Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Bottle. A dark brown color with a light brown head. Richly spiced aroma with cloves, raisins, banana, candy, chocolate and bread. The spiced aroma comes through well on the palate with a light yet powerful zing on the tongue.

Dark brown coloration, cocoa-tan head. Spicy, malty nose, with flavors of dark fruits, anise, herbs, rather earthy... Tangy and tasty, gritty, and lightly sweet, medium bodied, holds together well, but no particular part pops out at all...fairly unimpressive by the end of the sampling. Just kind of ""eh", like a limpid stab at a dubbel. (I got half the bottle, shared the rest with friends, who were more nonplussed than I.) Perhaps I really didn’t to give that extra six years they reccommend on the label copy?

Dark brown, decent head fades slowly. Aroma was primarily of malts, a bit of molasses, and some spicy hop notes. Flavor matched. Surprisingly little fruitiness here, just a bit of a bubblegum flavor in the yeast. Lingering bitterness on the finish. A nice dubbel that could improve greatly with age. Or not. We’ll just have to see.

Bottle purchased recently. Aroma is quite sweet, sugary, with some molasses and vanilla notes present as well. There is also a light roasty chocolate aroma with minute aromas of yeasty easters. This is quite sweet, which I find a pleasant aroma. Moderately opaque, dark mahogany body present with a weak light tan head that dissipates a little too quickly. Dried fruits, prunes, plums, raisins to start. Light sweetness. Boozy roastiness with some definite coffee flavors in the middle-end. A little thin and the coffee notes are a little weird, but this is a fair effort.

26.09.06 Bomber. I have to admit that I’m more than a little distracted from rating since I’m listening to the Phillies game right now and they’re in the thick of the wild card race. In fact, they are leading the wild card race, tied with the Dodgers who are leading their game tonight while the Phils struggle to cross the plate in theirs. And, by the way, a special thanks to the baseball gods for sending up Phillis fans Ryan Howard.<!-- p --> This beer is attractive with a deep mahoganey brown color and lasting, creamy tan head.<!-- br -->Baseball is much more attention demanding when you’re listening on the radio than when you have it on TV.<!-- br --> The aromas are lovely and phenolic with nice yeasty spice and rotten banana. There is also a fair amount of roasty goodness coming through and resinous hints as this beer really asserts itself as a Stone version of a Belgian style. The flavor is very spicy, maybe dominated by spice, but with long and lingering rich, dark malts. Sweetish stuff at first sip but bitterness attacks big-time towards the end with a serious astringency that does cut through the sweetness and even truncates the beers attempt at lingering with its phenolic perfumes retronasally.<!-- br -->Now, see, that kind of long and rambling sentence is just what is bound to happen when you’re listening to the radio, the Phils are desperate for wins, and Chase Utley is booting a crucial ball in the infield.<!-- br --> I guess this stuff is going to really fill out and the astringency will mellow over time as it does seem to be coming from the hops. Either way, I’m digging the stuff and do not mind the big driness for a switch (even though the description claims "no astringency") -- it compliments the massive spicy yeasts.

Thanks to kmweaver for sharing. Seemingly clear purple-bronze body with a medium, grayish tan head. Aroma is of cloves, mild rubber, and sweet dark caramelization. Flavor adds additional elements of sweet cocoa and dates with some balancing acidity, plus medium bitterness. Decent, lingering aftertaste. This is a unique and enjoyable entry into the Vertical Epic series.

Thanks to Nuffield for sharing. Solid dark brown color. Spicy nose. Much better than the other VEs I’ve tried. Very solid malty body, with not much spice in the body but a spicy finish.

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.