential on the tongue, both texture and flavour…
Oct 2009 update: The palate have improved: incredibly soft and smooth, wonderful texture with the perfect amount of bubbles! Much smokier than I remember with loads of peat and oak. <!-- /i -->

Bottle... Clear, crimson ale with a mid-sized, creamy, lightly tanned head. Good retention. The complex aroma is a swirl of chocolaty, vinous notes with a touch of burnt rubber, port, soy sauce, anise, clove and smoke. The flavor is chocolaty and toasted with dark fruits, molasses and alcohol. Decently-balanced by the hops and booziness. Full-bodied and creamy with lively carbonation. Finishes toasted and medium bitter. Pretty hot. Should age well, but I enjoyed it straight out of the Brickskeller’s cooler.

Black body with a moderate tan head (3+). Sweet malt aroma sort of anise like notes, very light woody chocolate and a touch of light alcohol. Dry spice in the flavour, some malt, finish is surprisingly bitter, covering up a light anise character. Average palate is lighter than I would like for this. Pleasant but a bit underwhelming. 7/3+/6-7/3/14

Bottle (650ml). Shared with blankboy, GregClow, jerc and tupalev, my bottle via trade with IrishBoy. Poured deep cloudy opaque slightly reddish brown with a smallish off-white head - extra point for looking so thick. Very appealing sweet yeasty/spicy aroma, caramel malt and vanilla. Taste is surprisingly bitter, particularly the finish - bitterness from alcohol and pungent herbal hops - but it still has a solid sweet roat malt backbone, with plenty of soft spice and sweetness ... it seems quite oaky, plenty of vanilla, almost a bit bourbony. While the body is a tad weak, the mouthfeel is nicely bitter and spicy, decently carbonated - I think I enjoyed this more than the 04 or the 05 - and I suspect the second bottle I’m storing away will age nicely, at least for a year or so.