Stone 06.06.06 Vertical Epic Ale

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

Dark, pitch black hue. Layer of tan head. Quickly dissipating into a trace rim with spots. Coffe and plum nose. Full and sweet. Good caramel and coffee flavors. Spicy and bittersweet chocolate. Lively with a tingling sensation. Nice burn but still smooth. Cookie chocolate malt. Slight nutty, vanilla oaky nuances. Second glass holds the same hue. Fat clinging head. More of a musty woody nose. Still full. Fruity, slight raspberry maple flavor. This is great now, and can only wonder what the future will hold.

Bottle. I was afraid that this brew had past me by, but alas, Liquor Stop in Highland, IN still had it when I was down that way for Dark Lord Day 2007 in late April. I’m glad I didn’t miss it. Belgian qualities in the aroma with banana esters. Dry. Almost fully opaque body, with some faint red hues sneaking through when held to light. Large, light tan head that is lasting. Foamy. Excellent lace. Flavor is all Belgian. No American notes to speak of like most other American brewers attempts at the Abbey styles. Perhaps a little lightly carbonated for a Dubbel, but this doesn’t detract from it at all. Dry, but delicious. Alcohol presence grows as it warms. Extremely well done. Not sure how good it will be in 2012 despite promises from the label that it was "designed" to last that long. Eminently drinkable now.

Pours out a dark brown color with a small tan head. Smells very similar to the previous epics, and it also tastes similar to them. This one seems like it will be one that will hold up for a long time. Plenty of fruity and malty backings to this beer. Not very bitter, rather good actually. Probably going to be one that will last until 12 12 12

Dark brown with a nice khaki lasting head. Aroma is roasted malts, caramel, yeasty with a spicy note. Full bodied flavour of roasted malts, spice, brown sugar, dark fruit with a hop dry bitterness at the finish. Quite rich and smooth.

Small brown head, good retention with a minimal lace thats spotty at best. A very dark Dubbel. If not for a deep red glow when held up to the light you,d think you were enjoying a nice stout. Juiciley fruity nose, smattering of plums and raisins, licorice and medium sweet malts. Body is med/full, creamy with a gentle carbonation, a joy on the tongue. Medium sweet malts, light roast and dark fruits, light coffee notes, tingly spices. As it warms notes of chocolate, bittersweet with caramelly notes to boot. Finish is lightly sweet, fruity malts and a definate bite. Props to tever for a pair of these!

poured a super brown (almost black) body with red highlights.the head was very tiny but did stick around for a while.lots of belgian yeast in the aroma.followed by some brown sugar,and a hint of zesty spice.flavor was loaded with yeast as well.along with some chocolate,cloves,hay,and bananas.the palte was nice and complex and changed for several seconds.mouthfeel was on the medium side.id like to do a side by side with an 05 to see where they stand.(RE-RATE ON JUNE 20TH 2007)appearance is pretty much the same.althoughi now detect some cinnamon and ginger in the flavor.it seems like its holding up pretty well.

It’s been over a year between bottles and I can say that I think I like it a little bit better with some age on it. The beer poured out a mahogany brown color with a three finger thick, light tan head. Aroma has a hefty dose of roasted malts, and dark fruits with an underlying spicy/yeast character that I enjoyed. Flavors had similar tasted like the nose, but the sweetness factor was ramped up a notch or two. A very smooth beer and probably my favorite so far out of this series.

Darker brown with a smallish head. Aroma of brown sugar, cocoa, dark fruits, and an interesting yeastiness. Flavor dominated by a roasty-sweet malt flavor that was somewhat of a mix between a quad and a porter - chocolate, roast, sugar, light hops. I wanted to like it more - maybe this one gets a lot better by 2012?